The Legend of Damir Kreilach: The Return of the King

RSL’s season-concluding fixture Saturday against Vancouver at America First Field is set to feature an emotional return for its beloved, legendary former captain to the land of his footballing supremacy.

The King, the Cap, the Kid.

There are a myriad of situations and instances over the course of a footballer’s career that subsequently stand to define their time and impact on the sport. Season-by-season, year-by-year, and - if one is so compelling to create a lasting imprint at each one - club-by-club.

Indeed it takes a character truly special, an exemplary figure, to possess an enduring influence and legacy at even just any singular club let alone multiple ones throughout their career, requiring that an individual transcend considerable cultural, geographical, and sometimes cult-like barriers and differences existing across various clubs and fanbases.

For the RSL great, legendary former captain, Damir Kreilach, one of such fabled moments - and indeed the first of several that would transpire throughout his time on the Wasatch Front - would arrive most poetically during the campaign of his arrival. Six years ago now, as a most compelling prelude to the ensuing legacy he would yet create.

Out of the Darkness and Into the Light

It was the autumn of 2018, on the first day of the year's penultimate month (November 1), and the Claret-and-Cobalt, under then-head coach Mike Petke, had been drawn away against newly-formed expansion juggernauts LAFC in a crucial one-legged Audi MLS Cup Playoff match for the rights of passage to the semi-final stage.

The Black-and-Gold had arrived into the contest as near-overwhelming favorites, certainly by virtue of their stronger domestic campaign which had seen them finish third in the Western Conference standings, in comparison to that of RSL,who’d placed three spaces lower in sixth. And with the added advantage of playing on their home turf at the former Banc of California Stadium.

Carlos Vela and Co. had recorded only a single loss on home soil throughout the season up until that point, with nine wins and seven draws, and duly recognized for their free-scoring form as the West’s great entertainers, having scored a conference-high 68 goals. The odds on the night, thus, on paper at least, were so prodigiously in the visitors’ disfavor, it seemed more a question of by how much difference the hosts would eventually prevail as opposed to there even being a debate about who would win the day. But alas, football matches aren’t won on paper, and the ensuing contest would conspire to serve as a stark, timely reminder.

In a frenetic affair, RSL drew first blood less than half an hour in through none other than its marauding midfielder Kreilach, who arrived promptly on scene in the penalty area to sweep home a cross from teammate Brooks Lennon at close range to put the Utah outfit in front. It was a stunning commencement to proceedings, and an inspiring start for the visitors, but the best still remained to come.

In an immediate response, LAFC upped the ante in its search for a way back, managing to pull level just 10 minutes later through a well-executed freekick, finished off with a close-range header from around the near post.

Suddenly the contest was back in the balance and it was all to play for once again, to the visitors’ dismay. The home side’s push endured even after that, and parity soon turned to advantage - and disadvantage for RSL - when striker Christian Ramirez powered home an effort into the top left corner nine minutes into the second half for LAFC’s second of the game and to put RSL behind for the first time in an enthralling matchup.

Anguish, pain, despair, the look of agony etched worryingly on the faces of the away supporters in the stadium on the night. Their worst fears were being realized, unfolding right before their very eyes. Their team, despite its bright start, had inadvertently lost its deserved early lead, falling behind in what was already a difficult contest, and now staring down the barrel of an unceremonious playoff elimination.

Expectations going into the season, and indeed the match itself, had been measured regardless. But still, a loss in this manner, having initially been ahead, would’ve been a distasteful pill for its supporters to swallow.

RSL needed a hero. A savior. Someone possessing the skill and audacity to grab the game by the scruff of its neck and take charge of the contest. The Riot faithful cried out to the skies for a miracle, beseeching the powers that be for a divine intervention, and as if on cue the gods responded. And out from its ashes of desperation, its future captain re-emerged as the team’s greatest beacon of hope and light in the dark.

Having already opened the scoring for RSL, the Croatian midfielder would yet have the final say, and the resultant events would all fittingly conspire to constitute the beginnings of his enshrining.

With yet another half-hour to go, the fight was on. A relentless, unyielding struggle for survival. RSL pressed on for an equalizer and a season-defying narrative. And just four minutes later, its reward arrived - in the most spectacular of fashions.

A slick move in the hosts’ penalty area found playmaker Albert Rusnák in the box - his eventual shot deflecting straight out into the path of Kreilach, outside the area, who met the ball with an audacious right-footed flying karate kick strike which sailed over the heads of everyone in the box and crept in off the post and into the goal to the sheer astonishment of all in attendance. It was a truly otherworldly effort and a magical, surreal moment for the midfielder. One doubtlessly deserving of the highest of distinctions and the grandest of exaltations. With a brace on the night, and against the odds, RSL’s maverick future captain had near-single-handedly kept his team alive in the contest and with yet the chance for further glory. But the job was still far from finished.

