The 2010 Real Salt Lake season was the sixth year of the club's existence. It was also the sixth year for the club in Major League Soccer and the sixth-consecutive year for the club in the top-flight of American soccer.
Real Salt Lake entered the 2010 MLS season as the defending MLS Cup champions, and participated additionally in the CONCACAF Champions League and played play-in propers of the U.S. Open Cup. During 2010, the club had the most success ever in its history, finishing second place in Major League Soccer, as well as becoming the first American-based club to win a Champions League group; in which they won Group A with a 4–1–1 record. Salt Lake played two play in propers of the Open Cup before eventually falling out against D.C. United.
In the MLS Cup playoffs, Salt Lake was paired against FC Dallas, the eventual Cup runners-up, where the Royals fell 3–2 on aggregate in the quarterfinals.
Overview
March
Real Salt Lake opened the season with a 3–0 road victory against San Jose. MLS: 1-0-0, 3 points, 3 goals for, 0 goals against
April
RSL began April with a 2–1 loss to Houston, losing after the Dynamo earned two penalty kicks just a minute apart. Upon heading back to Sandy, they played to a 2–2 draw against Seattle, with Álvaro Saborío scoring the equalizer in second half stoppage time, in front of a full stadium with a crowd over 20,000. A week later, they headed to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy, the team they had defeated on penalty kicks to win MLS Cup 2009. Despite losing 2–1, Real became the first team to score on the Galaxy in the 2010 Season, as Los Angeles had shut out their first three opponents. RSL finished April with a 1–0 loss to the reigning Supporters' Shield winners, the Columbus Crew. MLS: 0-3-1, 1 point, 4 goals for, 7 goals against
May
RSL began with a hard-fought 2–1 home victory over Toronto. They then hosted for the first time the new expansion team, Philadelphia, winning 3–0. The next week, they defeated Houston, who had beaten them at home in Houston in April, with a decisive 3–1 win. Going on the road to Los Angeles to face expansion partners Chivas USA, RSL found victory when Fabián Espíndola scored in the 89th minute for the game-winner in the 2–1 win. RSL finished the month with a close 4–1 win over Kansas City in Sandy. Both the five-game win streak and the 15-game home unbeaten streak held by RSL at the end of May are franchise-highs. MLS: 5-0-0, 15 points, 14 goals for, 4 goals against
June
After a disappointing scoreless draw on the road against D.C. United, RSL returned home to hand Los Angeles their first loss of the season by a score of 1–0 on a controversial Javier Morales goal. After a two-week hiatus due to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, RSL drew San Jose 0-0. MLS: 1-0-2, 5 points, 1 goal for, 0 goals against
July
July saw Robbie Findley return from World Cup play for Nick Rimando's 100th MLS win – a 5–0 drubbing of New England. They took their aggressive playing style on the road, beating the Chicago Fire 1–0. Their 10-game unbeaten streak came to an end against FC Dallas at Dallas, followed by a disappointing home draw against Chivas USA. They were back in form against D.C. United, and came away with a 3–0 win. MLS: 3-1-1, 10 points, 10 goals for, 3 goals against
August
RSL's good fortunes continued in August, as the team went undefeated in league play. The month opened with four games in twelve days – three league games and RSL's first CONCACAF Champions League game. After playing to a 1–1 draw with Kansas City at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, RSL paid its first visit to Philadelphia's new PPL Park, earning a point in a 1–1 draw with the Union. RSL headed back to Rio Tinto Stadium to face its 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals nemesis Columbus. RSL won the game 2–0 on a Morales brace. The team then geared up to begin Group A play in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. RSL defeated Panamanian champions Árabe Unido in Sandy by a score of 2–1 in a wild match that featured over eight minutes of second-half stoppage time. A week later, the team traveled to Estadio Azul to play Mexico's Cruz Azul. Though RSL led 3–2 after 87 minutes, a crazy finish left Real empty-handed, falling 5–4. The team finished the month with an MLS scoreless affair at BMO Field in Toronto, leaving the team in third place on the table at 40 points with eight league games remaining. MLS: 1-0-3, 6 points, 4 goals for, 2 goals against; CCL: 1-1-0, 3 points, 6 goals for, 6 goals against
September
September was another spectacular run for RSL, culminating in qualifying for the MLS Playoffs and the CONCACAF Champion's League quarterfinals.
