Rising and Falling
Hot or Not: Just Try and Beat Nick Rimando
Real Salt Lake's goalkeeper is on fire, bloody gloves and all, while a midfielder keeps improving in Belgium, and a center back is struggling to find his form after a big miscue.
BY
Jon Arnold
Posted
November 07, 2012
9:10 AM
Editor's note: Hot or Not runs every Wednesday.
Who's Hot?
Nick Rimando: The Real Salt Lake keeper wouldn’t have won any beauty contests after a 0-0 draw with Seattle in the first leg of their playoff tie. But a pretty face doesn't get a guy into the hot section of this feature. Rimando’s performance was plenty beautiful, making five saves including several that looked like sure goals.
On Thursday night, Rimando and RSL will play in front of a friendlier crowd in the deciding leg of the Western Conference Semifinal.
Sacha Kljestan: After a lull, Kljestan has reestablished himself as a starter at Anderlecht. Last year’s Belgian champions are seeing the benefits of his return. Kljestan has been on the left for their past two league matches, 5-0 and 4-1 victories. On Tuesday, Kljestan worked a gorgeous one-two with a masked Dieudonné Mbokani for the only goal in a 1-0 Champions League match against Zenit.
The win puts Anderlecht back in the conversation to advance from Group C, or at the very least to drop to the Europa League.
Geoff Cameron: Just weeks after appearing on the wrong side of this feature, Cameron is settling in well at right back for the Potters. The defender was man of the match in a 1-0 loss to Norwich and he landed on Match of the Day’s best XI of the weekend after making the most successful tackles of the day in the Premier League.
Who’s Not:
Omar Gonzalez: All that work getting back this season, the vast improvements the Galaxy defense made when he returned from injury and the moment that might be the lasting memory of Gonzalez’s 2012? A Victor Bernardez free kick rolling under him.
Luckily for Gonzalez, he gets a chance at redemption in San Jose on Wednesday night.
Robbie Findley: Yes, it’s been a long time since we’ve heard from Findley. After making three appearances for the U.S. in the World Cup, it’s been all downhill for him. Yet, there was a glimmer of hope that Findley would see an uptick in form after being loaned from Nottingham Forest to Gillingham of League Two. Unfortunately, he underwhelmed during the month and heads back to Forest unlikely to be any higher up on the team sheet. Findley’s contract is up this season, and it’s probably time for the forward to have a change in scenery.
November 07, 2012
9:10 AM
Jon Arnold (@ArnoldcommaJon) is a freelance writer based in Phoenix and the co-host of MLS in 30 on NASN.TV.