VOLUME 3 ISSUE 17 MATCHDAY NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION vs. chicago fire PRESENTED BY: 18 MID juan Toja DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCE saturday, october 20, 2012 at 7:30pm Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
www.revolutionsoccer.net team rosters NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Hometown Last Team 1 Matt Reis GK 6-1 205 3/28/1975 Mission Viejo, Calif. Los Angeles (MLS) 2 Flo Lechner DEF 5-10 170 3/3/1981 Ellwangen, Germany Karlsruher SC (GER) 3 Tyler Polak DEF 5-9 150 5/13/1992 Lincoln, Neb. Creighton 5 A.J. Soares DEF 6-1 170 11/28/1988 Solana Beach, Calif. California 6 Michael Roach MID 6-1 165 11/18/1988 St. Louis, Mo. Saint Louis 7 Blair Gavin MID 6-0 165 1/8/1989 Scottsdale, Ariz. Chivas USA (MLS) 8 Chris Tierney DEF 6-1 170 1/9/1986 Wellesley, Mass. Virginia 11 Kelyn Rowe MID 5-8 150 12/2/1991 Federal Way, Wash. UCLA 13 Ryan Guy MID 5-8 160 9/5/1985 Carlsbad, Calif. St. Patrick's Athletic (IRL) 14 Diego Fagundez MID 5-8 140 2/14/1995 Leominster, Mass. Revolution Under-16s 17 Sainey Nyassi MID 5-8 155 1/31/1989 Bwiam, Gambia Ports Authority FC (GAM) 18 Juan Toja MID 6-1 175 5/24/1985 Bogota, Colombia Aris Thessaloniki (GRE) 19 Clyde Simms MID 5-9 170 8/21/1982 Jamestown, N.C. D.C. United (MLS) 22 Benny Feilhaber MID 5-9 160 1/19/1985 Irvine, Calif. AGF Aarhus (DEN) 23 Blake Brettschneider FWD 6-1 172 4/11/1989 Lilburn, Ga. D.C. United (MLS) 24 Lee Nguyen MID 5-8 150 10/7/1986 McKinney, Texas Vancouver Whitecaps FC (MLS) 25 Darrius Barnes DEF 6-1 175 12/24/1986 Raleigh, N.C. Duke 26 Stephen McCarthy MID 6-5 190 7/21/1988 Dallas, Texas North Carolina 27 Jerry Bengtson FWD 6-1 165 4/8/1987 Santa Rosa de Aguan, Honduras CD Motagua (HON) 30 Kevin Alston DEF 5-9 160 5/5/1988 Silver Spring, Md. Indiana 34 Bobby Shuttleworth GK 6-2 205 5/13/1987 Tonawanda, N.Y. Austin Aztex (USL) 39 Saër Sène FWD 6-3 185 11/4/1986 Paris, France Bayern Munich II (GER) 40 Tim Murray GK 6-2 190 7/30/1987 Haverhill, Mass. Providence 80 Fernando Cardenas FWD 5-4 150 4/30/1988 Cartago, Colombia America de Cali (COL) 92 Dimitry Imbongo FWD 6-0 160 3/28/1990 Kinshasa, Congo 1860 Munich II (GER) 99 Alec Purdie MID 5-10 185 11/24/1988 Elkhart, Ind. Indiana Head Coach: Jay Heaps Assistant Coaches: Jay Miller, David Vaudreuil Goalkeeper Coach: Remi Roy chicago fire No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Hometown Last Team 1 Jay Nolly GK 6-3 205 1/2/1982 Littleton, Colo. Vancouver (MLS) 2 Wells Thompson MID 5-10 155 11/25/1983 Winston-Salem, N.C. Colorado (MLS) 3 Dan Gargan DEF 5-11 175 12/14/1982 Philadelphia, Pa. Toronto FC (MLS) 4 Alvaro Fernandez MID 6-1 159 10/11/1985 Soriano, Uruguay Seattle (MLS) 5 Cory Gibbs DEF 6-1 180 1/14/1980 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. New England (MLS) 6 Jalil Anibaba DEF 6-1 175 10/19/1988 Davis, Calif. North Carolina 7 Sherjill MacDonald FWD 6-1 174 11/20/1984 Amsterdam, Netherlands Beerschot AC (GER) 8 Dominic Oduro FWD 6-1 160 8/13/1985 Pramso, Ghana Houston (MLS) 9 Frederico Puppo FWD 5-8 160 12/6/1986 Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay Danubio F.C. (URU) 10 Guillermo Franco FWD 5-11 168 11/3/1976 Corrientes, Argentina Pachuca (MEX) 11 Daniel Paladini MID 5-9 165 11/11/1984 Northridge, Calif. Carolina Railhawks (NASL) 12 Logan Pause MID 5-10 155 8/22/1981 Hillsborough, N.C. North Carolina 13 Gonzalo Segares DEF 5-11 162 10/13/1982 San Jose, Costa Rica Apollon Limassol (GRE) 14 Patrick Nyarko FWD 6-1 165 1/15/1986 Kumasi, Ghana Virginia Tech 17 Pavel Pardo MID 5-10 150 7/26/1976 Guadalajara, Mexico Club América (MEX) 18 Chris Rolfe MID 5-8 146 1/17/1983 Kettering, Ohio Aalborg (DEN) 19 Corben Bone MID 