Real Salt Lake: El Khalifi gets his first Real moment

SANDY — Rachid El Khalifi, a player Real Salt Lake has desired signing since February, made his long-awaited debut with his new club Saturday night.

The winger came on in the 67th minute, replacing a gassed Clint Mathis, and helped the club hold on for the 1-0 victory.

El Khalifi spent 10 days at Real Salt Lake training camp earlier this year, but the timing according to the club wasn't right to sign him. RSL's fundamental switch to a 4-3-3 formation raised the urgency to bring him in, which RSL officially did on July 28, signing him to a contract through the 2012 season.

El Khalifi's entire 10-year career prior to joining MLS has been in the Dutch second division with three different teams.

The 30-year-old had a chance to ice the game in stoppage time, but he put his right-footed shot well wide.

"I thought he did well, quite well," said RSL coach Jason Kreis. "He served in a nice ball from the right side that almost caught Robbie Findley at the back post, and obviously he had the chance to be the difference maker on the night and score the second goal, which I'm sure he wished he'd done a little better with."

Considering he was standing at the left side of the box, a left-footed shot might've been a wiser option from the right-footed El Khalifi.

Tactically, Kreis believes his new player is still trying to figure out RSL's system, but he's pleased to have another veteran attacking option.

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW: Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis served the second of his two-game suspension Saturday, and thanks to new league rules he wasn't allowed to have any communication with the bench.

He watched the game from a radio booth, which isn't uncommon actually. RSL assistant coach Brian Johnson typically watches the first half of matches from the press box and communicates what he sees to the coaches on the bench.

The league rule doesn't specify if Kreis can be sitting next to an assistant coach who is communicating with the bench, but considering his track record lately he wasn't interested in risking it.

"If we have an assistant next to us, then I feel like even if you're not going against the letter of the law you're going against the spirit of the law," said Kreis. "At the moment, I don't want to mess with any interpretations."

In his short tenure as RSL coach, Kreis has now missed six games because of disciplinary reasons and been fined $7,500.

Kreis will be back on the bench for next Saturday's home match against Houston.

ALL-STAR REUNION: Less than two weeks after the MLS All-Star Game at Rio Tinto Stadium, seven members of the MLS All-Star Team were in the starting lineup for Saturday's league match.

Real Salt Lake was represented by Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson and Javier Morales. Seattle's All-Stars were Kasey Keller, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Freddie Ljungberg and Fredy Montero.

e-mail: jedward@desnews.com