Real Salt Lake opened their 2012 Major League Soccer with a win that was noteworthy, promising and convincing (we won’t say “surprising.”). They traveled to Southern California to face defending MLS Cup champions, the L.A. Galaxy, and walked away with a 3–1 come-from-behind victory.

This Galaxy team hadn’t lost at home in 18 consecutive matches, and, on paper, they’ve only gotten stronger since they won the MLS Cup. Real (Spanish for “Royal”) didn’t seem phased, though, playing against a team with a salary and a market measured in multiples of their own.

After L.A.’s Edson Buddle headed home David Beckham’s cross in the 71^st minute, RSL answered with three goals in 13 minutes from rookie Sebastian Velasquez, Javier Morales and Fabián Espíndola. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando put in a heroic effort as well, preserving the lead his team fought so hard for.

It’s just one game, but many around the league are breathing a sigh of relief knowing the mighty Galaxy can be defeated. Then again, RSL looked mighty enough that not many clubs will look forward to the day they play the boys with “XANGO” on their chests…

We’re proud as ever to be their partners and happy to see that, just like XANGO, Real Salt Lake bows to no one.

Click here to watch the highlights (listen for the awesome XANGO call-out at 6:30).

Click here for tickets to RSL’s home opener, Saturday, March 17.

XANGO Nation, it’s time to put on your RSL gear. (Unless you never took it off, in which case, carry on.) The 2012 season is upon us, and it’s loaded with promise!

The team’s preseason kicked off today with the first training session and the unveiling of their brand new uniforms.

The new kits held on to last year’s clean lines but added a little asymmetry for visual interest. Home jerseys are still claret and away jerseys are still white, but now the whole right sleeve of each is their signature cobalt blue. They’re clean, sharp and creative, just like Javi Morales’s passes.

The unveiling happened live on ABC 4 network, the team’s new television partner. XANGO’s Utah Distributors will be treated to 30 regular season RSL games this year—10 on ABC 4 and 20 their sister station, CW 30. Each game will be broadcast in HD (so the “XANGO” shows up clear and bright!) in an arrangement that’s turning heads all around the league. This top-quality coverage furthers RSL’s habit of setting the precedent. (See also: “First U.S. pro sports team with a jersey-front sponsor,” and “First U.S. team to reach CONCACAF Champions League Final.”)

Look below for a few photos of the team wearing their new gear, as well as Gordon representing in claret and cobalt. We’re proud to sponsor a team of overachievers like RSL, defined by the same characteristics we embody at XANGO: hard work, big dreams and a need to succeed.

Pick up the new jersey here in time for the season opener, March 10, against David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy.

XANGO will be riding the jerseys of Real Salt Lake to Southern California to take on the star-studded L.A. Galaxy for the Western Conference finals this Sunday.

The young franchise we’re so proud to support just keeps on overachieving, earning a 3rd place overall finish in the regular season that was good enough to guarantee them an automatic berth in the second round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.

Their foe was the mighty Seattle Sounder FC, who finished second in the regular season, winning seven of their last nine games. Real Salt Lake shone in the first of the two-game series with a dominating 3–0 victory in Utah on goals from Alvaro Saborio (two) and Ned Grabavoy.

The second game was rather more stressful, for players, coaches and fans alike. On the slick artificial surface of Century Link Field in Seattle, RSL was on the defensive for nearly the full 90 minutes. They surrendered two goals in the second half, but their grit pulled them through on an aggregate score of 3–2. Tony Beltran personified the team’s will to win with an acrobatic goal line clearance to keep the result a favorable one.

The Western Conference final will be played at the Galaxy’s Home Depot Center, with the winner advancing to the MLS Cup. The last time these two teams met in the post season was in Seattle when RSL defeated L.A. in penalty kicks for the 2009 MLS Cup championship.

Fans in or traveling to L.A. for the match can get a special discount on tickets here, with promo code “Xango.” Everyone else can watch it on ESPN at 9:00 ET.

We’re with you 100%, boys! Go get ’em!

It’s been an immeasurable good deed in the works for some time. Last year, local XANGO employees and Distributors saw little Jonah Gomez take the field at halftime of a Real Salt Lake match with David Archuleta to fulfill a dream of his. Earlier this year, we were able—along with soccer fans around the country—to put our names on the bone marrow registry in hopes of being a match for his biggest hope, a hope shared by his mother (Jessica), his sister (Ellie), the Real Salt Lake team, and countless others.

