Ask any Real Salt Lake player and they can give you a story of one of their favorite moments in Manchester United’s storied history.
Whether it’s Wayne Rooney’s first goal on his way to 250 (and counting) in his Manchester United career or the historic treble in 1999 that saw a decisive win on the last day of the league season, a convincing win in the FA Cup days later and a tremendous comeback win over Bayern Munich with two stoppage-time goals in the Champions League Final just days after that.
Those will all likely come in a distant second after July 17, when Manchester United comes to Rio Tinto Stadium to face Real Salt Lake in an international friendly of epic proportions. When news broke of their trip to the RioT last week, players were ecstatic.
Tony Beltran exclaimed, “How cool is this? How cool is this for the city, for the fans, for the team and, selfishly, for myself? I grew up watching ManU and the EPL every weekend. I’m pretty excited to line up against them. It’s going to be a fun affair.”
Joao Plata grinned, “Man U is my favorite in the Premier League. That’s exciting.”
Justen Glad was gobsmacked, “I’m trying to wrap my mind around it. It’s pretty awesome. All of us on the team watch them every week and see what they do and talk about them. To get to play against them will be extraordinary.”
To a man, they all flashed toothy grins, trying hard to hold back the exuberance at the thought of lining up across from some of the top players in the world at their home venue with their fans there in support.
“We’re going to have OUR fans. We’re going to play in OUR stadium,” said Nick Rimando. “Sure, there are going to be Manchester United fans in the stadium, as there should be. But we’re going to be the home team. I can’t wait to play against them.”
As thrilling as it will be for the players, it’s also a once-in-a-lifetime chance for the fans as well.
Manchester United is no stranger to U.S. tours, but it is a rare occurrence that the Red Devils face an MLS club when they barnstorm the country.
That Real Salt Lake will be added to that short list is a testament to the growth of the league and the growth of RSL as a club. The match will be a celebration of that growth.
“It’s great for the sport of soccer and it’s great for our club. It’ll be a great night for our fans and we want to put on a good show for them because we are representing them,” Kyle Beckerman said. “It’ll be a special night for us as players and for our fans.”
Tickets go on sale Tuesday, March 28, at 10 am to RSL Season Ticket Holders.
