On Tuesday, Real Salt Lake opens its third venture into CONCACAF Champions League when it faces Municipal in Guatemala in the first of four Group Stage matches that will take place over the next three months.
After a thrilling 6-4 defeat against D.C. United on Saturday, RSL is eager to get back on the field and get started in another competition with Champions League.
“We’re really excited. It’s nice that we can get back to it after this type of result. It can get the momentum going again,” RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar said. “We’re going against a new team, a new coach and a new style of play. We’re going to have to adapt to change and hopefully we’ll have a good response.”
Real Salt Lake qualified for the tournament after finishing third in the Western Conference last year. Since both the LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders FC qualified through other means, RSL was next in line to earn a berth in the annual tournament measuring the best club teams in the region of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
In two previous journeys through the tournament, RSL has an 8-4-4 record.
In the 2010-11 tournament, RSL won a difficult group that included Cruz Azul from Mexico, Toronto FC and Arabe Unido from Panama, the lone defeat coming in an epic 5-4 match as RSL narrowly missed becoming the first U.S. club team to beat a Liga MX side in Mexico. Series wins over the Columbus Crew and Saprissa from Costa Rica landed Salt Lake in the tournament final, but Monterrey won the championship 3-2 in a tremendous series.
In 2012-13, RSL faced a reformed Group Stage that included Herediano from Costa Rica and Tauro from Panama. After posting a 2-1-1 record, though, RSL fell three points shy of Herediano to advance and was eliminated in the Group Stage.
Real Salt Lake has five players on the roster that played in the 2011 final, including midfielder Kyle Beckerman. He said over the weekend that the team is looking forward to getting on the field in Guatemala.
“We’ve got to move on and really respond. It’s a great opportunity for us Tuesday,” he said. “It’s a short turnaround. We’re really looking forward to it.”
RSL trained in Guatemala on Monday after a day of travel on Sunday. Municipal opened its season on Saturday with a 1-0 defeat to Mictlan.
Real Salt Lake’s 2015-16 Group Stage Champions League schedule
August 4 – Real Salt Lake at Municipal; Estadio Mateo Flores
September 15 – Real Salt Lake at Santa Tecla; Estadio Atletica las Delicas
September 24 – Real Salt Lake vs. Santa Tecla; Rio Tinto Stadium
October 20 – Real Salt Lake vs. Municipla; Rio Tinto Stadium
