RSL rested, relaxed, rarin' to go

Major League Soccer's All-Star weekend came at an opportune time for Real Salt Lake, even though the players no doubt would have preferred a few extra days off.

As RSL prepares for perhaps its most important week in franchise history, which includes a league game at Colorado on Wednesday and a showdown with Real Madrid on Saturday, the players are refreshed and ready to roll after a four-day weekend.

"It's an extremely long season, and it's good to have a couple days off when you don't have to think about soccer," said Real forward Jason Kreis. "Let the mind relax a bit."

The time off didn't just help the mind heal but Real's aching bodies as well.

Even though Nelson Akwari (hip) and Atiba Harris (hamstring) are still in some pain, players like Eddie Pope, Cameron Knowles and Jay Nolly are all nearing 100 percent, thanks to the extra rest. That's great news for coach John Ellinger, particularly with the week ahead.

As much as the players and coaches would love to get caught up in the hype surrounding Real Madrid's historic visit to Utah, they know it wouldn't be wise until after Wednesday's critical match at Colorado.

"This is a huge game," Kreis said. "Colorado is in front of us, we're chasing them, it's an away game, we need points, we have to stay focused."

As easy as it would be for Kreis to start looking ahead to playing the likes of David Beckham, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Fabio Cannavaro, he simply won't until Thursday. By then, Kreis hopes RSL will be riding a wave of momentum against the European juggernaut, and perhaps can pull off the upset like the MLS All-Stars did against English Premier League squad Chelsea over the weekend.

The 1-0 loss against Colorado last Wednesday was a U.S. Open Cup match and didn't negatively affect RSL's hopes of climbing back into the Western Conference playoff race.

"What we're trying to do is completely flip what happened in the first part of the season, and I think that's one of our biggest focuses," Kreis said. "In the first half of the season, we were 3-9-4, and the second halves goal is 9-3-4. So far, we're 2-1-1, so we're OK."

Salt Lake hasn't played a league game since its improbable 2-1 victory over D.C. United on July 29, and the euphoria from that match hasn't subsided.

A NEW HOPE: Jafet Soto is expected to join Real Salt Lake today, and coach John Ellinger said he expects a contract with the Costa Rican to be finalized by the end of the week.