It soon would be, however, and 11 minutes later, Petke’s side retook the lead when a cross from Jefferson Savarino, himself receiving the ball in a wider position again from Kreilach, was inadvertently turned into his own net by Walker Zimmerman for a 3-2 RSL lead, and just like that the comeback was complete.

In a near-flash, despair quickly turned to elation, and anguish to pure, unadulterated ecstasy. RSL had done it. Against overwhelming odds it had travailed, and toiled, and dueled all behind enemy lines, and ultimately emerged victorious, with Kreilach reigning as its ever-radiant white knight, announcing himself on the grandest of stages in the most glorious, inspiring fashion.

The supporters had cried out to the footballing gods for a hero, a champion on the night. And from the ashes of initial agony, Kreilach had emerged. Stars shine brightest when the night is darkest, and in the team’s desperate, despondent hour of need, Kreilach arose, ushering his team out of its Californian wilderness - out of the darkness, and into the marvelous light.

“I remember the game; it was such an amazing performance and a surreal moment,” defender Justen Glad shared.

“That’s the thing about Damir. He's a player who was always ready and willing to take charge in those big moments, and in LA he provided two of them. I remember as well going into the match, in the dressing room he told us that we would win in the end, and when you’re a young player in that sort of environment you just have to believe it especially because Damir’s the one who’s saying it. And for him to then go on and score both goals is a testament to his work-rate, ability, and belief.”

And indeed it was. RSL would eventually go on to suffer elimination at the hands of Sporting Kansas City in the ensuing semifinal. But the LAFC giant-killing would remain a staple in the tale of Damir Kreilach and his time at the club, and perhaps more tellingly, the origin point of the greatness the Croatian would yet carve out all through his career on the Wasatch Front.

But fast forward five years, and he was gone, departing upon the completion of his contractual obligations at the end of 2023 to pastures anew. And on Saturday, RSL’s legendary former captain returns with his new club to America First Field, the land of his footballing ascent, for the first time since his departure, in opposition to the supporters who once chanted his name and the faithful who still to this day call him ‘king’.

“I think these are always strange experiences for the team he left behind as well as himself, coming back to a place where he experienced a lot of success and great memories,” RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni shared.

“... But the one thing I will say is that Damir will always be received with open arms by the players, the staff, and our fans especially because I think they, in particular, realized how impactful he was [during his time here] to make this Club what it is today.”

Captain, hero, leader. Protagonist supreme. King Kreilach — as he was so fondly called. A most deserving moniker, befitting a character of such splendor and standing, alongside his most famous epithet, rung out for all to hear:

The King, the Cap, the Kid: A Defining Legacy

"Your legacy is every life that you've touched."

- Maya Angelou

When narrating the tales of illustrious athletes and performers, a common approach is often to recount their professional, industry-centered feats and accomplishments as persuasive evidence of their general impact. Indeed the practice abounds as well in our game of football. Several of the beautiful game’s current and past greats, the likes of Messi and Ronaldo being two obvious examples, are typically heralded as immortals with their footballing stats and figures paraded as the biggest confirmations of their greatness, and rightly so, this author must profess. But the full weight of a person’s legacy sometimes goes beyond the mere sum of their quantitative statistics and figures, and to this effect for RSL, very few represent this ideology more than its inspirational former captain Damir Kreilach.

“Damir is truly a king,” Trey Fitz-Gerald, RSL Vice President of Communications, recounts. “King Kreilach. And I know that’s perhaps an abstract illustration, but it's almost the perfect, most holistic way of describing him.”

“I remember when we signed him back in 2018. One of the first things we noticed [besides his footballing qualities] was the sheer love, respect, and outpouring of fan emotion from Union Berlin [his former club] after the move was confirmed, which was unlike anything we’d ever seen for a player coming to us. And when he eventually arrived in Utah, my first impression of him was that of a complete gentleman from the way he carried himself, and especially how he treated other people around him.”

An ever-dedicated, ever-committed professional, Kreilach joined RSL in February 2018 as one of the club’s most acclaimed signings at the time and quickly established himself as a leader in the team’s dressing room. Through his general demeanor, as well as his respect and treatment of others, the Croatian midfielder rapidly won the hearts of teammates, fans, and staff, something that would endure throughout his career at the club.

“When you think about Damir, you immediately start with the respect as a human being that he has for all others, regardless of their station or position of power, or what he could gain from them,” Fitz-Gerald continued. “Because some people are only nice to others based on who can do things for them, but not Damir. He treated everyone [kindly] and in the same way from the moment he arrived to the moment he left at the end of 2023.”

“He taught a lot of people who are here now how to be professionals, and not just [his teammates] in the dressing room, but [people] all around the Club through his stature and the way he regularly handled himself.”

A leader both on and off the pitch, Kreilach’s time at RSL, and indeed throughout his career, remains highlighted, perhaps the most, by the impact he made by means of his professionalism, conduct, and kindness, and the lives he touched as much off the pitch as on it.

