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Player Spotlight

RSL's Luis Gil Knows 2015 Will Be a Pivotal Year

Despite Olympic qualifying in October, a new position to learn for Real Salt Lake, and a contract that expires soon, the 21-year-old midfielder is keeping his head down and focusing on his game. 

BY Brooke Tunstall Posted
April 20, 2015
3:10 PM
FOR SOME PROPER perspective on Luis Gil, it’s important to remember this: Had he been in this year’s MLS draft, the Real Salt Lake midfielder would have been one of the youngest players taken. 

Instead, Gil, who turned 21 late last year and was called up today as part of the U.S. U-23 national team's roster for a Wednesday friendly with Mexico, is beginning his sixth professional season and has already been capped twice by Jurgen Klinsmann at the senior national team level.

He has played more professional games at his age than any other American, ever—including players who were dominant as youngsters like Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, and Eddie Johnson.

But rather than comparing him to his age-group contemporaries, few of whom have played more than a handful of professional minutes, Gil is compared to the expectations that come with great promise and greater hype, a byproduct of a stellar youth national team career that saw him courted by the likes of Arsenal.

As such, there’s a sense among some observers of American soccer that Gil has not progressed as expected when he spurned European clubs and signed in 2010 with MLS. Helping fuel this perception was a 2014 season in which both Gil and RSL officials freely admit wasn’t to the standards the Garden Grove, Calif., native established in previous seasons. 

After starting 59 games and scoring eight goals and eight assists between 2011 and 2013, last season Gil started just 14 times and scored just two goals. Despite being signed in large part based on his playmaking ability, he did not register a single assist.

Was he pleased with his 2014 campaign?

“No, definitely not,” Gil recently told American Soccer. “But it was a learning experience. I had an injury that kept me out for a big chunk of the season. I had to learn to take care of my body during injuries and I felt like I forced things during my injuries and maybe came back too soon.

"It was a learning experience but it didn’t meet my expectations.”

Craig Waibel, RSL’s new technical director, spent last season as an assistant coach and was in training with Gil on a daily basis. One of the more candid people in MLS, Waibel didn’t gloss over Gil’s 2014 but also doesn’t think it means the midfielder is no longer an elite prospect. 

“He was 20 years old and had a little bit of a down year," Waibel told ASN. "But that could have been how we managed him. The truth is he was 20 years old and had his first average year as a pro. He wasn’t bad last year, he was average.

“Every other year as a pro he has excelled and got better every year. If every fifth year as pro he’s average, we have very little to worry about.”

As early as preseason Waibel saw signs that Gil had put last season behind him. 

 “He went away this offseason, took time to himself, played soccer for the enjoyment of it, rediscovered his enjoyment and swagger,” said Waibel, who spent 12 years as a pro player and who played against Gil late in his career. “He walked in this year at a higher level and was like, 'Last year’s over, move on.’ It’s pro sports; not every year is going to be perfect. He’s still one of the best young American players, probably ever.”

 For a player so young, this is a pivotal year for Gil, and not just because he’s looking to bounce back. He has a new role in Salt Lake’s 4-3-3 formation; he’s the centerpiece of the U.S. U-23 team that will look to qualify for the Olympics this fall; and on top of that, he’s out of contract after this season and will again be able to test the international waters.

Gil said playing abroad is still something he wants to do but isn’t opposed to extending his stay in MLS. 

“It’s definitely something in the plans at some point,” Gil said. “Until they say otherwise I’m here for this this next year and hopefully everything works out. And if it’s time to move on, it’s time to move on. If not, I’m happy where I am.”

Gil is in a unique situation rarely seen in MLS where a 22-year-old veteran of more than 100 games is a free agent while still having his best playing days ahead of him. There's no guarantee he sees them in Salt Lake City as he won’t come cheap, but MLS won’t want to overpay either. 

Giving an added twist to all this is that Gil’s agent, Mike Gartlan, has recently sent the likes of A.J. Soares and Robbie Kristo to Europe, a track record that shows he’s not bluffing when he uses foreign interest as leverage. 

Waibel made it clear that re-signing Gil is a top priority and knows it will likely take designated player money (in excess of $400,000 per year) to get him to stay in MLS.

“Oh yeah, absolutely, we’ve made that clear for more than a year now. That’s a clear message that we’re interested to have him resign and extend his time at Real Salt Lake,” Waibel said. “He’s a high priority but not only to us but to MLS and U.S. Soccer. It’s naïve to think we’re the only team interested in having Luis on our squad. Luis is a guy we can expect and continue to grow because he’s a great soccer player now but nowhere near his ceiling.” 