Watch the amazing story of Jonah Gomez and his family HERE on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It’s been a great community effort, and we want that effort to continue….

If you haven’t yet, click here to find out how you can register as a bone marrow donor.

As a global company (Yay, futbol!) founded in the United States (Football forever!), XANGO is no stranger to either variation of the game that carries the familiar name. Though our strong ties to Real Salt Lake of the U.S. and Udinese Calcio of Italy may beg to differ, XANGO is rather bipartisan in its preferences.

We’re more about education than opinion, and to reflect that we’ve commissioned a simple infographic to compare the two sports. The informative chart is available full-size HERE.

Give it a look and feel free to share which sport has your devotion.

In a close soccer game, the winner is usually determined by the little things: the weather, a set play, the skip of the ball on the turf—or 3,500 screaming XANGO fans shaking Rio Tinto Stadium! Real Salt Lake beat Sporting Kansas City 1–0 on the final night of GO! 2011 Convention, and the XANGO Nation gets the assist.

Distributors boarded chartered buses from the Salt Palace and enjoyed a little pre-game XANGO sorbet in a special tent outside the gates before making their way inside. The game sold out thanks to the huge force of XANGO faithful who sang, cheered, chanted and did the wave, spurring the home side to victory.

The stadium erupted when defender Nat Borchers headed home a free kick from RSL captian Kyle Beckerman early in the second half, and the goal stood as the game winner as goalkeeper Nick Rimando and his defense held off the visitors’ attack.

The Real Salt Lake front office played a special video message from Gordon Morton on the giant screen at half time in which he wished the team luck, thanked them for their amazing support of our company during our ongoing sponsorship and gave a shout out to the XANGO contingent in the crowd. Everyone present got to see the passion of XANGO—for the company, for RSL and for the game.

And the party didn’t stop when the match ended. Internationally acclaimed recording artists OneRepublic played a concert at the stadium and all the XANGO fans got to stay and rock out. It was an amazing show—one for Distributors from all across the globe. Fantastic music to open and close Convention. Here’s a huge thanks to all those who made it. Thank you for making the trip, thanks for cheering so loud for the XANGO boys of Real Salt Lake and thanks for partying with us. It was an unforgettable night to close a life-changing weekend.

XANGO employees celebrated a warm and happy midpoint to their 2011 with family and Founders at the annual XANGO summer party last weekend. This year’s event was held at the beautiful Rio Tinto Stadium and involved plenty of delicious tailgating before the Real Salt Lake game began.

The summer air carried the traditional scent of Joe and Eli’s famous chicken, prepared in possibly its biggest proportions yet! Under the big XANGO tents children were getting their faces painted, making RSL signs and enjoying balloon animals at the hands of a couple jolly clowns!

The half-time entertainment featured seven of our employees competing for the grand prize of a tropical trip to the island of Barbados! Congratulations, Barbara!

And though the game’s big goals may have come on the wrong end of the field, everyone had a wonderful time backing up our team for the full 90′.

This year is just getting warmed up.

Sadly, the hosts of the final, the 2009 MLS Cup champions, the XANGO Boys of Real Salt Lake, are not that champion. With a 23,000-fan army packed into the stands of their once-impenetrable fortress, RSL suffered an unfamiliar result—a 0-1 loss to CF Monterrey that stopped them one step short of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup.

It’s a tough blow at the end of a long road, but it won’t overshadow their many accomplishments on the way.

Real Salt Lake’s comprehensive performance in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament earned unprecedented attention from the American media and from Major League Soccer. Becoming the first U.S. team to win their Champions League group, and the first U.S. team to make it to the home-and-away finals, their remarkable team play throughout the tournament made an impression on more than one country—and they still have a lot to play for in 2011.

Congratulations, Real Salt Lake, on your historic Champions League showing! As did so many others, all six XANGO Founders made certain to show up to the match wearing their Real Red. You have the support of XANGO Nation.

Real Salt Lake comes into the match having already made United States soccer history by becoming the first Major League Soccer team to play in the finals, rank in the top 25 of the World Club Rankings, and be one of a few teams to earn a draw in a match played in Mexico.

This all important second leg will be a home match played at Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah.

The first leg of this series ended in a 2-2 draw, which gives Real Salt Lake the first tiebreaker advantage with 2 goals on the road. At the end of the second leg, all goals scored are added together and the Champion is determined by the total number of goals.

