Freddy Juarez Committed To Aiding Real Salt Lake’s Cultural Concerns

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Real Salt Lake Manager Freddy Juarez could not have dreamt of a more chaotic first season in charge. The highs and lows of the 2020 MLS season helped Juarez further develop as a manager.

Chaotic Debut Season

The year began with uncertainty as the coronavirus pandemic blanketed the world forcing lockdowns in every corner of the globe. MLS began preparing for a bubble where players, coaches and key personnel were sent to Florida to compete in the MLS Is Back tournament.

Immediately following the tournament, the league implemented strict guidelines with the hope that the remainder of the season could be played. It worked, and the league began playing regional games across the country.

However, just as RSL started to settle into its new way of functioning, the “Black Lives Matter” movement erupted. On August 26, 2020, MLS players across the country, including RSL’s, opted to not play in games due to the ongoing police brutality against unarmed people of color. The suspension of play rubbed RSL’s owner Dell Loy Hansen the wrong way who expressed his disdain on a local radio station the following morning.

“Obviously, there’s a profound disappointment that the spirit that is Real was abandoned last night,” Hansen began his remarks. “We went through a profound amount of preparation during the COVID era to still be able to create our sense of community where people could be invited. Obviously we failed at a profound level.”

The boss#RSL names Freddy Juarez head coach

📰| https://t.co/T8XxGvkfi2 pic.twitter.com/auoN3KsoZe

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) December 3, 2019

The backlash to Hansen’s comments immediately occurred and shortly thereafter an investigation was conducted by the league surrounding Hansen’s actions.

The controversy was not a first for RSL. Unfortunately, the club had endured prior scandals over recent years. This one, however, felt different than the rest.

“There was a lot of starting and stopping and for me as a young coach I was like, okay, we’re having a lot of games so I need to make sure I keep guys fresh and there’s a lot of focus on that. I thought at times we just never had momentum because of multiple reasons like COVID, too many games, suspensions, I could have done a better job of managing,” Juarez told KSL Sports.

The chaos of 2020 certainly took a toll on the players, as was exemplified the further the season progressed. RSL’s only win over the last nine games of the season came against Portland on October 14th. The team was clearly overwhelmed.

Cultural Concerns

The culture of the team was bruised and Juarez was tasked with fixing it, all the while juggling the demands that a manager faces during a period of time where the greater population was struggling to stay afloat.

The culture of any professional sporting organization entails a number of different aspects; from the lockerroom environment to the relationships with employees, personal issues and any other area that can impact your wellbeing.

It takes time to create a positive culture and doesn’t take long for the culture to deteriorate.

Juarez decided that he had to adjust and make changes. He began reading and listening to any book he could get his hands on as it related to the culture in the game of soccer.

Quickly, he began understanding the importance of putting his own staff together. During 2020, he worked alongside assistant coaches that were not his, rather, they were the assistant coaches from the previous administration under Mike Petke.

The arrival of Igancio Hernandez and Pablo Mastroeni will hopefully provide a more stable platform for the players to work alongside. Building trust between the coaching staff and the coaching panel is vital for any culture to thrive.

Will you ever be able to forgive Pablo Mastroeni following that gesture from 2006?

He hopes so and has a plan to help mend that pain for you. https://t.co/Vp7jbXzQuN

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 6, 2021

“He’s been a coach in this league, but also a player that’s been at like the highest level. He’s played in two World Cups. So I felt that his experience would help the players. Also, being a head coach, being an assistant, he knows the role that I need from him,” Juarez said on the arrival of Mastroeni.

The cultural concern surrounding the club is worrisome, but make no mistake, if RSL can begin their 2021 campaign with more wins than losses, the positive culture of the club could quickly return.

Winning tends to solve most issues, that is of course, if you can win.