Real Salt Lake CONCACAF Champions League Final Preview Conference Call - Javier Morales

Did you miss out on Monday's conference call with Real Salt Lake GM Garth Lagerwey, Javier Morales and Nat Borchers?  Never fear because I am here to bring you all the details (thanks to the good folks at RSL &MLS Communications):

Since there is simply so much information I am going to break this down into three parts, one for each participant, so to start us off here are the questions that were asked of RSL midfielder Javier Morales:

Does the loss of Kyle Beckerman involve quite a lot of reorganization of the midfield, or is there someone that is going to just slot in and you can carry on and approach the game the same way? 

Morales: "Kyle is a very important player for us, but last year when we played some games without him due to his foot injury. Fortunately we ended up doing really well. Luckily we have a strong and large roster with great players waiting to play, so let's hope that whoever gets on the field plays a great game and helps the team the same way as Kyle would. [But] without a doubt, we have lost the leader of the team."

more with Javi after the jump:

In the first leg, did Monterrey surprise you in any way with the way they attacked you or the way they defended? Were there any tactical surprises in the first game? 

Morales: "What surprised me the most was the way they attacked which made it so hard to defend because they rotate their positions a lot, and we can't easily hold them back. In both attack and defense, they are a very complex team, but we'll try to counteract their play on Wednesday and be in a position to win the match."

Do you have a sense that Monterrey is lacking any confidence right now? They've been struggling in the league, the late goal to tie the game last week and a number of injuries 

Morales: "They probably aren't coming here in their best shape. I believe they haven't won a game in about five or six games, we scored on them in the last minute, and their league performance is not the best. Also, I know that this is a one-time only opportunity for them, as well as for us, so I believe they will come and give it all to win the final, because this could be the only thing left for them to win this season."

What do you think about the support from fellow MLS teams? It seems like the League and the teams are really joining together and are really supporting you. 

Morales: "It is very important for us. Last week I was very thankful for the video they made with messages coming from players, coaches, and people from the League office supporting us. It really means a lot to us, and beyond representing Salt Lake City or the state of Utah, we feel we are representing MLS in CONCACAF. I really want to thank everyone again for their support."

What have you noticed from this ground-swell of support from fellow MLS teams. You battle them week in and week out and they are rivals, but it seems like certainly the league and the teams have joined together and are really supportive of your success. 

Morales: "It is very important for us. Last week I thanked publicly the video they made with messages coming from players, coaches, and people from the League office supporting us. It really means a lot to us, and farther from representing a city such as Salt Lake City or the state of Utah, we feel we are representing MLS in CONCACAF. I really want to thank everyone again for their support." 

Well there you have it, all of the questions  and answers from Javier Morales about the Champions League final on Wednesday.

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