'He just makes plays': Whether CMF or RB, Emeka Eneli plays pivotal role for Real Salt Lake
The 25-year-old "late bloomer" out of Cornell showed why Real Salt Lake extended his contract through 2028, with an option for 2029.
Emeka Eneli had just assumed the role of right back in a shifting, sometimes-three back formation, but here he found himself getting forward.
The RSL center midfielder moved back as Diogo Gonçalves replaced Braian Ojeda in the 61st minute of the club’s MLS Cup playoff second leg against Minnesota United, trailing 1-0 due to Joseph Rosales’ goal in the 53rd minute.
But just over 10 minutes after the substitution, Eneli assumed possession in midfield and slalomed through a couple of defenders before dishing a one-time pass toward Matt Crooks.
The Englishman exchanged touches with RSL captain Chicho Arango around the edge of the penalty area, when Crooks saw Eneli making a run. So the 6-foot-4 attacking midfielder deftly lifted a ball towards Eneli’s under-lapping run into the box, and the Nigerian-American dual national finished past Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair to level the match at 1-1.
Of course, Minnesota would go on to eliminate Salt Lake 3-1 via penalty shootout, with St. Clair getting the last laugh like he did five days earlier in a similar shootout in Sandy, Utah.
But were it not for Eneli, Real Salt Lake may not have gotten to that extra session. And much of the same can be said for Eneli’s 2024 campaign, his second as a professional that prompted RSL to extend the former No. 25 selection in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft out of Cornell who has displayed versatility, toughness and savvy in more than 60 games as a professional.
“Emeka came in as an attacking midfielder, and over the course of a year, we played him at right back and in the middle, because one of his strengths is carrying the ball and being aggressive with his dribble,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said. “The third man running in football is the hardest thing to defend, and Emeka is a very special player like that, in that he can play multiple positions and he’s great in the final third.
“He has great character, and his belief in himself helps manifest those moments for him,” Mastroeni added. “If you’re timid and scared, you’re never going to get things going. But he gets the ball, drives, dishes, gets it back; I think that’s how he just makes plays. We can talk about him getting in these spots and being dangerous. But when you’re in those spots, you have to make plays — and tonight, Emeka made a great play for us.”
Real Salt Lake’s season came to an end Saturday night in St. Paul, Minnesota, on a penalty kick shootout in front of 20,000 fans and a “Wonderwall” of Loons supporters witnessing likely their final match at Allianz Field this year.
But it wasn’t because of Eneli. Not hardly.
The Michigan-born, Ohio-raised former Columbus Crew Academy product has been everything advertised as a late-blooming college prospect who didn’t earn a Generation adidas contract had made himself indispensable in the Salt Lake midfield, operating the double pivot with as much of a deft touch as he played striker at Cornell and right back on RSL’s back line in a pinch.
Initially thought to be a right back at the next level, the 5-foot-9 Eneli has worked his way so astutely into RSL’s midfield that he won’t give up his position easily. And that’s a good thing for Salt Lake, at least for the next four years.
“I played that pivot this whole year, for 33 or 34 games,” Eneli said. “After playing the pivot for so long, you get used to it. This year, I’ve gotten more comfortable playing there.”