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SANDY — Jeff Cassar has seen a lot of special players come through Major League Soccer, from his days as a player, goalkeeper coach, and now head coach at Real Salt Lake.
But there is something different about MLS newcomer Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite — better known as Brazilian legend Kaka.
“There are so many quality No. 10s in our league. But his soccer IQ is off the charts,” Cassar said after training Friday, a day before hosting Kaka and Orlando City SC. “The movement off the ball is very good; (his teammates) know they will receive a ball. When you know you will receive the ball, you can be much more committed and much more dangerous.”
Part of the task of RSL (5-6-7), then, is try and stop the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year. The club will try to do so and pick up what Cassar called a must-have three points at home Saturday at 8 p.m. MT ahead of Rio Tinto Stadium’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show.
Kaka gets a lot of the attention and focus of an Orlando team that sits at 6-6-5 and tied for third place in the Eastern Conference. But the expansion outfit in MLS’s first foray into Florida since 2001 is about more than just the Brazilian legend, according to RSL midfielder Javier Morales.
“I think they are a pretty good team; it’s not just Kaka,” Morales said. “We have to be worried about him, but no question we have to worry also about the others. I think if we play like the last game, we’ll be alright.”
For goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, the presumed starter for RSL with Nick Rimando in U.S. national team camp for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Kaka’s presence brings a special aura to the field.
“He’s an international superstar, and he brings a presence,” Attinella said. “As this league continues to grow, every team will have one of those. It’s something to keep an eye on, and it’ll be fun to be on the same field as him.”
But on Saturday night, Kaka merely becomes another obstacle that RSL wants to brush aside en route to a vital three points at home, Attinella added.
“We have to do our best to try to eliminate him from the game and have him not make the difference,” he added. “It’ll be a tough test, but I think we are ready for it.”
He’ll try to beat them this weekend — but Attinella, a native of Clearwater, Fla., is rooting for the continued success of soccer in his home state. The 26-year-old shot stopper played in college at South Florida and spent two seasons with the NASL’s Tampa Bay Rowdies before signing his first MLS contract with RSL.
“When I fly home, I fly direct into Orlando. For the past two years, there have been signs everywhere, with people wearing purple and jerseys,” he said. “To reach that part of the country again and get the support they are getting, everything they are growing, is great for the state of Florida and great for the league.”
Cassar, who played for the now-defunct Miami Fusion before its contraction in 2001, has also been impressed to see the growth of the game in MLS’s return to the Sunshine State.
“You can see the support they are getting from the community is off the charts,” the second-year RSL head coach said. “It’s a melting pot of different backgrounds and soccer backgrounds.”
Cassar hopes to see a new club in his old stomping grounds, and the league has provisionally awarded a franchise to David Beckham and partners in southern Florida. But the growth of the game in the central core of Florida is special for the four-year resident of the state.
“The way Orlando has put together their team is really remarkable,” Cassar said. “It’s a solid team, a solid organization, (Orlando City SC owner and president) Phil Rawlins is great at what he does, and (head coach Adrian Heath) and his staff have put together a very nice team.”
Just like with Kaka, though, the “bigger picture” goes out the window for RSL at the opening whistle.
“Kaka is special; he’s one of the greatest players I have ever seen,” Morales said. “But tomorrow he is a rival, and we will try to win the game.”
