Three Questions With An Opposing Blogger: Real Salt Lake

SB Nation home of Real Salt Lake - RSL Soapbox

With the impending move of The Daily Wiz to the SB Nation network, I decided it was as good a time as any to call upon manager of the Real Salt Lake blog of the network for this week’s version of the Opposing Blogger Interview. I reached out to Denzel Eslinger of RSL Soapbox and he was more than kind enough to fill me in a bit on the latest happening of the defending MLS Cup champions. We exchanged questions in either direction, so take the time to jump over there and see what he was interested in hearing about the Wizards, and fill him in on anything I may have neglected. You can find it here.

Without any further ado, on to the Q&A.

1. With the US national team friendly against Brazil scheduled for this coming Tuesday and Robbie Findley being one of only three forwards named in the squad, one would expect him to not feature in Saturday’s league game. Are you at all worried about your side’s attacking fortitude on Saturday, given you’ll essentially be without a heralded substitute striker in the severe heat in the Midwest of late?

A) Not at all, while I am not sure when Robbie will be heading out to join the USMNT, we know that RSL can score plenty of goals without him, he was gone almost all of May and June, during which the team was 6-0-2 in league play.  RSL is one of the deepest teams in MLS with 12 different players having scored goals and 12 different players with assists, including Alvaro Saborio who has 8 goals and 4 assists.  Sure I am hoping we can use Robbie for a half, he speed would be a huge advantage with the small pitch at CommunityAmerica, but I am confident we will be able to survive and continue to thrive.

Five Questions With An Opposing Blogger: Colorado Rapids

For a new posting feature that I hope to make a regular occurrance here at The Daily Wiz, I went outside the Wizards fan community for some insight on Saturday’s opponent, the Colorado Rapids. Sure, it’s not exactly a revolutionary idea in the blogosphere, but the different perspective will tell you more about the Rapids than I ever could.

Many thanks to Craig de Aragon for being the test run guinea pig for this weekly installment. Craig is a Rapids supporter from Denver that I met through the powers of Twitter. (Follow him @GCSBlog) You can also find his blog work at a couple of different places: No Fan Alone: Colorado Rapids Supporters and God, Country, Soccer.

1. Since these teams’ week 3 meeting that Kansas City won 1-0, they’ve certainly gone in far different directions. The Wizards have picked up as many points through their last 12 games as they did in their first 2, while Colorado currently sits in a four-way tie with FC Dallas, San Jose and Toronto FC for the eighth and final playoff spot. How did things go so right for Colorado, and who are some players that are responsible for their current league position?

The Rapids success this season can be attributed two main reasons: one, some of the pre-season acquisitions have really jelled with this club, and two, the defense has been very stingy.

The trades that brought in both Marvell Wynne and Jeff Larentowitz were immense. Both those players have hit the ground running, filling wholes that a lot of fans, including myself, didn’t know this team had. Marvell Wynne began the season at center back, something he had never done, and filled in quite admirably. Once Julien Baudet was healthy, Wynne moved to his normal right back spot and has been closing down gaps and controlling that right side all season.

Meanwhile, Larentowitz is a skillfull destroyer – a “Ginger Ninja,” as he is called. Larentowitz playing along side Pablo Mastreoni as the two holding mids has created a barrier in the midfield that opposing offenses have to plan for and get through in order to even get to the back four. Suffice to say that the opposition knows it’s going to have a tough day when they play the Burgundy and Blue. I would also be remised if I didn’t mention Drew Moor as one of those players that is responsible for the club’s success. His steady play at center back has been a calming influence and would get my vote for team MVP at this point in the season.