Eddie Pope: the man to save Real Salt Lake?
The resurgence of Eddie Pope gets a write up in today's Salk Lake Tribune where they point to the centerback as the "key to turning around the team's fortunes."
After all the injuries of 2005, a healthy and confident Pope must be a welcomed sight for RSL fans. With thirteen new players added to the team during the off season (only three players remain from the opening-day starters), this is a team that is going to need a lot of leadership. Pope seems like the kind of player that could provide just that.
What is going to make Eddie so dangerous this year is his desire. At 32, he knows this will probably be his last chance at a World Cup. If he wants to be one of the lucky 23, he will need to continue to impress Bruce Arena by playing hard in his club matches.
"I'm close to where I want to be at," he said. "I'm trying to get better. There is a little bit of an adjustment [returning to RSL]. The international game is different in style to Major League Soccer."
If Eddie keeps pushing forward, he will be in Germany. The question is, can a team like Salt Lake make use of the power Pope will bring to the field this season? Last year, Real was really good at finding ways to loose matches they should have at least tied. If they can fix this problem, perhaps they will be on to something.
One thing to remember, last year Real seemed to be building their team around Clint Mathis. One has got to hope that Pope will turn out to be a safer bet.
After all the injuries of 2005, a healthy and confident Pope must be a welcomed sight for RSL fans. With thirteen new players added to the team during the off season (only three players remain from the opening-day starters), this is a team that is going to need a lot of leadership. Pope seems like the kind of player that could provide just that.
What is going to make Eddie so dangerous this year is his desire. At 32, he knows this will probably be his last chance at a World Cup. If he wants to be one of the lucky 23, he will need to continue to impress Bruce Arena by playing hard in his club matches.
"I'm close to where I want to be at," he said. "I'm trying to get better. There is a little bit of an adjustment [returning to RSL]. The international game is different in style to Major League Soccer."
If Eddie keeps pushing forward, he will be in Germany. The question is, can a team like Salt Lake make use of the power Pope will bring to the field this season? Last year, Real was really good at finding ways to loose matches they should have at least tied. If they can fix this problem, perhaps they will be on to something.
One thing to remember, last year Real seemed to be building their team around Clint Mathis. One has got to hope that Pope will turn out to be a safer bet.
Labels: Real Salt Lake
posted by Mike H at 11:22 AM
1 Comments:
Of course Pope Eddie the First is a safer choice but he'll be gong from May 9th until possible early July with the MNT.
RSL must find a way to a build a team that functions with Pope in the lineup to suceed this year.
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