Kreis is finding out, however, that it's even harder than he thought to acquire players midseason. With the help of technical director John Ellinger and assistant coaches Peter Mellor and Brian Johnson, the organization is speaking with other MLS teams about trade possibilities in addition to trying to identify players abroad.

"We need to do a better job of looking outside of our own country," said Kreis. "I think that's one area that all of us involved in Real Salt Lake can say has been a weakness."

When factoring in foreign players, it's obviously an overwhelming talent pool to choose from, but there are gems out there if the team looks hard enough. In the offseason Dallas signed Colombian midfielder Juan Toja ($100,008) and Argentine midfielder Pablo Richetti ($120,000) two players instrumental in FC Dallas' 2-1 win over Real on Sunday — two quality players RSL could use.

With approximately $300,000 in salary cap space, the framework is there for Real to go find those players. With the way things are going this year, success may hinge on how quickly things get done.

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E-mail: jedward@desnews.com