VANCOUVER, B.C. – Justen Glad's up-and-down year is on an upward track again.
The 20-year-old was named Real Salt Lake's Defensive Player of the Year last season, earning him a call-up to the US Under-20 national team at the start of this year for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championships, but it was to be an occasion of mixed fortunes for the center back.
The US won the title and Glad excelled, but a knee injury at the start of the second half of the championship game saw him ruled out for nearly three months.
It was a big blow to the young player and to
Real
Salt
Lake
, but by the time he returned to action with RSL in June, it didn't look like he'd missed a step. He's been a key player and a regular starter since, and Glad is pleased with where his game is at right now.
"Getting called into the U-20s, first of all, was a huge honor," Glad told MLSsoccer.com after Saturday's 3-2 away loss to Vancouver. "I was happy I was cleared to play and get that experience. Then coming back, we kind of kept it going from last year. I got a lot of the same players around me.
"Everyone's supporting me. On the field, practice, getting better every day and everyone's encouraging me and tell me how to get better at this and that. It's helping me improve day in and day out and going forward, it's going to keep helping me improve."
Glad was one of the high points for
Real
Salt
Lake
in Saturday night's match. He put in an excellent and assured performance against a quick and dangerous Whitecaps attack, keeping the home side at bay for much of the match and preventing a bigger scoreline.
This is the first season new RSL coach Mike Petke has seen the defender firsthand, and he's impressed with what Glad offers his side.
"Justen's wise beyond his years as far as playing goes," Petke said. "He sees things perhaps that a kid his age takes a little bit more time to develop. He sees plays happen before, so he doesn't have to rely on going to ground a lot because he reads them.
"He's very confident with the ball at his feet. What Justen needs to do more of in his development is being more of a vocal leader back there. Take control of that back line."
Glad is now in his fourth season in MLS after signing out of the academy in 2014. He's continued to improve year upon year and is still at an age where he feels there's more to come once he fine tunes his development areas, and Petke has no doubts at all about what might lie ahead.
"He has the world at his feet, to be honest with you," Petke said. "I do a lot of talking with him and the other young guys, that their career from now on is what they make of it. They have such great opportunities. They could be here.
"Justen could be the captain of this club in the future and win championships. Perhaps he could go to
Europe,
who knows? It all comes down to him. We like what we see in Justen, we like the way his development's coming, and I think the sky's the limit for him."
Glad is continuing to turn heads with his play at both the club and international level, and after some standout performances with the US U-20s, talk is already gathering about a call up to the senior team down the road.
Does he feels that puts any added pressure on him?
"No, I love it," Glad said. "It's a goal of mine and just to have other people talk about it, it reaffirms that it's something that is definitely possible if I keep working and that's how I look at it."
