Almost exactly ten months ago, Matt Real made his first Major League Soccer start, going 75 minutes on the road against Colorado Rapids. At the time, Real was 18-years old and playing alongside Auston Trusty, another fresh-faced teenager new to the top level of American pro soccer. Two matches later, after the Union in the midst of a five-match winless streak, Ray Gaddis replaced Real in the lineup and held onto his spot for the remainder of the season.
The responses were predictable: Real wasn't ready; too green; not experienced enough to play alongside another teenager.
There was truth in that, but a player with Real's skills doesn't calcify in the state at which he hits Major League Soccer. If he's motivated and coached well, Matt Real can grow into a starting caliber left fullback, one of the most difficult positions to fill in all of soccer. And by the end of 2018, Brendan Burke was pointing to Real as one of the players on his Bethlehem Steel side that had made the most growth during the season.
"Last year coming into the year, the nerves were there a little bit," Real admitted as the 2019 preseason began. "It was my first year playing with this team, which I've worked my whole academy career to come up to. But I have the same approach this year - same mindset, same mentality. So hopefully this year I can keep working on the things I need to improve from last year and I can build on that."
One potential hurdle the young left back must clear is a change in playing style. Last season Philly was a very possession-based side, and this year the fullbacks may perform slightly altered roles as Jim Curtin implements some of the ideas brought in by Ernst Tanner.
"The things in my position, the qualities, the expectations of playing outside back - they've pretty much remained the same," Real explained. "I have a set of things I need to work on from last year. I'm going to keep working to develop those qualities so I can be a better all-around defender and outside back this year."
At the top of that list of things to work on? defensive positioning. Off-the-ball work is incredibly difficult to master for an outside defender, particularly one that thrives when pushing forward and contributing to attacks. Former Union fullback Keegan Rosenberry went through a sophomore swoon as he sought to rediscover his positional sense in 2017, and Real knows he must master this aspect of his game to become an everyday contributor at the top level.
"Last year, I definitely learned from a lot of the minutes that I got in with the first team," Real said during preseason training in Philadelphia. "Mostly from a defensive side of the game. Staying connected with the back four for me, is a priority going into preseason. And hopefully going into the season I can keep building from that."
The Union believe Real can and will build on what he learned with the first team and with Bethlehem Steel FC last season. The fullback was a standout performer for the United States U-20 side that defeated Mexico and earned a spot in the 2019 U-20 World Cup, and he highlighted his versatility by moving between center back and fullback. As the Union's slate of preseason matches begins on January 30, the 19-year old will be looking to continue that hot form against a New York Red Bulls side that, for all the talent they have pushed through from the academy, has never developed a fullback with the talent of Matt Real.