Anyone interested in US soccer, or soccer in general, or just in a manifestation of true beauty is looking at Real Salt Lake right now. Grant Wahl’s fantastic piece in Sports Illustrated, below, profiles the boys’ run for the CONCACAF Champions League trophy. Let us lend our voice (again!) to everyone across the country who’s cheering on the team in the snappiest jerseys around.

Read the full article here.

Last night, Real Salt Lake’s fan base multiplied many times over as they marched in Cost Rica carrying the hopes of an entire league. Fans, players and rivals from even the most unthinkable addresses took time to watch and wish well the XANGO Boys of RSL.

Riding their 2-0 win at home, and adding a masterful tally from superhuman center back Jamison Olave, Real Salt Lake took the semifinal series with an aggregate score of 3-2 for RSL.

Having vanquished Deportivo Saprissa, Real Salt Lake have become the first team in Major League Soccer to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League Final. Tonight they will find out who their opponent will be when Mexican clubs Monterrey and Cruz Azul meet up.

The two-leg final to decide who will represent the CONCACAF region this December in the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup will begin in Mexico on April 20, and will conclude at Real Salt Lake’s home at Rio Tinto Stadium on April 27!

We are prouder partners and bigger fans than ever before as historic firsts continue to come our way. If you haven’t already, join in the support for our Real Salt Lake!

The boys with XANGO on their chests hopped on a chartered flight Sunday night and stretched their legs out for a trip to Costa Rica. They’ll face Saprissa for the final leg of the two-game semifinal series in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament, representing not only their fans back home and the XANGO Nation, but all of Major League Soccer as they are the league’s final remaining representative competing in the international contest. Carrying a 2–0 advantage after a strong showing at home last month, Real Salt Lake will have to prove their worth in one of the Americas’ least friendly venues for visitors—San José’s aptly named “Monster’s Cave.”

Hear from stalwart center-back Jamison Olave, Coach Jason Kreis, former Sapprissan star Álvaro Saborío and RSL veterans Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando, and get a look inside the team’s training leading up to the match via part 4 of the series, “Champions League 360 — The Semis.” Then catch the game tonight at 10 p.m. ET (Fox Soccer Channel, Telefutura, CONCACAF.com). Shout at your television. They’ll hear you.

XANGO’s team Real Salt Lake demolished the ever-favorite LA Galaxy on Friday night. Within two minutes of the start of the game, Real Salt Lake had already scored their first goal and by half time they were dominating the Galaxy 3-0. The final score of the game was 4-1 in favor or RSL with a full stadium of fans there to witness the win. Though it’s just a couple of weeks into the 2011 soccer season, Real Salt Lake is off to an unbeatable start and could very likely continue this success. Join team XANGO in cheering on Real Salt Lake to many more wins to come!

The Real Salt Lake 2011 home opener is a big deal. For the team, for the league… and for the global contingent of XANGO Distributors and RSL fans! While it looks like Rio Tinto stadium will be sold out, this match has plenty of television coverage to bring the match to you—even if you’re as far away as Norway. Check below to find your country and the channel that will be airing the big game!

USA: Prime Ticket
France: Canal+
UK: ESPN
Brazil: ESPN
Spain: Sogecable
Denmark: Canal Digital
Norway: Canal Digital
Finland: Canal Digital
Sweden: Canal Digital
Slovenia: Šport TV
Singapore: Starhub
Hungary: Digi TV
Vietnam: VSTV K+

And finally, the match is available in the following African nations via Setanta Africa:
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros Islands, Congo Brazzaville, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, St. Helena, Swaziland, Togo, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe.

To all our fellow fans across the globe, we wish you a happy viewing!

Last weekend, Real Salt Lake played its first official match of the 2011 MLS regular season in a veritable monsoon. Playing at the home of the San Jose Earthquakes in California, the XANGO Boys were able to start their season off with a rain-soaked win in front of a poncho-clad crowd.

Within the mass of thinly waterproofed humanity was a cluster of XANGO Distributors who came out with Founder Bryan Davis to support the team. They hunkered down, cheered, and lived life as it should be—even in weather that shouldn’t have been. On a night where most people were curled up under a roof, these Distributors and fans pooled their voices and gave a tiny taste of the home field to Real Salt Lake! Props to them.

It was enough to get the team by until they return to their true home field—this Saturday at 7 p.m. locally—to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy. After putting away two teams at home already this year (in the Champions League), Real is looking to continue drawing out their record-setting home-unbeaten streak. Don’t miss it!