Wasatch Soccer Sentinel

The long offseason is finally over, though it kind of already ended with Real Salt Lake’s first competitive game of the year on Wednesday when they faced CS Herediano in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. They played to a 0-0 draw in a game that highlighted a number of strengths and concerns.

To open their MLS Season, RSL play the San Jose Earthquakes. San Jose has undergone major changes. They’ve brought in Bruce Arena as the head coach, picked up Josef Martinez, and most notably signed Chicho Arango from Real Salt Lake. They should be much improved from their wooden spoon finish of last year.

RSL has undergone major changes this offseason too, making this a wildly unpredictable first game of the season.

A new attack

The biggest talking point around this offseason is RSL’s change in the attack. Not only did Chicho Arango leave but so did Anderson Julio. When you factor in Andres Gomez’s departure in the summer, that’s a major gap to make up in goal-scoring.

In today’s game, Forster Ajajo is likely to start up top. He was decent against Herediano, though didn’t make the most of his opportunities. If Luna is healthy, and he’s currently listed as questionable on the injury report with that broken nose he suffered while with the USMNT, he’s the brightest spot in the attack. Him starting shifts Goncalves to the 10, Marczuk back to right wing, and leaves Brook on the bench. That’s certainly a functional attack, especially with young Diego, but without him we’re likely to see the same lineup as Wednesday.

Rafael Cabral and the defense

This offseason RSL picked up 34 year old Brazilian keeper Rafael Cabral. He’s played for clubs such as Santos, Napoli, and represented Brazil. He’s the oldest player on the squad, but he’s a keeper that can start and be reliable on day one. He played the whole game on Wednesday and generally looked good.

When we think about the team ahead of Cabral, the midfield is unchanged. Eneli continues to rise and his partnership Ojeda will likely remain the starting midfield pairing. Pablo Ruiz is healthy again, and even played for a short spell against Herediano. Where he factors in once fully fit remains to be seen, but the midfield is currently RSL’s biggest strength and he's a good player when available.

The backline should remain largely the same. Katranis, Vera, Glad, and Hidalgo are the presumptive starters. Andrew Brody is now with SKC, and the right back spot feels a bit thin.

San Jose

Last season the Earthquakes were abysmal. The worst team in the league. But they’ve picked up one of the greatest coaches in the US men’s game. They signed Josef Martinez, who was never quite as good without Almiron, but it’s still an ambitious signing. And most notably, that’s where Arango ended up.

There’s the added pressure of once again starting the season on the road (thanks for that, MLS). The first game of the year is an always a big occasion. But even when San Jose were at their lowest last season, they still managed to beat RSL (in Sandy, when the Quakes only had 6 wins all season).

Than there is the Chicho factor. Seeing how the players react to him will be fascinating. Chicho had a bad second half of 2024, scoring just one goal in that time. Will the new setting reset see him return to his former self? Will facing his former club give him extra motivation?

Player Availability

Out: Bell (hamstring 02/11/25) MacMath (back injury suffered 09/11/24; surgery 01/24/25)

Questionable: Luna (nose 1/22/25) Glad (hamstring injury 2/15/25) Brown (knee 12/24) Quinton (hamstring 01/21/25) Katranis (head 02/19/25) Piol (hamstring 02/19/25)