5-9 160 9/16/1988 Plano, Texas Wake Forest 20 Tony Walls DEF 5-11 185 1/16/1990 Wauwatosa, Wis. Wisconsin-Green Bay 21 Michael Videira MID 5-10 170 1/6/1986 Boston, Mass. AC St. Louis (USSF) 22 Austin Berry DEF 6-2 180 10/6/1988 Cincinnati, Ohio Louisville 23 Arne Friedrich DEF 6-1 170 5/29/1979 Bad Oeynhausen, Germany VfL Wolfsburg (GER) 25 Sean Johnson GK 6-3 217 5/31/1989 Lilburn, Ga. Central Florida 27 Victor Pineda MID 5-11 140 5/15/1993 Bolingbrook, Ill. Chicago Fire Juniors 28 Steven Kinney DEF 6-1 175 10/28/1987 Norcross, Ga. Elon 70 Paolo Tornaghi GK 6-2 175 6/21/1988 Milan, Italy Inter Milan (ITA) 71 Alex MID 5-8 155 12/15/1988 Sao Paolo, Brazil FC Wohlen (SUI) 94 Kellen Gulley FWD 6-1 185 4/6/1994 Clinton, Miss. Chicago Fire Juniors Mississippi 99 Hunter Jumper DEF 6-2 175 2/28/1989 Dallas, Texas Virginia Head Coach: Frank Klopas Assistant Coach: Mike Matkovich, Leo Perkovich, Aron Hyde 3
statistics 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (7-17-8, 29 pts.) THROUGH GAMES OF OCTOBER 6, 2012 UNF POS PLAYER GP GS MIN G A SHT SOG FC FS OFF CK C E 39 F Saer Sene 25 23 1934 11 3 75 35 20 37 15 0 0 0 24 M Lee Nguyen 30 27 2386 5 2 60 18 31 49 0 35 3 0 11 M Kelyn Rowe 28 20 1785 3 4 42 20 19 23 5 25 1 0 8 D Chris Tierney 26 25 2264 2 4 22 10 14 13 0 56 4 0 80 F Fernando Cardenas 26 8 948 2 2 25 9 12 14 4 2 1 1 23 F Blake Brettschneider 17 10 892 2 1 17 9 10 11 10 0 0 0 27 F Jerry Bengtson 11 8 771 2 0 18 6 10 13 9 0 0 0 21 M *Shalrie Joseph 18 15 1481 1 3 12 4 29 23 0 0 4 0 14 F Diego Fagundez 18 6 616 1 2 15 8 6 5 2 0 0 0 22 M Benny Feilhaber 28 22 2057 1 2 42 16 29 70 1 31 5 1 13 M Ryan Guy 21 18 1652 1 2 32 12 18 16 6 0 3 0 25 D Darrius Barnes 11 9 837 1 0 2 1 8 5 0 0 3 0 92 F Dimitry Imbongo 7 3 308 1 0 13 3 11 16 5 0 2 0 9 F Jose Moreno 7 5 376 1 0 10 7 4 4 4 0 1 0 5 D A.J. Soares 28 28 2431 1 0 10 4 26 22 1 0 3 0 30 D Kevin Alston 29 29 2443 0 1 12 2 33 39 0 0 3 0 7 M Blair Gavin (TOT) 9 4 310 0 1 3 2 0 2 1 3 0 0 7 M Blair Gavin (NE) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 D Florian Lechner 9 7 599 0 1 5 0 4 12 0 0 0 0 26 D Stephen McCarthy 28 27 2308 0 1 7 3 22 28 1 0 2 1 19 M Clyde Simms 27 27 2123 0 1 14 4 14 7 1 0 2 0 4 D John Lozano 2 2 155 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 1 0 17 M Sainey Nyassi 1 0 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 D Tyler Polak 1 0 30 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 99 F Alec Purdie 5 1 123 0 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 G Matt Reis 27 27 2430 0 0 1 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 32 F Bjorn Runstrom 3 0 32 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 34 G Bobby Shuttleworth 5 5 450 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 18 M Juan Toja 4 0 120 0 0 3 1 4 8 0 0 1 0 15 M Jeremiah White 2 0 31 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 40 G Tim Murray 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 F Michael Roach 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Own-goals received 2 Team totals 32 32 2880 37 29 439 173 330 461 64 149 39 3 Opponent totals 32 32 2880 44 44 422 153 461 330 89 156 56 2 GAME-WINNING GOALS: Saer Sene 2, Chris Tierney 1, Kelyn Rowe 1, Lee Nguyen 1, Dimitry Imbongo 1, Fernando Cardenas 1 GAME-WINNING ASSISTS: Chris Tierney 2, Saer Sene 1, Lee Nguyen 1, Shalrie Joseph 1, Benny Feilhaber 1, Diego Fagundez 1, Kevin Alston 1 PENALTY KICK GOALS/ATTEMPTS: Saer Sene 1-1, Lee Nguyen 1-1 * = Played with other teams in 2012. Only New England Revolution statistics listed here. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION INDIVIDUAL GOALKEEPING UNF POS GOALKEEPER GP GS MIN SHTS SV GA GAA PG PA W L T SO 34 G Bobby Shuttleworth 5 5 450 20 15 5 1.00 0 0 1 3 1 1 1 G Matt Reis 27 27 2430 133 92 39 1.44 3 3 6 14 7 6 Team totals 32 32 2880 153 107 44 1.38 3 3 7 17 8 7 Opponent totals 32 32 2880 173 136 37 1.16 2 2 17 7 8 12 4
