Revolution Prepares for Son & LAFC

The New England Revolution needed a big win last weekend when they defeated DC United at Gillette Stadium along with the many Alumni that came to visit them from their inaugrial season like former US Men’s National Team International Defender and current Fox Sports Soccer Analyst Alexi Lalas, former goalscorer and current MLS Season Pass Analyst Taylor Twellman, former goalkeeper Matt Reis and the many other who wore those crayon throwbacks from 1996.

“We won the game. We scored two goals, that’s a positive. We defended well and got a clean sheet, that’s a positive. Our confidence grew as the game went on. First half, to be expected, was a little bit nervy. When you’re not getting results, that’s normal. I thought we grew into the game. We were excellent at 2-0, and we have to build on it from a confidence standpoint. We looked at the film today, there’s still a lot of little things we need to work on, and the next game is going to be a lot tougher. We need to play better in the next game to win.”

Now, the Revolution will be ready for a brand new opponent as Los Angeles FC heads their way, along with their brand new transfer window signing: South Korean international and former Tottenham Hotspur’s attacking midfielder, Son Heung-Min. Since his arrival, Son has already created a frenzy with the LAFC Fans, and knowing what he can bring to the table would be a dangerous moment against the Revolution.

“Every team has a good player. Obviously, [Son] is a really good player and maybe he’s one of the best players, but every team has good players in this league. I don’t think there’s a team in this league that doesn’t. I mean, look at DC, you can say what you want about them, but they had the leading goal scorer in the league last year [Christian Benteke], a world class player up top. The game prior to that [against] Montreal, maybe not having a great season, and they’ve got a guy who has 11 goals in [Prince] Owusu up top. So, no, nothing changes,” said Porter.

While Porter works up the game plan, it’s up to the players to face LAFC and now that Son is with them, they must execute that plan to perfection if they want to start a winning streak and make a run to knockoff three of the clubs that are ahead of them in the Eastern Conference Standings to steal a playoff position. Which is why Leo Campana will attempt that feat as well.

“Everybody knows what kind of a player [Min] is. He’s a top player. I’ve followed him since I
was really young in Tottenham. Coming into this league, you have these chances to play with the best in
the world, with these top players. So, I hope they keep coming [to MLS]. It’s going to be a tough game,
but we’re going to give it all and we’re going to go for the three points,” said Campana

Campana has had some good moments this season, but finally coming back healthy along with some of the other players, they are ready to go for a big match like this one, because it’s not just facing Son, it’s also Denis Bouanga, and scoring goals against Hugo Lloris in net to gain the advantage so the Revs can gain more confidence in the stretch run.

“Yeah, 100 percent. It’s a new team. We said at the beginning of the year that it was going to
be tough to get the idea of the coaches, to know each other, because I think 16 of the 24 players that
came this year are new. So, it takes time. I know we only won on Saturday, but as I said, it’s going to give
us a boost of confidence to go into the next games. We play against LAFC [On Saturday], everybody
knows that they are a really good team. We just have to give it our all, have confidence in us, and give our
best.”

When Carles Gil broke the club’s goalscoring record, it was such a wonderful achievement, going past club legend Taylor Twellman after going over the century mark and then some. Twellman was such a prolific goalscorer in his playing career, teaming up with Steve Ralston, Shalrie Joseph, and having Matt Reis in goal, terrorized the Eastern Conference, but could only muster a US Open Cup Title after failing to win MLS Cup multiple times.

“That’s [Gil’s] role, and that’s what he’s good at. He’s a number 10, a very good final passer, setup
guy, and chance creator with the ball. One of the best in the league and one of the best, for sure, in our
club’s history. I’m happy to have him. He has a great mentality, he’s a good pro. He has confidence, he’s
got quality, and he’s a true pro. I get the question a lot, ‘Is it hard managing pros?’

I always say, ‘No, because the best ones are easy to manage.’ The best pros I’ve had, the best players, are easy to manage. If you’re a bad pro, then yeah, you’re hard to manage. But usually, the best players aren’t bad pros. The best players are good pros, and Carles is a great pro,” said Porter.

Once again, this is a big game for the Revolution, as they desperately need the points to advance toward that playoff line and go above it. This LAFC side is going to be a huge test for the club, and they must find a way to get the full three points to push them forward and gain confidence to finish off the season in a flourish. This is the next building block that they must take to go forward.