Ex-RSL Players :: Where Are They Now? Pt.5

Yura plays for a second division team in Russia so I doubt he would command those type of salaries. Maybe if he is picked up by a Premier Division team but not playing for a second-tier team. http://www.fckrasnodar.ru/main/team/main/players/13676.html

He is, however, only about 450 miles from Armenia so it's easier for them to call him up for national team duties and maybe closer to some family.

 

Uhhhh, no, Krasnador is not a second division team in Russia, they are Russian Premier League team and have been since 2010. Right now Krasnador is sitting 9th in the RPL table:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/tables/_/league/rus.1/russian-premier-league?cc=5901

 

Not only is he in the premier league of Russia, but he has more goals than Samuel Eto'o. The guy who is getting paid with bags of cash on a weekly basis.

If he keeps on the path he is, the future is really really bright.

If he does make it to the EPL, my bet would be on Arsenal. They love his type

 

My bad, I read an older story (2009) where they were still in second division.

I TAKE IT ALL BACK...!

 

what the hell is that avatar? I love it.

 

It's the statue of Zidane's head butting incident that was recently erected in France. I don't remember where the statue is located, but I don't think it is something that France would want to be reminded of. I think it's funny, but I also think it would be a sore spot for their national team fans.

 

It is in Paris at the Pompidou Center: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19748545
Love this because I use the video of the head butt right after showing an awesome video of Zidane's incredible skills to show how regular watchers of soccer know Zidane as the awesome player, but casual watchers who probably just watch the World Cup Final only know him as "That Headbutting Guy." Indeed, several students see me start the video of the incident and say, "Oh yeah, this is that head butt thing!" The idea is how we often form what we think are complete understandings of a person's personality based on small slices of behavior we observe. Those that have observed more, know Zidane's skill has to be taken into account, also. Those who only saw that World Cup Final think he's just a hothead.

 

Agreed. Watching that game live was the biggest "WTF?" moment. France had dominated the tournament. They sent Brazil packing, and the cup was all but theirs. Then Zidane gets sent off and everything goes Italy's way (not meaning calls, just that France's most dominating player was now gone and it had to have messed with the team's psyche). I'd think that any France fan would want that moment to be swept under the rug and forgotten. Erecting a statue of it just doesn't make sense. That's like Cleveland erecting a statue of LeBron or Art Model (maybe not quite to the same degree).

 

The French are just so confident in their knowledge of Zizou's greatness that they believe that even the lowest point of his career is worth commemorating. Or maybe: he's so transcendentally amazing that his other feats cannot be captured by a mere work of art -- only at his most mundane and imperfect can his awesomeness be fully represented.

Or something. Maybe they're just happy that, for once, they have a hard-ass for a role model.

In any case, I LOLed when I saw it, and now it's my avatar.

 

This isn't just like Cleveland erecting a statue of LeBron, this is the equivalent of Cleveland erecting a statue of LeBron reenacting "The Decision" scene with him picking Miami. Just a total W.T.F. thing to do, almost as big of a W.T.F. moment his headbut was. I also remember watching it live, I was just in total shock, thinking to myself "did that just happen? really?" I was cheering for Italy (ya ya ya, suck it, I'm Italian), but France was pretty much controlling the whole match up to that point. Then the wheels came off...

 

I think it's a reminder that none of us are as great as our best moment, nor as bad as our worst moment. (paraphrasing my father).

 

And a reminder to French children that if they don't drink their wine, Zizou will headbutt them in their sleep.

 

Ex-RSL player Robbie Russel assists kind-of-ex-RSL player Nick Deleon for the game winner in New York. Man, I really wish we had Nick Deleon on our team.

 

Ex-RSL trialist Mario Martinez gets the game winning goal versus RSL. 1-0

 

Please rub it in. I'm not sure I could feel WORSE right now, but let's throw a little salt in the wound and find out.

 

*Bitter Tears*

 

Or when to stop playing it.

 

Maybe having fmr RSL player succed when they leave the team says something about the enviroment they were in.

 

Buh?

In any case, I'd rather see former RSLers tear it up than fail their way down the US soccer pyramid, like they seemed to do pre-2010.

 

Seriously, this tells you more about the team at least being able to identify talent. Original comment was pretty pointless, there have always been some former players go on to have successful stops, but most former players in the RSL 1.0 era were AWFUL. Seems like there have been more recently, but it's not without an attempt by RSL. Some of these are players that were traded at their request (Russell), some are players that RSL got screwed on (DeLeon), some are players that RSL agreed on with other teams (Rose, Martinez), some took the next step in their careers (Movsisyan, maybe Findley) and there are others that RSL just failed to capitalize one. If anything the culture here has brought players to the team that otherwise may not have wanted to come, Sabo came for the CCL, Gil DEMANDED to come because of Kreis and winning, and almost all the guys would tell you that this is a place and a team they want to play for. Nobody has bad mouthed this organization/culture/environment in a long long time, since the pre-Kreis days.

 

This is very true. Kreis has - smartly - created an environment that is highly thought of by players around the league. RSL has a reputation for (a) being a pretty good team, (b) playing a style that is attractive and fun to play, (c) having a good locker room, and (d) treating players well. This is smart because there are few tangible things about SLC that will lure players here - this is not a "destination" team that people dream of playing for. In SLC you can't entice players with celebrity fans, deep-pocketed owners, a big-market TV deal, etc. The only things SLC has to go on is nice scenery, and it's a good place to raise a family. But I dare say those things don't matter as much to most soccer players as TV deals do. Since RSL can't do much to overcome those things that are out of their control, the only way to entice players here is to be known as a great club to play for. In that regard I think Garson has done a fantastic job, and we have players here who are evidence of that.