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SALT LAKE CITY — As continental soccer tournaments heat up around the world and the local clubs reach the summer doldrums, KSL.com handed the keyboard over to the fans to see what questions they have in the world of footy.
@BillyLindhardt: "When are they going to put Beckerman and Rimando's name on the stadium ring? Also, they should have statues out front ... "
Real Salt Lake fans have pondered this one since club legend Javier Morales had his name revealed next to Jason Kreis' above the west stands in 2019.
Nick Rimando — widely considered the greatest of all time goalkeeper in MLS history — retired in 2019 as the league leader in career wins, clean sheets, saves, and overall appearances.
RSL said Rimando will be the next player to have his name added to the stadium ring as soon as next year, with a slight delay due to scheduling conflicts and the club changing the fonts on all the names from bronze to black to make them more visible.
Longtime team captain and fan favorite Kyle Beckerman will follow Rimando in the order of engravings after he hung up his cleats a year behind Rimando in 2020 after 13 years with RSL.
The club has also decided to add legendary defender and current assistant coach Jamison Olave to the stadium ring after Rimando and Beckerman. All three former players still live in Utah, with Rimando acting as the Real Monarchs goalkeeper coach and Beckerman coaching the Utah Valley University men's soccer team.
On a similar note, X user @boodgieboodgie asked about stadium expansion at America First Field.
While no expansion plans have been mentioned, several ongoing updates and renovations are happening in Sandy, including Utah Royals branding to cover the eastern wall above the lower bowl, shade coverings for the east pavilion just outside the stadium and outdoor box suites on the north end.
@nobles_tay: "Any idea on transfer targets this transfer window"
Chicho Arango's exit and the resulting loss against the LA Galaxy last week revealed a glaring need for a backup striker in the RSL rotation. Head coach Pablo Mastroeni spoke at length about it during his postgame press conference after the loss.
"We only had one option, and that was (Anderson Julio)," Mastroeni said. "There was no other option. It was probably the easiest coaching decision."
When asked later if the Galaxy game showed a need for another striker behind Arango, Mastroeni simply said, "Yeah," with a solid pause after.
The team didn't go get another center-back until multiple injuries revealed a desperate need addressed with a quick trade for Philip Quinton in April, and it's possible the injury to Arango will do the same to the striker position with the summer transfer window opening on July 18.
@Cfarnes89: "I'm curious what the strategy was in putting together this Royals squad. Seemed as though they thought rookies and fringe players would cut it, but soon after the season started they started bringing in a bunch of experienced international players. Was it as chaotic as it looks?"
The Utah Royals said from the beginning the strategy in building a new roster was to compete for a championship. Exactly what the timeline for completing that contending roster looks like could be quite fluid.
Sitting at last place in the NWSL, it is clear the current team is not contending for a championship, but the team believes it does have some championship pieces in place.
"We talked about having a championship-level goalkeeper in order to win a championship," head coach Amy Rodriguez said of Mandy Haught after a match against the Washington Spirit on June 8. "Our eyes are set on that, and if she continues to do her job, that's half the battle."
Haught has been the best and most consistent player for the Royals during their first year back in Utah, competing weekly for NWSL save of the week and keeping the team in matches much longer than they probably should be.
Beyond Haught, it's difficult to identify "championship-level" players at other positions for the Royals. The closest would probably be No. 1 overall draft pick Ally Sentnor and center-back Kate Del Fava, who has two game-winners for the team this year and signed a contract extension through 2026 — the only Royals player to ink an extension so far this season.
Just about everywhere else on the field has been a revolving door for the Royals, including most crucially the striker position. Utah has scored just seven goals this season — four behind the next-closest team and 30 behind league leader Kansas City.
Cementing a proven "championship-level" goalscorer will be perhaps the most important piece in building a contender, just as Arango has proven to be for RSL.