the team 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 1 Matt Reis 2 Flo Lechner 3 Tyler Polak 5 A.J. Soares 6 Michael Roach 7 Blair Gavin 8 Chris Tierney Kelyn 11 Rowe Ryan 13 Guy Diego 14 Fagundez Sainey 17 Nyassi juan 18 toja Clyde 19 Simms Benny 22 Feilhaber Blake 23 Brettschneider 6
www.revolutionsoccer.net the team Lee 24 Nguyen Darrius 25 Barnes Stephen 26 McCarthy Jerry 27 Bengtson Kevin 30 Alston BOBBY 34 SHUTTLEworth Saër 39 Sène Tim 40 Murray Fernando 80 Cardenas Dimitry 92 Imbongo Alec 99 Purdie Head Coach Jay Heaps Assistant Coach Jay Miller Assistant Coach DAvid vaudreuil Goalkeeper Coach Remi Roy 7
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 34 Shuttleworth 99 Purdie 25 Barnes 13 Guy 30 Alston 11 Rowe 18 Toja 19 Simms 80 Cardenas 14 Fagundez 27 Bengtson 7 MacDonald 4 Fernandez 14 Nyarko 18 Rolfe 12 Pause 11 Paladini 13 Segaras 23 Friedrich 22 Berry 6 Anibaba 25 Johnson chicago fire 8
series history 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION vs. chicago fire results Overall: 14-19-9 Home games: 10-8-3 Road games: 4-11-6 LAST five MEETINGS 8/18/2010 New England 1 at Chicago 2 L 6/18/2011 Chicago 1 at New England 1 T 9/25/2011 New England 2 at Chicago 3 L 6/2/2012 Chicago 0 at New England 2 W 8/25/2012 New England 1 at Chicago 2 L player to watch 14 Patrick Nyarko In seven appearances against the Revs since 2008, Patrick Nyarko has one goal and two assists including the game-winning assist when the two teams last met on August 18. In 2012, the fifth-year Ghanaian midfield/forward tallied three goals and a team-leading seven assists through 32 games. series information Saturday s match will be the 43rd MLS regular-season meeting between the two teams and the 62nd meeting overall, including MLS Cup playoffs, U.S. Open Cup and SuperLiga meetings Chicago leads the all-time regular-season series between the two teams, 19-14-9 in all meetings, Chicago holds a 29-22-10 edge in the series The Revs are 10-8-3 against the Fire in Foxborough, including an 8-5-2 record at Gillette Stadium The Revs 2-0 victory on June 2 against the Fire snapped the Revs 10-game winless streak (0-7-3) against Chicago in the regular season that dated back to October 6, 2007 Saturday s match concludes the three-game regular-season series between the two clubs this year the Revs won the first meeting, 2-0, on June 2, at Gillette Stadium while Chicago won, 2-1, at Toyota Park on Aug. 18 Chicago won the 2011 regular-season series after defeating New England, 3-2, on Sept. 25 at Chicago following a 1-1 draw on June 18, at Gillette Stadium The Revs are a combined 3-10-4 in all competitions against the Fire since the start of the 2008 season... that record includes 11 regular-season games, four playoff matches and two SuperLiga games New England and Chicago have met at least five times per season (regular-season, playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, SuperLiga) six times since 2002 in 2007 and 2004, the clubs only played each other four times each the high came in 2006 when the teams met seven times four times in the regular season, twice in the playoffs and once in the Open Cup The Revs and Fire have met in seven of the last 10 postseasons (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) in total, the teams have met in the playoffs in eight seasons, all since 2000 player notes Ryan Guy is the team s active leading scorer against Chicago with has two goals in three appearances against the Fire Guy recorded two stoppage-time goals