Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake is responsible for one of the most improbable championship runs in American professional sports history, a club that won its title despite a losing regular-season record. Based in Utah, RSL built its identity on possession-based, technically sharp soccer under long-tenured leadership in its early years. The club's academy and youth development system has become one of the most respected in MLS. Real Salt Lake remains a scrappy, defiant presence in the Western Conference.

Founded in 2004, Real Salt Lake began MLS play as an expansion club in 2005. The club's signature moment came in 2009, when it won the MLS Cup on penalty kicks over the LA Galaxy despite having finished the regular season with a losing record — a feat unmatched in major U.S. professional sports. RSL returned to the final in 2013 but lost on penalties to Sporting Kansas City, and has not added to its lone MLS Cup since 2009.