SANDY — He has lived from New York to Philadelphia, Tampa Bay to Houston. He has worked in the NFL and in the NBA. But Real Salt Lake President Bill Manning has come to Utah to return to his true love — soccer.

"I am a soccer guy at heart," Manning said. "I grew up playing the sport. I played all through little league and on through college. I played on a semi-pro team that won the Open Cup. Soccer has always been my passion. I am happy to get the chance to do something that has always been a part of me at this level."

Manning was hired as RSL president in April of this year. His road to that role is long and winding.

Growing up in Massapequa, N.Y., (Long Island) he played soccer at the highest levels. He continued his career by playing college soccer and being named an All-American in 1986 at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut where he earned both a B.S. and Master's degree. Manning continued his playing career and eventually won a U.S. Open Cup with the Brooklyn Italians, a semi-pro team in 1991.

"It was a pretty incredible experience," he said of winning a national title at that level. "I think I was the only white guy on the team. Back then, a lot of the best teams around the country were teams run by sports clubs in their cities. We had a guy from Brazil that played at the highest level there, and he was only like 31 years old. Another guy was from Club Deportivo, the same club that brought us Olave (Jamison), and he was like 30 or so, so these guys could still play."

Manning played professionally in the United Soccer Leagues (USL) with the Penn-Jersey Spirit (1991), Valley Golden Eagles (1993) and New York Fever (1994-95). He also started on his coaching certificates while playing and eventually earned his "A" level in March of 2001.

While Manning knew his playing abilities could take him only so far, he became interested in the business side of sports. He started in the front offices of some minor league soccer teams, eventually earning a great reputation for turning around the Minnesota Thunder — a team that Real Salt Lake became all-too familiar with after losing to the Thunder in a U.S. Open Cup match in 2005 despite current coach Jason Kreis's hat trick in that game.

In 1999, Manning was named the General Manager of the Tampa Bay Mutiny of Major League Soccer. Unfortunately, the team couldn't make it financially and was contracted prior to the 2002 season.