It’s no secret that Orlando City Head Coach Jason Kreis spent a lot of his MLS career with Real Salt Lake. He came in as a player in 2005 and finished with the team as a manager in 2013-- that’s nine full seasons with the club. This weekend, the Lions will travel to Real Salt Lake to finish off their three-game road trip at Rio Tinto Stadium. While it has been nearly four years since Kreis left Salt Lake City, he admits it will be nice to return to a place that meant so much to him.
“Salt Lake is near and dear to my heart, as is Utah in general,” Kreis said during training this week. “It’s where my kids grew up, that’s where I got my start as a coach, and that’s where a lot of good things happened in seven years coaching and two years playing, so nine years there. That’s a very long time. So, a place that’s very fond to me and for me, so going back there will be nice.”
Kreis started with Real Salt Lake in their inaugural 2005 season. He was the first player signed to the team in November 2004, and he scored the team’s first ever MLS goal in a 3-1 loss to the L.A Galaxy. He spent two years as a player, scoring 17 goals in 58 appearances before he became the team’s head coach in 2007. He remained their head coach through the end of the 2013 season. During that time, Real Salt Lake won their first MLS Cup in 2009 and appeared in the postseason for all but one season.
Kreis left a legacy in Salt Lake City. But this time, when he returns to Rio Tinto Stadium, he’ll be working for a new team and looking to leave his mark on the city of Orlando.