at Chicago on Sept. 25, 2011 Kelyn Rowe has recorded one goal and one assist against Chicago, both coming on June 2, 2012 Benny Feilhaber also recorded a goal and an assist in the 2-0 victory against the Fire on June 2, 2012 Fernando Cardenas is the only other active Revolution player to score a goal against Chicago as he scored the Revs lone goal in the 2-1 loss when the teams last met on Aug. 18, 2012 Diego Fagundez recorded his first career assist on Ryan Guy s second goal against Chicago on Sept. 25, 2011 Matt Reis is the Revolution s all-time wins leader against the Fire with eight, and has posted a 1.45 goals against average and six shutouts Reis also has three career postseason shutouts in seven appearances against Chicago Getty Images/John Gress 10
revolution schedule 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION schedule Subject to change. Updates will be listed on revolutionsoccer.net. All times listed Eastern. DAY OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (ET) TV RESULT Sat., March 10 at San Jose Earthquakes Buck Shaw Stadium 10:30PM CSN L, 0-1 Sat., March 17 at Sporting Kansas City Livestrong Sporting Park 8:30PM CSN L, 0-3 Sat., March 24 vs. Portland Timbers Gillette Stadium 4:00PM CSN W, 1-0 Sat., March 31 at LA Galaxy The Home Depot Center 11:00PM NBC Sports W, 3-1 Thurs., April 5 at FC Dallas FC Dallas Stadium 8:30PM CSN L, 0-1 Sat., April 14 vs. D.C. United Gillette Stadium 4:00PM CSN L, 1-2 Sat., April 28 at New York Red Bulls Red Bull Arena 3:30PM NBC Sports L, 0-1 Wed., May 2 vs. Colorado Rapids Gillette Stadium 8:00PM CSN W, 2-1 Sat., May 5 at Real Salt Lake Rio Tinto Stadium 9:00PM CSN L, 1-2 Sat., May 12 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC Gillette Stadium 7:30PM CSN W, 4-1 Sat., May 19 vs. Houston Dynamo Gillette Stadium 7:30PM CSN T, 2-2 Sat., May 26 at D.C. United RFK Stadium 7:30PM CSN L, 2-3 Sat., June 2 vs. Chicago Fire Gillette Stadium 7:30PM CSN W, 2-0 Sat., June 16 vs. Columbus Crew Gillette Stadium 7:30PM CSN T, 0-0 Sat., June 23 at Toronto FC BMO Field 4:30PM CSN T, 2-2 Sat., June 30 vs. Seattle Sounders FC Gillette Stadium 7:30PM CSN T, 2-2 Sun., July 8 vs. New York Red Bulls Gillette Stadium 7:00PM CSN/Galavision W, 2-0 Sat., July 14 vs. Toronto FC Gillette Stadium 7:30PM CSN L, 0-1 Wed., July 18 at Montreal Impact Saputo Stadium 8:00PM CSN L, 1-2 Sat., July 21 at Sporting Kansas City Livestrong Park 8:30PM CSN T, 0-0 Sun., July 29 at Philadelphia Union PPL Park 7:00PM NBC Sports L, 1-2 Sat., Aug. 4 vs. Sporting Kansas City Gillette Stadium 7:30PM CSN L, 0-1 Sun., Aug. 12 vs. Montreal Impact Gillette Stadium 7:00PM CSN L, 0-1 Sat., Aug. 18 at Chicago Fire Toyota Park 8:30PM CSN L, 1-2 Sat., Aug. 25 at Columbus Crew Crew Stadium 7:30PM CSN L, 3-4 Wed., Aug. 29 vs. Chivas USA Gillette Stadium 8:00PM CSN T, 3-3 Sat., Sept. 1 vs. Philadelphia Union Gillette Stadium 7:30PM CSN T, 0-0 Wed., Sept. 5 vs. Columbus Crew Gillette Stadium 8:00PM CSN W, 2-0 Sat., Sept. 15 at D.C. United RFK Stadium 7:30PM CSN L, 1-2 Sat., Sept. 22 vs. New York Red Bulls Gillette Stadium 7:30PM CSN T, 1-1 Sat., Sept. 29 at Houston Dynamo BBVA Compass Stadium 8:30PM CSN L, 0-2 Sat., Oct. 6 at Philadelphia Union PPL Park 7:00PM CSN L, 0-1 Sat., Oct. 20 vs. Chicago Fire Gillette Stadium 7:30PM CSN Sat., Oct. 27 at Montreal Impact Saputo Stadium 2:00PM CSN 12
