From Deseret News archives:
New Real boss shows his analytical nature
It didn't take Lagerwey long to prove Kreis' point either. In both his pregame and postgame press conference Wednesday, Lagerwey discussed in relative detail his impressions of RSL and the direction he plans on taking the team.
The former MLS goalkeeper talked about the excitement of having three of the first 17 picks in next year's MLS SuperDraft — even though critics know the draft is often a crapshoot.
Lagerwey also talked about the specifics of the deal with Kansas City last Friday that helped the club add Yura Movsisyan but also a youth international roster spot.
"We have two players occupying senior international spots that we can bump down, so essentially this frees up a full senior international spot," said Lagerwey. "We have money underneath the cap, we have allocation money as well, so we are well positioned to acquire at least one if not multiple talented foreign players to add to this roster that we continue to make younger and we continue to make better."
As for what RSL might target in the offseason, Lagerwey said he would likely follow the trend of the league and go after high-priced attacking talent.
Lagerwey's self-stated goal is to have RSL's defenders, midfielders and forwards mimic the club's current goalkeeper situation — a proven starter being backed up by a hot prospect.
The pressure is on Lagerwey to make it happen, something Real owner Dave Checketts made pretty clear on Wednesday.
"He'll be totally devoted to player development, player drafting and player trades. He'll be Jason's boss, and that's going to be really clear," said Checketts. "He will be in charge of the performance of the soccer team in every way, and I'm going to let him do that job and trust him that he will."
Is someone who spent the last six years in the legal profession qualified for such a challenge? Lagerwey challenges people not to read too much into a resume.
In addition to working as an associate for Latham & Watkins the past three years, he worked as a color analyst for D.C. United broadcasts the past six years.
"From a player personnel evaluation position, TV's a great job," said Lagerwey. "In the last year I've sat down off the record with every team and every coach in this league in their locker rooms. I have a great depth and knowledge because I know how they feel about their team."
Lagerwey knows the personalities around the league as well.
In addition to being a former teammate of Kreis and current RSL players Nick Rimando, Kyle Beckerman and Andy Williams, by his recollection Lagerwey has played with eight of the league's other 12 head coaches.
"If you read between the lines a little bit, I have some things that make me well prepared to succeed in this job," he said.
Even though Lagerwey is comfortable around Kreis, they don't think the same way. By the nature of his legal work the last six years, Lagerwey says he's been trained to be a skeptic. Kreis, meanwhile, approaches a lot of things based on instinct and a strong mental approach.
"We've already had conversations where we look at each other and laugh," said Lagerwey.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com
