'Now this is home': RSL inducts legendary GK Nick Rimando into club's Ring of Honor
Real Salt Lake's legendary goalkeeper earned a permanent spots on his former home stadium's west side fascia Saturday — a moment long in the making.
SANDY, Utah — Never a native of Utah, few athletes have come to mean more to the Beehive State than Nick Rimando.
The legendary Real Salt Lake goalkeeper brought a title to his adopted home state in 2009, when RSL’s MLS Cup championship became the first professional championship won by a Utah team since the ABA’s Utah Stars in 1971.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be in Utah for more than 2-4 years,” Rimando said in delivering his appreciation to the city, state, fans and club that embraced him as one of their own nearly two decades ago at a press conference in his honor. “Now I’ve been here 19 years.
“This was supposed to be a stop on the road, trying to get back to the west coast,” he admitted. “Now this is home.”
Rimando was inducted into Real Salt Lake’s “Ring of Honor” before Saturday’s match against DC United, a fitting honor for the legendary RSL goalkeeper who also spent time in the nation’s capitol as well as the now-defunct Miami Fusion as a member of Major League Soccer’s “Project-40” that became Generation Adidas.
He’s the third member of RSL’s historic 2009 MLS Cup champion squad to see his name emblazoned on the west side of what is now America First Field in Sandy, joining former teammates Jason Kreiser and Javier Morales before him.
Kyle Beckerman, another great from the 2009-and-on era, is expected to receive the same honor by the club during the 2026 season, which will be Real Salt Lake’s 22nd in Major League Soccer.
It’s a group that means a lot to Rimando, too.
“We still have that tight-knit team bond like we had back in the day when we’re all here together,” he said. “It’s fun to be on there with them, and I’m sure there will be on there in the future.”
In addition to the installing his name on the west-side stadium fascia, RSL also unveiled a new mural Saturday, commissioned by a local artist to commemorate Rimando’s accomplishments.
Originally signed by RSL via trade in 2007, the southern California native and former college star at UCLA now makes Utah home, where he is the goalkeeper coach for the RSL Academy and Real Monarchs, the club’s reserve team in MLS NEXT Pro.
After 13 seasons in MLS, Rimando retired in 2019 as the league’s career leader in games played and started (514), minutes played (46,336), saves (1,705), goalkeeping wins (223) and shutouts (154) — a series of marks that remain to this day.
He also spent time with the U.S. men’s national team, including joining Beckerman at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with the Stars and Stripes.
But through it all, the Wall of the Wasatch always came home to Utah — and he’s made Utah his home ever since he retired.
“There were multiple MLS teams that called and wanted me to join their first-team staff,” Rimando said when he was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in May. “It just wasn’t the right time for me. When I retired, I wanted to have time with my kids and not take away that time from my kids.
“Being here in Salt Lake City is where I wanted to be … and then this opportunity came with Real Salt Lake and Real Monarchs, and I decided to test the waters here, to see if I liked coaching. I’ve really enjoyed it, and more than anything, it’s the relationships I’ve created with the goalkeepers.”
