Real Salt Lake Wins MLS Cup - And Deserved the Win!

Real Salt Lake won the 2009 MLS Cup the way they won all of their games in post-season play - they gutted it out and never gave up. The players that Jason Kreis brought together and utilized to form the RSL team took on Kreis's personality during the course of the season, and that was the plan all along. Kreis is a hardworking, pragmatic coach, and he has one rule when it comes to who plays on the pitch: Play the individual who is perfoming the best and wants to win.

Another reason RSL won the MLS CUP - RSL is a "true TEAM". Simply, RSL is made up of 20+ players that all contribute. The team is not built around one or two star players who make salaries larger than the bulk of the team; rather, RSL has parity among its players as far as pay and expectations. That is why when Javier Morales was forced out of the game with an injury, and Will Johnson had to leave due to illness at the half, Kreis could bring in Ned Grabavoy and Clint Mathis and be confident they could get the job done.

Every year you build a new team, that is just the way that MLS and most professional leagues work. This year RSL had something special and the team was very much a reflection of Jason Kreis. That said, there is a reason the team got where it did and toughed it out to the final PK. Congratulations RSL... enjoy the moment and rest up for next season. Everyone in MLS now understands just how tough you are.