Scrappy midfielder bringing bite to RSL

Carey Talley's opinion of Kyle Beckerman sums up precisely why Real Salt Lake jumped at the chance to acquire him earlier this week.

"Whenever you play against him, he sees it as you against him. He makes it a more personal thing," said Talley. "Whenever we'd play him, I couldn't stand playing against him, but he was always a guy I would take on my team in a heartbeat."

By trading Mehdi Ballouchy to Colorado, Beckerman's now on Talley's side, and RSL's toughness quotient just doubled or tripled.

"He's a player that has some real bite and real competitiveness and has a tendency to get under opponents' skin, and I think that's good," said Real coach Jason Kreis. "I think we need more of that."

With Beckerman on the pitch, Real Salt Lake opponents will likely find dominating possession and the flow of the game to be much more difficult.

As for Beckerman, he's thrilled to be out of Colorado, where he no longer has to deal with head coach Fernando Clavijo. Following his second training session with RSL on Thursday, the 25-year-old midfielder said it was refreshing, nothing like the past few months with the Rapids. It was professional and competitive.

"I feel like what we have here in the coaching staff and ownership, it's not what they have in Colorado, and that's a big thing," said Beckerman. "Right now this is a better situation to be in than in Colorado."

Beckerman doesn't appear to be brown-nosing his new teammates and boss either. He truly believes RSL is moving in the right direction, unlike his former club.

"We've got some great players; there's no reason why we shouldn't be winning," said Beckerman.

Following exhibition matches in the coming week against Everton and Boca Juniors, Beckerman says he's prepared to do whatever it takes to help RSL capitalize on three-straight home matches and inch back in the playoff picture.

That won't be easy for a team with just one victory this season, but Beckerman has the defensive and offensive moxie to make that type of impact.

"I feel like if I get a chance to score I can score, and if I get a chance to set up a play I can set it up," he said. "Also, sometimes games don't happen like that, and I just have to be a scrappy player and win balls and kind of be a pain in the neck to the other team."

That last thought encompasses Beckerman's reputation around the league, but it's that reputation that makes him one of the best in the business.