Wasatch Soccer Sentinel

Recently a question was raised who was the best Designated Player for RSL. The Designated Player Rule was implemented for MLS in 2007 (in a basic form), but the current version as we know it dates to 2012 with a few modifications in the years that followed.

Real Salt Lake has had 14 players that officially met the conditions. A survey was sent out on various social media sites asking supporters to rate those 14 players on a scale of 1-10; 130 responses were received. Here are the results in ascending order.

Ratings are the average of all votes, games/goals are from all competitions.

14th (1.6 rating) - Jeizon Ramírez (DP: 2020-21) - 10 games, 0 goals.

Does anyone remember Jeizon? He was signed by RSL in the 2020 offseason as a replacement for Savarino. He may have been a bit unfortunate that the season was cut short by the COVID lockdown. All 10 of his games for RSL came in 2020 as a substitute totalling 80 minutes, in 2021 he was loaned to the Monarchs making a mere 6 appearances and 1 goal. He was cut at the end of 2021.

13th (2.93 rating) - Diogo Gonçalves (DP: 2024-present) - 24 games, 3 goals

The most I will comment on Diogo is he’s still a work in progress. Thus far he has been very underwhelming as a DP, time is ticking away to move up from his present position.

12th (3.55 rating) - Sam Johnson (DP: 2019-20) - 37 games, 10 goals

Sam was signed before the 2019 season from Norwegian club Valerenga. He started very promisingly netting 9 goals in 24 games that year, but in 2020 the pandemic proved to be his undoing. He played 10 games in that shortened season, scoring 1 goal before news broke of a shooting at a party at his house during the lockdown. RSL terminated his contract with 4 games left to play.

11th (3.58 rating) - Sebastián Jaime (DP: 2014-15) - 33 games, 6 goals

Jaime was a midseason signing during the 2014 season from Chilean side Union Española. He got off to a rather disappointing start with no goals in his final 6 games of that year. 2015 was a slight improvement, but he was made redundant and got released just after the team signed Movsisyan.

10th (5.06 rating) - Juan Manuel "Burrito" Martínez (DP: 2015-16 ) - 47 games, 10 goals

“El Burrito” signed with RSL half-way through 2015 and made an immediate impact. Although he only made 1 goal and 1 assist in the final 8 games of that year, he also drew 2 PK’s with defenders being completely unable to cope with him. In 2016 he was on an excellent pace with 7 goals and 2 assists in the first 15 games, and he was a regular feature on MLS highlight reels for 2016 running past and through opponents, but by mid-season most defenders resorted to hacking him down to stop him. At the end of 2016 RSL and Martinez mutually ended his contract so he could return to Argentina for family reasons. Highlight reel

9th (5.15 rating) - Yura Movsisyan (DP: 2016-17) - 122 games, 32 goals

At the time, bringing Yura back to RSL seemed like a fantastic plan, after all he had been outstanding during his first run with the team from 2007-09, and he had been very good playing in Russia. It seemed to everyone like Yura was coming home, in retrospect however we should have seen the writing on the wall. While in Russia he had been sidelined with several injuries, and it seemed that they continued to plague him after his return. While he still scored goals, his numbers continued to drop off, and he was waived at the end of 2017, bounced around a few other teams, and officially retired in 2021.

8th (6.58 rating) - Albert Rusnák (DP: 2017-21) - 146 games, 42 goals

When Rusnák joined RSL many hoped he would be a ‘young Javi Morales’. He had plenty of promise coming out of Manchester City’s reserve team; and in many ways he lived up to the hope - in 2017 he was #4 on MLS’ 24 under 24. He continued to be an integral part of RSL through 2021 when he was up for contract renewal, and as the season began to wane many fans started to get concerned that no news was forthcoming from the team regarding Albert. As the season ended with the thread still dangling fans got the news from Rusnak himself, and then the disastrous news that the Sounders had signed him in the ultimate steal of the year. Highlight reel.

