- 2005
- 2009
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Real Salt Lake Team Formation
Real Salt Lake became the twelfth MLS franchise when Major League Soccer awarded an expansion franchise on July 14, 2004, to SCP Worldwide, headed by Dave Checketts. Jason Kreis became the first player in RSL history, coming in a trade from the Dallas Burn. Other notable players that played in RSL’s early years include veterans Clint Mathis, Eddie Pope, and ... -
2009 MLS Champs
MLS Cup 2009 was the 14th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS). The match took place on November 22, 2009, at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington, and was contested between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake. Real Salt Lake won the match 5–4 in a penalty shootout following a 1–1 draw. ...
History of the RSL
Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began to play in 2005 as an expansion team of the league. The club was founded in 2004 when the club's first owner and founder were awarded an expansion berth in Major League Soccer.
The club plays its home games at Rio Tinto Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium located in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah, which they shared with their sister team, Utah Royals FC. Before moving to Rio Tinto, RSL previously played home games at Rice-Eccles Stadium, located on the campus of the University of Utah, from 2005 to 2007. The team is currently led by head coach Pablo Mastroeni.
Established
2004
City
Salt Lake City
League History
2005 – Present / Major League Soccer
Team History
2005 – Present / Real Salt Lake
Nickname
Real Salt Lake – Founder David Checketts provided his club with an international taste with "Real Salt Lake," hinting at an alleged partnership with Spanish giants Real Madrid. Local reaction to the new team's name was initially met with mixed feelings. On top of that, some thought that the name sounded contrived, and did not truly reflect the Salt Lake area, with other suggested team names such as "Highlanders", "Salt Lake SC", or "Union SLC" being more preferred. However, by at least 2014, reaction to the name had improved, with the team establishing its identity as a representative of Salt Lake.
Championship
MLS Cups 1
2009
Stadium
2008 - Present / Rio Tinto Stadium
2005 - 2008 / Rice-Eccles Stadium
Owner
2012 - Present / Dell Loy Hansen
20014 - 2012 / Dave Checketts
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
9 Jason Kreis
11 Javier Morales
*Blue is this team’s history
