SALT LAKE CITY — Johnny Russell played a lot of games against Real Salt Lake as the villain with Sporting Kansas City. He was the guy RSL fans loved to hate. But now he's on the other side of the rivalry after signing as a free agent with RSL.
"I've had experiences here in the past where it's not been so pleasant," said RSL forward Johnny Russell. "It's actually been pretty good so far."
Russell was high-fiving his new RSL teammates after training this week, something he never thought would happen during his playing career.
"Probably not," Russell said with a laugh. "I don't think anyone would have thought that, but it's funny how the game works. It's been a little bit of an adjustment for everyone, but I'm just excited to be here.
Russell did not play in RSL's game last week in San Diego, but after a full week of training he could play this Saturday in Vancouver.
"He hasn't even contributed on the field yet, but his presence is palpable," said RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni. "His physical matrix has been beyond what we expected, so there's a great chance he's going to contribute to this game at the weekend."
The 35-year-old following a lot of teams this year, looking for the right fit, and he thinks he found it with RSL.
"I think at this stage of my career, the project that they've got going on here, an exciting young team, extremely talented young guys who maybe just need a little bit of experience around, a little bit of help, that's what I'm here to do, on and off the field," said Russell. "Help as much as I can. It's exciting times ahead."
