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name: Robbie Russell
position: D-M height: 6-2 weight:205 Birthdate: July 16, 1979 Hometown: Amherst, MA last club: Viborg FF (Norway) |
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| Regular Season Stats | full bio l year-by-year stats l video highlights |
| year | club | gp | gs | min | g | a | sht | sog | fc | fs | c | ej |
| 2009 | Real Salt Lake | 19 | 18 | 1,552 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| Career | 30 | 25 | 2,235 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 5 | 27 | 10 | 6 | 1 | |
Acquired
RSL: Signed to a Senior roster contract on 7/25 from Danish side Viborg FFThere were many reasons the Real Salt Lake Technical Staff coveted Robbie Russell during last summer's transfer window - his intelligence, athleticism, and cosmopolitan life experience all ranking towards the top. But it was the Duke product's versatility that stood out, and RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis put that to the test by playing Russell at the right back, right midfield and center back positions during his 11 League appearances in 2008. Russell fit like a glove at each spot, adjusting to MLS' style of play on the fly and doing the little things RSL needed to achieve its first-ever MLS Cup Playoff berth - and thriving once they arrived there by contributing two assists in the squad's semifinal series triumph over Chivas USA.
Russell was drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2001, but, rather than join the MLS ranks, the worldly player instead opted to continue a Scandinavian adventure that started with an amateur stint in Iceland prior to his senior season at Duke. Russell's European journey would entail three stops across eight years in the Norwegian and Danish first divisions, including a stint with Norway powers Rosenborg BK that put him on the short list of American players to participate in the world's premier club competition, the UEFA Champions League.
Offseason shoulder surgery put Russell behind the curve to start Real Salt Lake's preseason, but the veteran is slated to return to full health right around the start of the 2009 campaign, when RSL will once again lean on his ability and poise to improve upon last season's unprecedented results.
MLS Career
2008: Signed to RSL's Senior roster on 7/25 from Danish side Viborg FF One of five players with European club experience that joined the RSL roster in 2008 Versatile player saw time at right fullback, right midfield & center back during his 11 regular season appearances Made his RSL - and MLS - debut with a 17-minute appearance off the bench on 7/28 v. TOR in a 2-1 win Followed that up with his first MLS start and a 90-minute performance as a right back on 8/16 @ HOU in a 3-4 defeat Replaced an injured Nat Borchers at center-back on 10/18 v. DAL and put in a solid 90 minutes in partnership with Jamison Olave in a 3-1 victory Started in two of RSL's three MLS Cup Playoff appearances, registering two vital assists in 207 postseason minutes One of six players to record multiple helpers in the '08 postseason Helped RSL to victory in his 27 min. appearance on 11/01 v. CHV in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinal Series, his quick 90' throw-in ending up in the back of the net courtesy of a Javier Morales cross and Yura Movsisyan finish in a dramatic 1-0 win Helped RSL get on the board in Game 2 of the WSS @ CHV on 11/08, notching an assist on Dema Kovalenko's 39' tally in a 2-2 draw that advanced the squad to the conference final Played all 90 min. on 10/15 v. NY in a 0-1 loss in the Western Conference Final.
International Club Career
2006-08: Viborg FF - Danish Superligaen (First Division): Played in 31 contests for Viborg FF of the Danish first division in two seasons with the club Was a regular first-choice selection for Viborg in 2006/07, when he played in 26 contests Injuries limited Russell to only five appearances during the 2007/08 campaign.2004-06: Rosenborg BK - Norwegian Tippeligaen (First Division): Made 13 appearances for Rosenborg BK during portions of three seasons with the Norwegian powers Became the starter at right back for the squad during its 2004 championship season, logging nine appearances against league competition and four more during UEFA Champions League, making the short list of American players competing in the prestigious competition at the time Made substitute appearances in Champions League play on 9/14/04 @ Panathinaikos (1-2 L) and 9/29/04 v. Arsenal (1-1 T) Started and went the full 90 minutes in Rosenborg's next two CL games on 10/20 v. PSV Eindhoven (1-2 L) and 11/02/04 @ PSV (0-1 L) Injuries and a coaching change saw his playing time decrease during the latter half of his Rosenborg stint, as he made only two league appearances in both the 2005 and '06 Tippeligaen seasons before reestablishing himself in Denmark.
2001-04: Sogndal I.L. - Norwegian Tippeligaen (First Division): Scored four goals in 63 league appearances for Sogndal, establishing himself as one of the Norwegian Tippeligaen's best right backs during his tenure with the squad Got his feet wet during his Norwegian stint by playing in five contests during the 2001 campaign Followed that up with 24 appearances in both the 2002 & '03 seasons, scoring one goal each year Scored twice in 14 games during the first half of the 2004 season before being sought out by Rosenborg.
2000: Breidablik - Icelandic Urvalsdeild (First Division): His initial taste of European soccer came during an amateur stint with Icelandic side Breidablik in 2000 Made 12 appearances in Iceland during the summer prior to his senior campaign at Duke.
College / High School
Was a standout at Duke University, tallying 12 goals and 21 assists while starting 73 of his 75 games with the Blue Devils Was named a Second-Team All-American following his junior and senior seasons and was a member of All-ACC Teams during each of his four seasons in Durham Served as team captain during two seasons Named a Gatorade Parade High School All-American during his senior year at Amherst H.S. and played his club soccer with Western United F.C. out of Springfield, MA, and Boston-based club CRU.
Personal
Born in Accra, Ghana, the worldly Russell has lived on four different continents (Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe) Moved to the United States with his family as a teenager, landing in Amherst, MA Currently lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Tiana.
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