standings & schedule 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION mls eastern conference standings Eastern Conference GP W L T PTS GF GA STREAKS LAST 10 Sporting Kansas City 32 17 7 8 59 40 26 Tied 1 6-0-4 Chicago Fire 32 17 10 5 56 45 39 Won 1 7-3-0 D.C. United 32 16 10 6 54 49 40 Won 1 5-2-3 New York Red Bulls 32 15 9 8 53 54 46 Lost 1 4-3-3 Houston Dynamo 32 13 8 11 50 45 38 Tied 1 3-3-4 Columbus Crew 32 14 11 7 49 40 40 Tied 1 6-3-1 Montreal Impact 32 12 15 5 41 45 50 Tied 2 5-3-2 Philadelphia Union 31 10 15 6 36 35 37 Won 2 3-3-4 New England Revolution 32 7 17 8 29 37 44 Lost 2 1-6-3 Toronto FC 32 5 20 7 22 35 60 Lost 3 0-7-3 mls western conference standings Western Conference GP W L T PTS GF GA STREAKS LAST 10 San Jose Earthquakes 32 19 6 7 64 69 40 Won 1 6-1-3 Real Salt Lake 32 17 11 4 55 46 35 Won 3 5-4-1 Seattle Sounders FC 31 14 7 10 52 48 31 Won 1 5-2-3 LA Galaxy 32 15 12 5 50 56 45 Lost 1 6-2-2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 32 11 12 9 42 35 40 Won 1 2-6-2 FC Dallas 32 9 12 11 38 39 42 Tied 2 4-2-4 Colorado Rapids 32 9 19 4 31 40 50 Lost 1 2-5-3 Portland Timbers 32 7 16 9 30 32 55 Lost 1 2-4-4 Chivas USA 32 7 17 8 29 22 54 Tied 1 0-8-2 Last week s results No Games THIS week s results Wednesday, October 17 Real Salt Lake at Seattle, 10 p.m. Saturday, October 20 Montreal at Toronto, 1:30 p.m. Kansas City at New York, 7 p.m. Columbus at D.C., 7:30 p.m. Chicago at New England, 7:30 p.m. Philadelphia at Houston, 7:30 p.m. Colorado at Chivas USA, 10:30 p.m. Sunday, October 21 LA at San Jose, 7 p.m. Portland at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Dallas at Seattle, 9 p.m. Goal scoring leaders PLAYER TEAM GP GOALS Chris Wondolowski SJ 30 25 Alvaro Saborio RSL 20 17 Kenny Cooper NY 31 16 Robbie Keane LA 26 15 Goalkeeping leaders PLAYER TEAM GP MIN SHTS SVS GA GAA W-L-T SHO Michael Gspurning SEA 18 1575 62 49 13 0.74 11-3-4 7 Jimmy Nielsen KC 32 2880 96 70 26 0.81 17-7-8 14 Bill Hamid DC 22 1907 102 81 21 0.99 12-6-3 8 Nick Rimando RSL 30 2700 114 81 33 1.1 16-11-3 11 16
THANK YOU FANS for your support
concessions 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 18
2012 TEAM Award Winners BEST Defender Stephen McCarthy MVP Lee Nguyen Humanitarian of the year Matt Reis
a few minutes with... 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION Revolution Assistant Coach JAYMILLER By Tim Miller Revolution Communications What s it been like getting to coach in front of the fans in New England when you re on the sidelines of Gillette Stadium? Obviously Gillette Stadium is one of the most iconic stadiums in the United States. These are great venues. I had the opportunity to coach at Azteca Stadium when it was filled, that s 95,000 (people) in Mexico City. Those are special moments in your life to be around all that energy. It s the energy that you like. It s your home field, to come out of the tunnel and this is your turf. I don t care how many years you ve been in the business, if that doesn t get the juices flowing for you, there s something wrong with you. What is one of the moments early in the season that reassured you that you had signed up for the right gig? There was a big change-over of players 14 players that we had on the roster last year we switched out. That s starting over almost. As a young club, so to speak, and a new coach and a new staff, it takes time to feel the rhythm of these players and the season. We felt that we re going into Los Angeles (on March 31), going to the defending champions on their turf. We put our best foot forward and we were well prepared and the guys played and executed beautifully and we beat them, squarely. For sure, that s one of them. As the team approaches the offseason, what are you most excited to get started on to make sure that next season the Revs take the next step in the coaching staff s quest to make the playoffs? First of all, we have to finish the job. We have two more games left here. As you know, we ve elected to have a few of our stars who have had some injuries to go ahead and have their surgery now