Real address defensive woes

The Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake each surrendered 49 goals last year, tied for last in Major League Soccer. The discrepancy with which the organizations addressed their respective defensive needs this past offseason is rather interesting.

The Rapids began by trading away one of the best goalkeepers in the league in Joe Cannon but in the process added talented defenders like Greg Vanney, Ugo Ihemelu and Brandon Prideaux.

Real Salt Lake took a much different path.

First it traded for midfielder Freddy Adu, a move that coach John Ellinger insists will improve the team's overall possession and therefore ease the burden on the defenders.

RSL followed that blockbuster trade up by drafting rookie keeper Chris Seitz and then persuading defender Chris Lancos to return to MLS following a one-year stint in Germany. Considering that neither player is expected to be in the starting 11 for this Saturday's season opener against FC Dallas, was RSL proactive enough in addressing those defensive needs?

Real may not have made the same type of offseason splash as Colorado, but Ellinger believes his team didn't need to. He believes the necessary personnel were already on his roster — the injury bug just wreaked havoc last year.

In the eyes of the coaching staff, Daniel Torres was the defensive team MVP during the first half of last season while Eddie Pope was MVP in the second half of the season. Amazingly, the two only started three games together at central defender all of last year.

Among several other subtle lineup adjustments, Ellinger believes having his first choice central defenders on the field together throughout the season will be a major boost for Real Salt Lake.

"They're both extremely fast, both very technical, and don't panic under pressure, and I think that calming effect goes a long way in a 90-minute game," said Ellinger.

Even though Pope and Torres were together in the starting lineup nine times last year, only three were centrally. During the first six games, Torres was RSL's starting left back while Carey Talley started next to Pope in the middle.

Ellinger was forced to mix things up after the sixth game when Pope and holding midfielder Douglas Sequeira departed to join their respective national teams for the World Cup. With the duo away Talley shifted to holding midfield, while Torres moved into the middle.