SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake winger Maikel Chang is a big New York Yankees fan and is excited by the opportunity of playing on the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium this weekend when Real Salt Lake takes on New York City FC.

Chang, 30, hails from La Habana del Este, Cuba, and grew up paying close attention to the game of baseball and the New York Yankees while developing as a soccer player in his home country.

“Aroldis Chapman, the closer for the Yankees, is somebody I admire and have followed the closest. It will be a very special moment for me,” Chang said midweek.

Difficult Move Stateside

Chang made the move from Cuba to the Charleston Battery of the USL Championship in 2013 before joining Real Salt Lake in 2018. Prior to his professional Major League Soccer debut, Chang played 184 games at the USL Championship level where he helped lead the Real Monarchs to their lone championship in 2019.

The transition to the United States has been far from easy, however. Chang rarely gets to see his family who all still reside in Cuba. When he first moved stateside he did not see his mother in years, he admitted in a recent press conference, and still to this day does not get to see his family often. He greatly misses them.

Maikel Chang ➡️ Damir Kreilach

Quality ball in. Quality control & finish from the captain. ©️ pic.twitter.com/gd4o5tq3Ul

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 10, 2022

This season Chang has been superb and has arguably been the unsung hero of the 2022 season for Real Salt Lake so far. He has played in all seven games and has started in six of them. Chang has contributed two assists in 2022 with his most recent occurring in last weekend’s draw at home against Toronto FC.

Fortunately, his family is able to stay up to date with his contributions to Real Salt Lake through social media.

“A lot of the time my mother is able to watch Real Salt Lake games through YouTube but sometimes the games are not available on YouTube. They [his family] will use other apps to follow the team and also rely on what the club posts on social media.”

Game Info

Real Salt Lake will head back onto the for a date with New York City at Yankee Stadium scheduled for next Sunday, April 17. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. and will be available to stream for free via the KSL Sports and KSL 5 TV apps or on KSL Sports dot com.