Stars will show, Real Salt Lake insists

According to Real Salt Lake general manager Steve Pastorino, soccer fans expecting to see megastars David Beckham and Ronaldo when Real Madrid visits here for a friendly with RSL on Aug. 12 won't be disappointed — even if neither can play.

RSL officials have been trying to dispel the notion for quite some time that Beckham, who injured his Achilles while playing for England in the World Cup, won't be visiting. And Pastorino said after Real's friendly with Mexican side Morelia on Wednesday that he expects Ronaldo, who recently underwent surgery on his leg, to also show up.

"We were told they expect everybody that's on the roster to come," said Pastorino. "They're bringing all their doctors and all their medics. They can do rehab while they're here. Time will tell. Injuries are always kind of touch and go, but we're optimistic that everybody's coming, including Ronaldo."

People continue to ask Pastorino whether Beckham will show up in Utah, and Pastorino continues to inform them that he will indeed be here.

"For some reason," Pastorino said, "people don't believe that David Beckham's coming. Beckham's coming. We've taken to putting that on every e-mail, thought (or) conversation."

Just over three weeks remain before Real Madrid's highly anticipated visit, and ticket sales remain brisk. According to Pastorino, just over 35,000 tickets have been sold. The exhibition will be played at Rice-Eccles Stadium, which has a capacity of 45,000.

Now that Real Madrid has started to make summer signings — World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson from Juventus joined Madrid on Wednesday — RSL officials expect to see the remaining tickets sell fast.

"I think we're in crunch time," said Pastorino, "and the final blocks of tickets will go pretty quickly."

Pastorino also said Wednesday that Real Madrid might visit Utah for longer than originally expected. Madrid will definitely be here Aug. 10-12, but there's a possibility the team will arrive earlier.

"It's going to be somewhere between three and six days now," said Pastorino.

ACOSTA DEBUT: Local product Adam Acosta made his debut with the senior team during Salt Lake's 3-1 loss to Morelia on Wednesday. The converted defender came on as a substitute at halftime and played 45 minutes at right back. He also scored Real's lone goal in the 91st minute.