Part of the metric Waibel and the Salt Lake coaches must weigh with Gil is how best to use him. He was signed because of his natural playmaking ability, a classic No. 10 central midfielder playing behind the forwards. But Salt Lake already has an accomplished player at that position in Argentine veteran Javier Morales, a situation that has often forced Gil to play either wide or in a deeper position. 

Under previous coach Jason Kreis, RSL developed into one of the more possession-oriented teams in MLS with Morales as the lynchpin. It provided a great situation for an aspiring playmaker like Gil to learn the position but it also meant that role wasn’t open for Gil to play. 

The diplomatic Gil says playing out of position has made him a better all-around player. 

“It helped a lot—especially when Jason was here and I played outside. I had to be a player that needs to defend, be that two-way player. I felt like coming into the league at such a young age, at club soccer and the (youth) national teams I was the attacking midfielder. That’s all I’d do was attack.

"In a pro league you have to do both and if you do lose the ball, you have to get back and be on your grind.”

Morales is 35 so he’s closer to the end of his career than the beginning. At the same time, he’s still playing great soccer, as his 2015 statistics suggest. So is it worth paying Gil designated player money to continue to play out of position for a couple more years? 

“It’s a good question, it’s interesting for a number of reasons. We think Luis can play anywhere in midfield,” Waibel said. “It’s not like we’ve seen the best of him at any position and we think he can grow into any position in the midfield. When Javier Morales is playing in front of you, you have to be exceptional to take over. He’s on track to take that over and be exceptional but in terms of taking over there’s still a process.

"But it’s not something he doesn’t have the possibility to do.” 

This year Gil is playing a more central role as Jeff Cassar, who replaced Kreis as coach last year, switched to a 4-3-3 formation, a lineup that places Gil centrally as the glue between Morales and U.S. international Kyle Beckerman, who plays above the backline. 

“It’s a big transition for me from playing wide and I had to switch my game up a bit. I need to score and assist more in the new formation. I’m getting the ball more and getting it deeper and I’m kinda like the link between Kyle and Javier,” Gil said.  “It has a lot more movement than the 4-4-2, players shifting around. We all have to be on the same page.”

It’s still not his ideal position but Gil isn't complaining: “It is what it is,” he said. "I have to go with what’s needed to be done.”

Few Americans, particularly those as young as Gil, have ever played that attacking midfield role in MLS that Gil covets. But Waibel thinks it will happen and he believes Gil will flourish.

“It’s still in the cards,” Waibel said. “When Javy’s resting, the plan is that Luis would play that role and play it well. He did it a couple of times the past couple of years. The game against Seattle last year is one that sticks out: He was fantastic at the top of the diamond.” 

One of the few places where Gil gets to consistently be his team’s primary playmaker is at the youth national team level. He shined there for the U.S. at the 2013 U-20 World Cup and he’s playing there now for the U-23 team, which begins Olympic qualifying in October and has a tune-up this week against Mexico at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.

In a friendly late last month against Bosnia, Gil lined up at the No. 10 and had an eye-opening three assists in a 5-2 win. 

“Luis has a lot of potential. He is a very good technical player. He’s very confident on the ball and a good passer,” U.S. U-23 head coach Andreas Herzog told ASN via e-mail.

“With the national team, the main focus for me this year is the U-23s,” Gil said. “It’s obviously a big test for me, for my career, and I want to help the team qualify, especially because the last U-23 team didn’t qualify for the Olympics. It’s going to be a huge test.”

Despite being one of the younger players on RSL, “Luis has become a leader in our locker room. He’s a natural leader and the guys respect him,” said Waibel.

Gil has taken that leadership to the U-23s, where Herzog has installed him as captain. 

”In our team, I expect to him have more influence on and off the field," Herzog said. "We want him to dictate the rhythm and help direct our team movements on both sides of the ball. I want him to embrace a leadership role.”

But while the national team is a priority, MLS is where the bills get paid and a strong season for Real Salt Lake will go a long way in determining where he plays next year and how much he'll get paid to do so. Despite his pending free agency, however, Gil isn’t looking too far ahead. 

“I’m just focused on this year and having a good season. I’m not worried about anything else,” he said “My thing is, be successful with the team. If the team looks good, you look good. I’ll do what the team needs me to do and I know if I do that over time things will work out for the best.”

Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter

 

 

 

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