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How did the New England Revolution get here?
The 15th best team in the 26-team league when the 2020 MLS Cup playoffs began is suddenly the fittest side of the postseason, gearing up for Sunday’s Eastern Conference finals against Columbus Crew SC (3 p.m. ET, live broadcast on ABC). And the 1.39 points per game that led New England to the playoffs as the eighth seed in the East marked an improvement over the previous four seasons, when he averaged 1.26 points per game in that span.
The simplest explanation is the hiring of manager Bruce Arena in May 2019. In the 13 games that season before Arena took over, the Revs averaged 0.85 points per game; with him in charge, that figure rose to 1.52.
“The thing with Bruce from the beginning, I think all the guys realized and were really excited, was that he came in and it was essentially an open book,” New England forward Teal Bunbury told ESPN. “Everyone knew about his resume, all his expertise, his experience and the championships he won, but he came in and said, ‘Hey, you guys are going to make mistakes, we as a coaching staff and myself, Bruce Arena, I’m going to make mistakes, but we are all doing this to improve as a team … ‘as players, one likes to hear from a coach that it is not always in the players, it is not only in the coaches, we are a family.
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“From then until now, we’ve become a very close-knit group, and I’ve been saying it all year: I’ve never been part of a group as close-knit as this.”
Various league sources specifically cited Arena’s influence on this team as a reason for their success. It may not be the which is why the Revs are here, but it’s part of it. Seventeen players on the Revolution roster have college football experience; 19 are Americans. It is a group of manual workers full of players who, according to one source, “would die for the shield.”
“That’s typical of Bruce,” said ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman. “Bruce would rather go with guys who know the league, experience the league. That’s what he prefers.”
Arena chuckled at the characterization and asked what exactly a team built in his image would look like. Then the 69-year-old, who won five MLS Cups, three Supporters’ Shields and one United States Open Cup, quickly objected.
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“People talk too much about what they are going to do,” Arena told ESPN of his management philosophy. “We’re just trying to do it and not talk too much about it, we’re just going to work and try to improve. That’s what our culture is.”
But giving Arena credit for the change in New England alone doesn’t tell the whole story. There are countless people working behind the scenes to help make one of Major League Soccer’s original franchises relevant again, but the arrival of two men in particular – one before Arena, one after – has made a difference in 2020. .
“We’re not talking about the Revs if their two DPs didn’t show up,” Twellman said, referring to the game by Designated Players Carles Gil and Gustavo Bou.
After appearing in just nine of New England’s 27 games this season due to foot and Achilles injuries, it’s easy to forget that Gil was the 2019 MLS Rookie of the Year. And in three playoff games in the race to the Eastern Conference final, he has recorded two goals and three assists.
“I think he’s in the top seven players in this league,” Twellman said. “Yes [Gil and Bou] they’re healthy and playing like they’ve been for the last three or four weeks, so they’re probably a second or third favorite, and who knows, maybe even just one. “
Gustavo Bou and Carles Gil have been sensational when they were in shape for New England. Alex Menendez / Getty Images
Bou’s 2020 hasn’t been without its complications either, dealing with a bothersome injury down the stretch after carrying the creative burden of the Revs for much of the season as Gil recovered from Achilles surgery. His five goals and a lone assist in 22 regular season appearances are a considerable drop after scoring or assisting in 11 goals in 15 games upon joining the club in July 2019. However, now that the commercial end of the season has come. campaign, Bou has returned to his best level. He has three goals and one assist in the Revs’ three playoff victories, contributing directly to four of the club’s seven goals.
New England reportedly has more than $ 10 million committed to Bou’s transfer fee and salary; Gil had his own seven-figure fee. Arguably more important than their contributions on the field is what their arrivals mean to the club, both now and in the future.
“Property [has done] “Great job here,” Arena said. “They’ve invested in Designated Players, which they haven’t done in any detail before. So they’ve made a great commitment.”
Before Gil, Bou and their partner, Designated Player Adam Buksa, the most impactful cinematographer in Revolution history was Jermaine Jones, and he was signed by free transfer. The signing of that trio and the recruitment of Arena, arguably the most famous coach in American soccer history, illustrate the Kraft family’s commitment to the club.
“I think the property has always wanted Revolution to be a winning organization,” said Bunbury, who has been with New England since 2014. “I think the investment of creating a state-of-the-art multi-million dollar training facility kind of solidifies that.”
That $ 35 million training facility has few equals in MLS, and there’s a chance the Revs will add a specific soccer stadium in Boston that would be the envy of most clubs in the league. A source told ESPN that progress is being made on a new house downtown, but that “progress” was difficult to define.
“Progress in Nashville, there are shovels on the ground. Progress in Cincinnati, the lights are coming on,” the source said. “Progress in Boston is defined in different ways because of how difficult it is to get downtown land. However, they’ve progressed in the sense that you say to yourself, ‘This thing has a legitimate chance.”
If that stadium in the heart of Boston becomes a reality, not only will the Revolution’s presence at this stage of the postseason be no longer a mystery, it could become the norm.
“Ultimately, the goal will be to build a soccer stadium in downtown Boston,” Arena said, “and that will be the final touch on what the owners can do to put this franchise on top.”
Source: espn.co.uk
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