October
Squad
2010 roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Source: MLS Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head record; 3) goal difference; 4) number of goals scored (C) Champion; (S) Supporters' Shield
Results summary
Overall
Home
Away
Pld
Pts
W
L
T
GF
GA
GD
W
L
T
GF
GA
GD
W
L
T
GF
GA
GD
30
56
15
4
11
45
20
+25
11
0
4
31
7
+24
4
4
7
14
13
+1
Last updated: September 26, 2010 Source: Major League Soccer Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference
Round
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Stadium
A
A
H
A
A
H
H
H
A
H
A
H
H
H
A
A
H
H
A
A
H
A
H
A
H
H
A
A
H
A
Result
W
L
T
L
L
W
W
W
W
W
T
W
T
W
W
L
T
W
T
T
W
T
W
T
W
T
W
T
W
T
Position
2
7
7
10
13
9
5
5
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
3
3
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Updated to match(es) played on September 26, 2010. Source: MLS Results and League table A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; L = Loss; T = Tie
Real Salt Lake qualified for the 2010 MLS Cup playoffs following a 2–1 victory at New England on October 2. Amid the controversy surrounding the playoff structure,[11] Salt Lake was seeded as the number two team in the Western Conference bracket, drawn against the third-place West team, Dallas. The draw took place at Major League Soccer's headquarters in New York City on October 24.
The Conference Semifinals served as a two-leg, home-and-away aggregate series with no away goals rule enforced. Salt Lake played at Dallas in Pizza Hut Park on October 30. Despite an early goal from Fabian Espindola in the fifth minute, Dallas would rally with a pair of goals from Jeff Cunningham and Eric Avila, giving not only Dallas the victory, but a lead in the a series.
Both clubs would return to Rio Tinto on November 6 for the second leg. A 17th-minute goal from Dax McCarty gave Dallas 3–1 advantage in the series, and not only jeopardized Salt Lake's chance for going on the Western Conference Championship, but the chance RSL would end their home-match unbeaten streak. A goal from Robbie Findley ensured the streak would stay alive, but it was not enough to defeat Dallas on aggregate, as Dallas would advance 3–2 on aggregate.[12]
By winning the 2009 MLS Cup championship against Los Angeles, Real Salt Lake qualified directly into Group Stage for the 2010–11 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. It was RSL's debut in the competition.
Salt Lake's opening game took place on August 18, hosting Árabe Unido in which they won 2–1 thanks to a pair of goals from Álvaro Saborío. RSL would then head down to Mexico City's Estadio Azul to take on Cruz Azul for an August 25 match. During a part of the game, Salt Lake took a 3–1 lead over Cruz Azul, and look destined to become the first MLS club to defeat a Mexican team on Mexican soil in a meaningful competition. However, late goals from Cruz Azul's Javier Orozco gave Azul a 4–3 lead in the 89th minute. A stoppage time goal from Salt Lake's Will Johnson seemed to have savaged a point for RSL; however, a goal with less than twelve seconds remaining in stoppage time from Christian Giménez gave Cruz Azul the final goal to win 5–4.
The Royals would commence Champions League action again on September 15 hosting fellow league team, Toronto FC. In spite of an early goal from Macion Santos, RSL was able to rebound and score four unanswered goals, giving Salt Lake a 4–1 victory and a tie with Cruz Azul for first place in Group A. One week later, the Royals would travel to Panama City to take on Arabe Unido for their home fixture of pool play. Goals from Saborio and Johnson secured a 3–2 road victory for Salt Lake. With the victory, RSL became only the sixth MLS club to win a meaningful competition against a Central American opponent on their home turf. On September 28, Salt Lake qualified for the knockout stage of the tournament with a 1–1 draw against Toronto FC at BMO Field.