7th (6.79 rating) - Joao Plata (DP: 2015-16) - 202 games, 54 goals

Plata had been a promising young striker for Toronto when RSL traded to get him in January of 2013. He became best known for his speed - often outpacing defenders, however his small size frequently resulted in being bodied off the ball. He scored career high of 13 goals in both 2014 and 2016, but by 2019 his production fell off, he ended up being loaned to the Monarchs, then his contract wasn’t renewed for 2020. 2014 highlights

6th (6.86 rating)- Cristian Arango (DP: 2023-24) - 52 games, 25 goals

Arango had been a prolific striker for LAFC earning Newcomer of the Year for 2021, but they traded him to Pachuca to meet MLS roster rules. Needless to say LAFC fans weren’t too pleased when RSL “stole” him in June 2023; he made an immediate impact scoring 8 goals in the final 18 games, and starting 2024 it seemed he could be in competition for MVP and the Golden Boot. Then the summer hit. In July MLS announced that Arango was suspended for 4 games and the All Star Game for “violating the league’s anti-harassment policy”. When he returned he was a shadow of the player he was - production was almost non-existent for the remaining games, and RSL traded him to San Jose Earthquakes taking a loss in the deal.

5th (7.01 rating) - Jefferson Savarino (DP: 2017-19, 2022-23) - 145 games, 40 goals

Savarino first joined RSL on loan before the 2017 season coming off two standout years in the Venezuelan Primera División. He scored 6 times in 22 appearances that year which led to the team acquiring him permanently. In the next two years he became a starter, but his production didn’t greatly improve; he was traded to Atlético Mineiro in Brazil for a then-record transfer fee. Fast forward to 2022, RSL was once again in need of a striker (big surprise); thanks to MLS rules they had to perform a series of trades to get to the top of the allocation order that allowed Savarino to return to Utah. He was a fan favorite 2022-23 and led the team in scoring for 2023. At the end of the year he was once again transferred back to Brazil, this time to Botafogo.

4th (8.32 rating) - Damir Kreilach (DP: 2020-23) - 166 games, 56 goals

Damir took RSL - and MLS by storm. Joining the team from German side Union Berlin, he started off with an impressive performance in his first game, and things only got better. It didn’t take long before he was a fan favorite, got named team captain, and carried the team many times during difficult games. Sadly both sides couldn't reach contract agreement going into 2024 and ‘karate Kreilach’ was left a free agent to sign with Vancouver. highlights

3rd (8.72 rating) - Álvaro Saborío (DP: 2011-15) - 159 games, 79 goals

With Champions League games looming after winning the MLS Cup in 2009, RSL looked around for a striker with experience - and found one in Saborio, a Costa Rican side Saprissa legend. Signing him on loan from FC Sion in Switzerland Sabo took MLS by storm scoring 12 goals in 27 games and being named Newcomer of the Year for 2010. He continued scoring at a blistering pace becoming RSL’s top goal scorer of all time (which he still holds). Sabo’s departure was the unfortunate result of MLS budget restraints when RSL was forced to make deep cuts in 2015 to meet the salary cap. highlights

2nd (9.24 rating) - Kyle Beckerman (DP: 2015) - 377 games, 30 goals

2007 was an odd year for RSL. Their first coach (Ellinger) was fired just 4 games into the team’s 3rd season, and the team captain and leading scorer retired to become the new coach. Jason Kreis set about rebuilding the team into one that could start winning. One of his early moves was to trade for a talented young central defender from rival Colorado. Kyle quickly made his mark on the other side of the Rocky Mountains, becoming team captain and pushing the team to win the MLS Cup, the final of CCL, and a then 2nd MLS Cup run. Kyle retired at the end of 2020 and went on to coach college soccer at Utah Valley University. Thoughts about his retirement. MLS 36 series

1st (9.42 rating) - Javier Morales (DP: 2011-15) - 281 games, 56 goals

The only player to make a bigger impact on RSL than Kyle Beckerman was Javi Morales. He joined RSL a month after Kyle and the duo made up the backbone of the team’s midfield for RSL’s ‘golden age’, as well as hosting an early-internet video series The Kyle and Javi Show on youtube. Javi still holds 2nd in goals scored, 1st in assists, and 6th in games played. His departure marked one of the team’s lowest points in its history, but he was finally given due credit with his name etched on the west side of the stadium. highlights

Thanks to all who voted!