In an era of sports and entertainment where you wouldn’t be hard-pressed to find individuals and stars so out of tune with reality and under the illusion of a generally inflated sense of self-importance, Kreilach was the compelling contrary. The epitome of civility, respect, and esteem all steamrolled into one.

RSL defines its sporting mission as “leading and inspiring the soccer culture in Utah.” Kreilach was the embodiment of it. During his time on the Wasatch Front, the “RSL way” duly became the “Kreilach way.” “Be like Damir,” people would often be heard saying, as much a testament to the Croatian’s aptitude as it was to his character.

An Inspiration on the Pitch

Kreilach’s feats and achievements also abounded a great deal and gained a foothold on the pitch. Following his arrival near the start of 2018, the then-29-year-old wasted no time in announcing his sovereignty on the Wasatch front.

Throughout his first season, the former Union Berlin midfielder netted a total of 12 goals, with a further four assists, leading the Claret-and-Cobalt to a sixth-placed Conference finish prior to the heroics in Los Angeles, before an eventual playoff semi-final elimination. In 2019, he registered a further six goals and four assists as the team finished an impressive 3rd in the West table before suffering elimination again at the semi-final stage at the hands of the Seattle Sounders.

In 2020, during his third year at RSL, Kreilach continued to shine as a symbol of hope and light as the club struggled through a trying period of various on-field and off-field difficulties, recording 8 goals and a single assist as the team ended the season in 11th place, thereby missing out on a post-season berth.

“I think part of the reason he became ‘King Kreilach’ in everyone’s minds is because he was a beacon of light during a time of great turmoil,” Fitz-Gerald continued. “We had coaching and ownership changes and were even a league-run team for a while between the two owners, but Damir continued to hold the standard high.”

“Not to say he was the only one, though, he wasn’t. But he was often the most visible one holding everyone else to a certain standard of professionalism and ambition during a time when it was really easy for people to feel like this wasn’t the place for them and jump ship in search of greener grass somewhere else, but Damir was always there.”

RSL’s, and indeed Kreilach’s, 2020 campaign was marked by its unique struggles punctuated by brief, isolated moments of respite. But the proceeding campaign, as far as the Croatian was concerned, at least, would be one for the history books. In 2021, the then-32-year-old set a club record for most goals scored in consecutive games, with five, doing so amidst a magical run to earn a playoff berth, capped off by a late injury time finish in the final minute of added time with only seconds remaining, affectionately termed the “Damiracle” goal, which cemented RSL’s place in the playoffs. In his fourth year, Kreiach recorded a total of 16 goals and nine assists, barely missing out on being named to the MLS 2021 Best XI. His contributions on the field were exemplary nonetheless, and his work off the pitch and in the locker room perhaps even more so. And for his performances and application, he was named Club MVP upon the conclusion of the campaign and handed the captain’s armband at the start of the following season in 2022, a position he held until his departure nearly two years later.

His final two seasons, however, would unfortunately be beset by injury complications, thus, hampering his ability to consistently get out on the pitch and significantly reducing his playing time, but would still see him record an impressive five goals and an assist in merely 18 starts across both seasons.

Throughout his time on the Wasatch Front, Kreilach recorded an impressive 47 goals and 18 assists in 151 games across all competitions, placing third on the list of the club’s all-time top scorers behind only Álvaro Saborío and Javier Morales.

Away from the pitch, Kreilach’s impact also extended out to the residents and communities of RSL. He maintained a strong presence and involvement in community advocacy, always willing to participate in or spearhead the club’s community support and outreach efforts. And In 2022, he launched the “Kreilach Corner'' initiative, purchasing 100 RSL season tickets to be distributed each match to underserved children, a program the club still maintains each home game albeit now under a different name and banner.

“He was always willing to participate in and complete whatever tasks the Club requested of him both with the media as well as our various community initiatives, whether it was to help promote soccer and RSL or to provide help to people who needed it,” Fitz-Gerald concluded.

“He loved our fans dearly, and it was his idea to create the Kreilach Corner as a way to bring kids to the game who maybe wouldn’t have a chance to come to games otherwise. And then once it was floated, the ownership group matched his contribution and we had corporate partners from around the community contribute to the cause as well, and it really is an amazing program that still happens to this day. Right up until the end, Damir almost always did everything with a smile, a sense of poise and calm, and was a truly great leader.”

A Legend’s Edict

Captain, leader, hero. A bonafide, certified legend. An embodiment of all that RSL stand for, and a representation of all the club hope to become.

Damir the Eternal - for the enduring, effervescent legacy he left behind. One that won’t be nearly forgotten so soon. And on Saturday, RSL’s legendary hero returns to the Wasatch Front to reprise his role on the pitch albeit on the opposite end of the Claret-and-Cobalt goal, but the love and adoration will continue to live on.

Before Chicho there was Damir. An example to all other players and leaders of how to truly embody and live the RSL way. Be like Kreilach.

A legend amongst legends, and an inspiration to us all. Damir Kreilach - The King, the Cap, the Kid.