SANDY, Utah – (Monday, January 20, 2020) – Real Salt Lake has announced that the club has retained its coaching staff and added Steffen Siebert to the staff while Matt Glaeser will now serve in a dual role as Real Monarchs Assistant Coach and RSL set-piece specialist. In addition, former RSL goalkeeper Alex Horwath has joined the front office as Assistant Technical Director, adding international experience to the technical staff.
“Steffen is an incredibly bright soccer mind who brings fantastic experience and knowledge to our coaching staff. Once you’ve spent 10 minutes with him you know he knows the game inside and out. He’ll be a tremendous asset to this organization moving forward,” RSL General Manager
Elliot Fall
said. “Matt is a young coach who’s been with the organization for several years now and has proven himself capable to feature in a dual role with the Monarchs and MLS staffs. We’re excited to have him leading our set-piece planning and development.”
After Freddy Juarez was named Head Coach on December 3, the club has retained the remaining coaching staff – Assistant Coach Tyrone Marshall, Goalkeeping Coach and Director of Goalkeeping Todd Hoffard and Director of Video Analysis Ted Eck. To that existing staff, RSL adds Siebert, a former collegiate and NPSL coach who spent the last two years as a coaching educator for U.S. Soccer’s A Senior License. Glaeser will assist RSL on set-piece training while still acting as an assistant coach for the Monarchs and a set-piece specialist with RSL.
Siebert started his coaching career in 2012 as Head Coach at Springfield College in Massachusetts, leading the NCAA Division III squad to a 80-28-14 record over six seasons. While coaching he also served as an assistant professor in courses in Sport Psychology, Coaching and Advanced Coaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels. During his final season, he also served as Associate Head Coach for Hartford City FC in the NPSL. Starting in 2018, he was a Coach Educator with U.S. Soccer, serving as a Technical Lead and Lead Instructor for the A Senior License. In addition, he also authored a book published in 2017 – A League of Their Own: The Secrets of Club Soccer Champions – focusing on successful runs for Manchester City, Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, among others.
Glaeser has worked with the Monarchs for the last three seasons, helping coach the club to the 2017 USL Regular Season Shield and the 2019 USL Championship title. During his time with the Monarchs, he has worked with current RSL goalkeepers David Ochoa and Andrew Putna. Prior to joining the Monarchs staff, he was an assistant coach with the Wilmington Hammerheads in the second division of the U.S. Soccer pyramid. As a player, the former goalkeeper played eight professional seasons in the U.S. and Finland before retiring after the 2015 season.
“Steffen is a guy we really think can help us with our style of play and our identity on the field. We’ve found the principals we want to install and he will help us organize those so that they’re precisely structured,” RSL Head Coach Freddy Juarez said. “He comes from an education background which allows for a fresh perspective within the group. With the addition of Glaeser, we get a set-piece specialist which is something we really want to put an emphasis on in 2020. He will be the one who analyzes our opponent to find ways to exploit them to our advantage.”
Horwath joins the technical staff after 11 seasons as a goalkeeper in the U.S., Sweden and Norway. Originally signed by Real Salt Lake in 2018, the former U.S. U-17 and U-19 goalkeeper appeared in four matches for the Monarchs before retiring following the 2019 season. With his addition, there are now four former RSL players on the club’s technical and coaching staffs, joining Assistant General Manager Tony Beltran, Head Scout Andy Williams and Real Monarchs Head Coach Jamison Olave.
Headed by Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations Rob Zarkos, Horwath joins a staff that includes Fall, Beltran, Williams, Technical Director Dan Egner, Real Monarchs Assistant General Manager Tim Weaver, Director of Data Analytics Vahe Tanielian, Monarchs Player and Video Analyst Preston Gayton and Utah Royals FC General Manager Stephanie Lee.
Real Salt Lake finished the 2019 season third in the Western Conference at 16-13-5 (53 points) and advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals for the second consecutive season. RSL will open the 2020 season on the road against Orlando City SC on February 29 before returning to Rio Tinto Stadium for the home opener against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, March 7, at 12 p.m. MT.
