SANDY, Utah - It was the homecoming that everyone was waiting to see, and possibly the last time Javier Morales would see the field at Rio Tinto Stadium, but it wasn’t meant to be on Saturday night.
After two straight appearances in the FC Dallas Starting XI, the 10-year RSL veteran was left on the bench in his first trip back to Utah since joining his new club. It seemed all-but assured that Morales would come into the match as a sub - not only because of the situation, but because of his ability to orchestrate the attack and also to slow the game down.
However, with a 2-0 lead in the dying minutes of the match, Oscar Pareja opted for another defender on the field to assure his club’s first win at Rio Tinto Stadium in over a year.
“It was in our plans, [but] not just because I wanted to make an emotional moment for Javi,” Pareja said. “I wanted to bring him into the game because - the only reason is - he is going to help us. And that is the way I respect Javi, we all respect Javi. He gets in the field for a purpose and he understands that, he is a very mature player.”
“It was nice especially because I saw a lot of friends out in the stadium, on the field, off the field, so the fans that was great,” Morales said after his return. “But I didn’t have the opportunity to play, so [I'm] a little sad for that…The coach decided not to play me and I understand this is for the team and not the player and I had to move on.”
From the moment he stepped off the team bus, the Maestro was inundated with familiar, friendly faces around every corner. He stopped and said hello to each and every one.
After warmups, RSL’s Owner, Del Loy Hansen, gathered Kyle Beckerman, Tony Beltran and Nick Rimando - themselves 10-year veterans of the club - to present Morales with a framed Claret-and-Cobalt No. 11 jersey and a collage of photos from his time in Salt Lake.
“When I went out for the first time for the warm up, that was a little tough,” he said. “A lot of people there and that was nice. I knew before that it could be emotional, and it was...that was nice, and my old friends like Kyle, Nick and Tony was there. I was so happy.”
“I know everybody was waiting for Javi to come into the field,” Pareja said. “We were aiming to bring him in as well and not for the reason to bring him in so late but just that he can help us like he always does.”