Forward position should be Real strength

Did Real Salt Lake invest too much on a 32-year-old striker? Clint Mathis has the talent to be among the best in MLS, but is he hungry enough? Who will score goals on days when Mathis is with the U.S. National Team and Jason Kreis needs a day off?

These are just a few of the questions facing expansion Real Salt Lake this season.

While these might seem like legitimate concerns to outsiders, RSL coach John Ellinger is tickled with the collection of forwards he's relying on.

Sure, Kreis is 32, but the league's all-time leading scorer is fitter than he's ever been, and he netted an incredible seven goals in the preseason.

"Jason has been phenomenal from the start," said Ellinger. "Because we were able to get him in a trade from Dallas, people thought he was on the downward slide, and that is absolutely not the case. He is a special player."

Kreis spent nine years in Dallas, but a slow start due to injuries prevented his production in 2004. That didn't scare RSL, as the franchise made Kreis its first player in a trade with Dallas last November.

Complimenting Kreis up top is Mathis, the Sports Illustrated cover boy leading up to the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

A star in the MLS from 1998 to 2002, Mathis decided to test his fortunes overseas with Hannover 96 in the German Bundesliga beginning in January 2003. He was an immediate hit in Hannover, scoring four goals in his first five game, but his production dropped off drastically after that.

His relationship with coach Ewald Lienen deteriorated during the next year, and when he learned Ellinger would be coaching an expansion team in the MLS, Mathis' agent immediately began making phone calls to try and get him back in the MLS.

Mathis didn't even care where the franchise was located, he simply wanted to play for Ellinger.

"The reason I'm here is John Ellinger," said Mathis, who played for Ellinger on two separate occasions in the past. "It's pretty much the sole reason I'm here."

Don't worry about motivation, either. Mathis made that perfectly clear during training camp in February.