Official: Freddy Juarez leaves RSL for “new opportunity”

It’s fully official now. Real Salt Lake coach Freddy Juarez has left the club, and the club is indicating he wasn’t fired — but that he’s leaving for “his next opportunity.”

A club-issued release doesn’t give much detail to the “why” portion, with quotes from Elliot Fall being the only direct source here. Quotes follow.

From a club-issued release, RSL general manager Elliot Fall:

I’ve had the incredible opportunity to grow with Freddy in this organization over the last 11 years. It has been an honor and a pleasure to share this experience with him. We are a better Club for the contributions Freddy has made, he leaves Real Salt Lake with a legacy that we will appreciate for years to come. He is an extremely talented coach who will bring passion and expertise to his next opportunity.

Today we immediately begin an exhaustive search for the right person to lead our Club to our desired and expected levels of success. With our combination of talent, infrastructure, commitment to development, and the local relevance thanks to our incredible fan base, we are uniquely positioned to usher in a new era of growth and success for Real Salt Lake and the Utah sports community.

Despite only joining us prior to this season, Pablo Mastroeni knows our roster more intimately than anyone. He is the ideal person to take the reins right now and continue our push for a playoff berth. We have the utmost confidence in his ability to maximize the talent on our roster in the short term.