Real Salt Lake needs Alvaro Saborio in solid form to make a deep run

SANDY — Real Salt Lake has certainly had some interesting characters at striker through the years. Whether it was Clint Mathis, Jeff Cunningham or Yura Movsisyan in previous years, to Fabian Espindola and Alvaro Saborio now, they've all had quirky personality traits.

That's somewhat the sentiment of strikers around the world — they're a different breed. They can go in and out of form from week to week, and sometimes from minute to minute within a match.

For Saborio, he was certainly in form last Saturday, and that's great news for Real Salt Lake.

"He's a fantastic player, and for this team to be successful we need him to be at his best," said Will Johnson.

RSL's record in MLS play this season was 6-1-2 when Saborio scored. When he didn't, it was 9-10-6. It's certainly no surprise then that RSL was an easy 3-0 winner last week with Saborio scoring twice.

In a season in which midfielders Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman certainly dominated the headlines both good and bad, no RSL player has had a more turbulent season than Saborio. Between the tragic death of a Costa Rican teammate, his failure in the Gold Cup, his march to the locker room and then his well-documented flop, he's dealt with a lot, but it's strengthened his resolve and he's a very dangerous player with the MLS playoffs getting under way.

"No doubt about it, he had some rough times with everything that transpired at the Gold Cup. … Those type of things don't happen every year. I think that would take a toll on anyone," said Johnson. "I think it's safe to say he's back, he's really positive and he's scoring some wonderful goals. It definitely seems like he has a smile on his face."

Johnson credits RSL teammates Morales and Espindola for getting Saborio through the tough times.

"We all go through bad times for one reason or another; you just need your teammates to stick up for you and support you. Javier and Fabian, they've been there for him, and now we're all reaping the rewards," said Johnson.

Saborio himself isn't one to open up publicly, or for that matter privately. RSL coach Jason Kreis said it took well over a year and a half until Saborio seemed comfortable talking with his coach.