so that they ll be ready for preseason. So because we have been thin with players, it puts more stress on others. So these last two games are going to be difficult for us but we re going with all the intensity of winning. But the same token, we really feel now that we have a core of players here that are good enough we know their special abilities and will be the core of our team going forward. We re on the hunt for a couple of special players that we feel, added to our roster, will make even the existing players better playing alongside them. So even though we re working towards the last two games, our eyes are on next season and with anticipation and some energy that we really feel we can identify our issues and we can address them and be a major force in the league next year. Can you name a player or two that when you saw them at a younger age, while coaching at the youth level, that you knew they were going to be incredibly special? When I was coaching the players for the U-17 team and trying to build the team I discovered Taylor Twellman at a Christmas tournament. He was playing baseball and some soccer. I just went to see him play and saw something special. To see him go through his whole career and become one of the elite, top goal-scorers in the history of the league, that s just gratifying as a coach to know you ve been part of that process. The other one is Landon Donovan. Landon Donovan was playing on a regional team and the regional team was playing against the national team and I saw him play. This was at Cocoa Beach, Florida, over Thanksgiving and we played against him one game and one hour after that game I said, Put that gear away and get in this Nike gear. You re now on the national squad. We re always looking for those as coaches: to find them early. Some are late bloomers, some you can tell that this player is destined for greatness. Those are the intrinsic things that keep coaches coming back for more. 22
feature story 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION A learning experience Juan Toja grew as both a player and a person during his four-year stint in Europe By Jeff Lemieux Staff Writer & Online Host FOXBOROUGH, Mass. It would ve been very easy for Juan Toja to stay with FC Dallas. The Colombian midfield maestro with the trademark hairstyle became an instant fan favorite upon his arrival in Frisco, garnering club MVP honors in his first season with the club in 2007. League-wide recognition followed as Toja earned All-Star nods in both 2007 and 2008, scoring the MLS side s second goal in a 2-0 win over Scottish giant Celtic FC in his first appearance. At just 23 years old, Toja was a budding star with massive potential, one of MLS brightest young talents. He d settled into a comfortable lifestyle in Texas and his steady progression on the field had caught the attention of the Colombia National Team. His English was improving rapidly and he d formed strong bonds with many of his FC Dallas teammates. But like it does for so many of the world s promising young players, the lure of Europe beckoned. Just days after making his second MLS All-Star appearance in 2008, Toja left the comfort of his new life in the U.S. to join Romanian club Steaua Bucuresti in a quest to fulfill his dream. Every time you re leaving a place, a team, a country, your teammates and your people to go to a different experience, a different place, a different language, you re always excited because it s a new chance in your life I m talking about soccer and I m talking about your personal life but also you re leaving something from part of your Continued on page 26 Bob Levey/Getty Images 24
