Anderson Julio was Real Salt Lake’s hero a week ago.
This week, he was fighting for minutes.
With the summer transfer window officially open, RSL is preparing for a second-half push behind newly acquired talent.
Midfielder Nelson Palacio, acquired recently from Atlético Nacional in Colombia, and striker Cristian “Chicho” Arango, whose reported $6 million transfer fee from Liga MX club Pachucha makes him the biggest signing in RSL history, are at last eligible to suit up for their new squad.
That means some difficult conversations loom for manager Pablo Mastroeni.
“They’re very tough decisions,” he said after last week’s win at Toronto. “I think the hardest thing for me as a manager is sitting with the guys individually and talking through my decisions. Because I think being up front and being transparent is so critical to a player’s psyche.
“They’re terrible conversations. But as I’ve said to the guys, I’m always charged with making the best decisions or the group. Sometimes you’re in and sometimes you’re not.”
Real Salt Lake entered the weekend in fourth place in the Western Conference thanks to a six-game unbeaten streak. That run is something Mastroeni said he couldn’t ignore.
“It’s really important for me, as far as the health of the team, that I don’t disregard the work that’s gone into this point,” he said.
But Arango’s talents can’t be ignored, either.
“Chicho was a guy that we’d been looking at for quite some time,” Mastroeni said. “I think he’ll bring his own flavor. He’s a killer in front of goal.”
Arango scored 18 goals last season at LAFC and five after making the move to Pachuca in February.
Already, the striker has made an impact on his new team.
“Often times, people think because you have a coach you’re going to grow exponentially. The greatest teachers are the experienced players with certain qualities that you may or may not have at the moment and that you’re always striving for,” Mastroeni said. “Since Chicho’s been with the group, everyone has this aura of confidence that we have a fantastic player on the frontline.”
As for Palacio, Mastroeni said the midfielder will “create a wonderful competitive environment” in training, but RSL may be more cautious in deploying him coming off an extended run to a championship in Colombia.
“How we bring those guys in will be more art than science,” Mastroeni said. “But they’re great guys who can help us achieve what we want, which is to raise trophies and help us be a better version of ourselves every day.”
That makes any competition welcome for someone like Julio.
“The team is very happy to have a player like Chicho,” he said through a translator. “We all know what he’s done, specifically when he’s played here. But we always have to be focused. In our job there’s always going to be competition and ultimately it does help you. Always we see it as the best thing for us. He’s here to help, he’s coming in to help more. We’re all very excited for it.”
