Odd Grenland defender Nat Borchers has re-joined MLS after two years abroad, inking a deal with Real Salt Lake to complete his transfer from the relegated Norwegian club.

The 26-year old former Colorado Rapids man is closing up matters in Grenland before meeting up with his new teammates in Florida for preseason training.

Borchers, who was allocated to the Utah side in a special lottery, becomes the third American backliner to return to MLS from Europe in the last month after Ramiro Corrales and fellow RSL catch Ian Joy. For him, it was a simple desire to come home.

"Odd Grenland and the MLS reached a deal late last week regarding a transfer fee and I signed my contract with MLS yesterday," the Tucson native told American Soccer Daily on Wednesday.

"I had a garage sale on Saturday and my house is going on the market, so the process is moving along. I felt that after two years abroad I was ready to come back and play in the States."

Despite suffering the drop in 2007 after two difficult Odd seasons, Borchers says he's glad that he had the opportunity to see some of the world through sport and that he returns to America an improved defender.

"I have had a great experience playing soccer in Norway," he stated. "Though we battled relegation during the two years that I was there, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the pressures of the games."

"I was a starter for the better part of two years and that's a difficult thing to do as a foreigner. From a soccer standpoint, the experience made me a better player. I gained more of a tactical appreciation for the game and I feel like I became better at reading the game."

"From a personal standpoint, I got to experience another culture and learn another language, which is something I take a lot of pride in."

Borchers doesn't have to think too long to come up with the thing he'll always remember about his time playing in Norway's top flight.

"I'm probably going to miss the insanity of the sports media over in Europe the most," he laughed. "If there is even the faintest whiff of controversy, they will publish it."

"For example, the players on our team took a fat percentage test last week. The results came back and the coach made an off-hand comment that 'some of the players' needed to shed some fat - i.e. two of them. A member of the media took the comment seriously and the next day the front page of the local paper read 'Odd Grenland Players: Too Fat!'."

In his two season with Odd, Borchers worked 30 Eliteserien contests, scoring one goal.