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feature story 2012 NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION Continued from page 24 life, said Toja. You have a lot of different feelings together. Toja spent four years in Europe splitting his time between Steaua Bucuresti and Greek side Aris Thessaloniki and called the experience one of the best moments in [his] life. He played on some of the biggest stages in world soccer, competing in both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League while facing club powers like Bayern Munich (Germany), Lyon (France) and Atletico Madrid (Spain). But as with all of life s journeys, the path through Europe was not without obstacles. At times during his stint with Aris, Toja found himself out of the lineup when his production dipped. Toward the end of his stay in Greece, financial difficulties affected the status of his payments from the club. Complicated as those situations were at the time, Toja s now able to reflect on those experiences with an understanding that his struggles were just as influential in his development as his accomplishments. When you re younger, sometimes you don t understand it that well, he said. Sometimes you get angry or you just get crazy. Obviously everybody wants to play you want to play all the time but those situations when you have more experience, you start to understand when is the moment to play or not, or why, or what you should do to play or what you shouldn t. Toja returned to MLS in August 2012 four years older and four years wiser. Although he s generally still the same player he was during his stint with FC Dallas dynamic, creative and hardworking subtle changes have been apparent in his first four appearances with the New England Revolution. You learn a lot of things in soccer; movements, things that you must do all the time, tactics, being smarter, said Toja, now 27. Sometimes when I was younger I was running so much more but not doing 26 some movements that I should. Now that I have more experience, I m not running as much but I m doing with little movements the same thing that you do with [bigger movements]. You learn those things with games and games and games and playing with different people in different parts of the world. There s a maturity in his game, said Revs head coach Jay Heaps, who played against Toja three times between 2007 and 2008. Back then he was much more free spirited in how he played. He still has that, but now you can see he likes to get in. In the Houston (Dynamo) game (on Sept. 29) he was laying on the challenges, which is good. Right now it s just a matter of getting Juan fully fit and ready to move forward. Revs fans have yet to see the best of Toja, who s spent his first month in New England regaining his fitness while settling into a new life, a new team and a new locker room. There have been flashes of brilliance a defense-splitting pass here, a deft tackle there but the versatile midfielder has managed only 120 minutes in a handful of substitute appearances since joining the Revolution via the Allocation Process. There will be two more chances for Toja to impress in 2012 including the Revolution s home finale against the Chicago Fire before entering another long offseason. A couple of strong performances would go a long way in building his individual confidence, but Toja already has his eyes set on a team goal further down the road. We are not in the playoffs, something that is getting me crazy, said Toja. But this is a new chance for us to work as much as we can this year and come back fresh. (In the offseason) we ll be with our families, be with our friends, be in our different countries or in our different cultures, have fun and come back with all the energy for next year.