Tied with Cruz Azul with 3–1–1 records apiece, a victory would give Salt Lake first place in their group. Because of the late season push for the Supporters' Shield, Kries fielded primarily a second-tier squad against Cruz Azul. A record crowd came to Rio Tinto on October 19 to watch the group stage finale between the two sides. Goals from the recently acquired Paulo Araujo Jr. and from Collen Warner led to a 3–1 victory over the Cementeros. The win resulted in RSL winning Group A, as well as them becoming the first MLS club to win a Group in the CONCACAF Champions League.
On November 1, CONCACAF held the draw for the Championship Round at their headquarters in New York City. The round commenced during Salt Lake's 2011 season.[13]
Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional soccer club 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 play in 2005 as an expansion team of the league. The club was founded in 2004 when the club's first owner and founder was awarded an expansion berth in Major League Soccer.
Álvaro Alberto Saborío Chacón is a Costa Rican professional footballer, who plays as a forward and captains Costa Rican club San Carlos from the Primera División de Costa Rica. Saborío originally retired in 2017, but returned months later.
The 1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 34th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's club champion of football in the CONCACAF region.
The 2010 Major League Soccer season was the 15th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 98th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 32nd with a national first-division league.
The 2010 MLS season was the fourth season in Toronto FC's existence. The club was looking to make the playoffs for the first time in their history and ultimately fell short. TFC started the season with Preki as the new head coach however, on September 14, 2010, he along with Director of Soccer Mo Johnston were relieved of their duties; and Nick Dasovic took over as head coach on an interim basis.
The 2010 FC Dallas season was the fifteenth season of the team's existence.
Luis Miguel Gil is an American professional soccer player who plays for Union Omaha in the USL League One.
The 2010 Season was the 98th season of competitive soccer in the United States.
The 2010–11 Cruz Azul season is the 64th professional season of Mexico's top-flight football league. The season is split into two tournaments—the Torneo Apertura and the Torneo Clausura—each with identical formats and each contested by the same eighteen teams. Cruz Azul will begin their season on July 23, 2010, against Estudiantes Tecos. Cruz Azul will play their homes games on Saturdays at 17:00 hours local time.
The 2011 Real Salt Lake season was the club's seventh year of existence, as well as their seventh season in Major League Soccer, and their seventh consecutive season in the top-flight of American soccer.
The 2012 Real Salt Lake season was the team's eighth year of existence. The team's first game was on March 10 at the Home Depot Center against the Los Angeles Galaxy, which they won 3-1.
This article presents a detailed, year-by-year history of Real Salt Lake (2004–present). For other information about the professional soccer club based in Utah, please see the main article.
The 2013 Real Salt Lake season was the team's ninth year of existence. The team finished the season as runners-up in the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup.
The 2014 Real Salt Lake season was the team's tenth year of existence and also the first year with new head coach Jeff Cassar. The team's first game was on March 8 at StubHub Center.
The 2015 D.C. United season was the club's twentieth season of existence, and their twentieth in Major League Soccer, the top tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club entered the season as the defending Eastern Conference regular season champions.
The 2017 FC Dallas season was the club's 22nd season in Major League Soccer, the top tier of the United States soccer league system. Competitive fixtures began in February 2017, when FC Dallas began their matches in the knockout stages of the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League. The club kicked off their 2017 MLS season in March. Dallas entered the season as the defending U.S. Open Cup champions and Supporters' Shield holders, as well as the defending champions for the minor rivalry trophy, the Brimstone Cup.
The 2018 Real Salt Lake season is the team's 14th year of existence, and their 14th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top division of the American soccer pyramid.
The 2019 Real Salt Lake season was the team's 15th year of existence, and their 15th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top division of the American soccer pyramid.
The 2022 Real Salt Lake season was the team's 18th year of existence, and their 18th consecutive season in Major League Soccer, the top division of the American soccer pyramid. On December 13, 2021, RSL hired Pablo Mastroeni to be the sixth manager in club history, removing the interim tag he had held since taking over for Freddy Juarez on August 27, 2021.
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Álvaro Saborío 
