New England Revolution
File:NewEnglandRevolution.png | |||
Full name | New England Revolution | ||
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Nickname(s) | Revolution, Revs | ||
Founded | 1995 | ||
Ground | Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA | ||
Capacity | 68,756 | ||
Owner | ![]() | ||
Coach | ![]() | ||
League | Major League Soccer | ||
2007 | 2nd (Eastern Conference) Playoffs: Losing finalists | ||
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The New England Revolution, nicknamed the Revs, is a professional soccer club based in Foxborough, Massachusetts, that participates in Major League Soccer. Even though the club is based in Foxborough, the club represents all of New England. The club is owned by Robert Kraft, who also owns the New England Patriots of the NFL. The name "Revolution" refers to the New England region's involvement in the American Revolution. The team colors are navy blue and red.
The Revs currently play their home matches at Gillette Stadium. The club played their home games at the adjacent and now-demolished Foxboro Stadium, during the 1996 through 2001 seasons. The Revs hold the distinction of being the only MLS team to have every league game in its history televised [1]. Currently, the games are called by Revolution Director of Communications Brad Feldman and analyst Greg Lalas (former Tampa Bay Mutiny defender and younger brother of Los Angeles Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas).
History
Until their 3-2 victory over FC Dallas in the 2007 US Open Cup, the Revs had never won a major trophy in MLS in their 13 year history. They were one of three teams in MLS that date back further than 2005 to have not won one of the three major titles in MLS (MLS Cup, US Open Cup, and the MLS Supporter's Shield). They came close five times, reaching the US Open Cup final in 2001 and the MLS Cup finals in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007; coincidentally losing their US Open Cup final, and the MLS Cup in 2002 and 2005, to the Los Angeles Galaxy, and losing the MLS Cup in 2006 and 2007, to the Galaxy's former rival, the relocated Houston Dynamo.
Their 2002 MLS Cup appearance granted them a spot in the 2003 CONCACAF Champions Cup, but lost their first matchup 5:3 on aggregate after playing two games on the road to LD Alajuelense. The Revolution again faced LD Alajuelense of Costa Rica in the home and away 2006 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The "home" game was played February 22 2006 in Bermuda despite some fans feeling that playing at Gillette Stadium in the adverse conditions of winter in New England could have been advantageous. The Revs failed to advance, as they drew 0–0 in Bermuda and lost 0–1 in Costa Rica.
New England had the chance to win their first MLS championship, in MLS Cup 2006, against the Houston Dynamo, but ultimately suffered the same fate as their two previous attempts in 2002 and 2005; the Revs, after Taylor Twellman scored in the second overtime, allowed a game-tying header, from Dynamo Brian Ching, that sent the game to penalty kicks, where New England lost, 4-3. The 2007 MLS Cup was a rematch from the previous year, though the result was the same as Houston defeated New England 2-1. It was New England's fourth loss in the MLS Cup in a six year span.[2]
Their main rivals are largely considered to be Red Bull New York, although in recent years the Revolution have built rivalries with fellow Eastern Conference teams DC United and Chicago Fire, and the MLS champions Houston Dynamo. The club's supporter's clubs are called the Midnight Riders and Rev Army. The name 'Midnight Riders' is in honor of the famous rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes, who announced the departure of British troops from Boston to Concord at the beginning of the American Revolution. The Midnight Riders and Rev Army occupy the north stand of the stadium, which they have nicknamed "The Fort". The Fort is a general admission section and draws its name from the revolutionary theme which runs through the team and independent supporters' associations.[3]
Television and radio
As of 2007, Revs matches are televised locally primarily on WSBK-TV - with several matches on CSN New England - except for nationally televised matches on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, and FOX Soccer Channel. In 2008, all local television coverage will be provided by Channel 38.[1] All matches are broadcast on radio by WEEI (AM and FM), but this is a simulcast of the TV feed. Brad Feldman handles play-by-play on both TV and radio with Greg Lalas doing color commentary.
Honors
- MLS Cup
- Runners-up (4): 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007
- US Open Cup
- Champions (1): 2007
- Runners-up (1): 2001
- MLS Supporters' Shield
- Runners-up (1): 2005
Current roster
As of April 9, 2008[4]
The players in bold have senior international caps Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Changes for the 2008 MLS Season
In
Chris Albright Acquired from Los Angeles Galaxy in return for cap allocation
Rob Valentino Drafted 13th overall in the 2008 SuperDraft
Matt Britner Drafted 41st overall in the 2008 SuperDraft
Spencer Wadsworth Drafted 55th overall in the 2008 SuperDraft
Kheli Dube Drafted 8th overall in the 2008 Supplemental Draft
Mauricio Castro Signed from CD Olimpia
Argenis Fernández Signed from Santos de Guápiles
Sam Brill Signed after successful trial
Chase Hilgenbrinck Signed from Ñublense
Brandon Tyler Signed after successful trial
Unsigned Players
Jose Angulo Allocated by MLS as a discovery player
Michael Videira Drafted 18th overall in the 2008 SuperDraft
Joe Germanese Drafted 27th overall in the 2008 SuperDraft
Chris Tierney Drafted 13th overall in the 2008 Supplemental Draft
Kyle Altman Drafted 27th overall in the 2008 Supplemental Draft
Saidi Isaac Drafted 41st overall in the 2008 Supplemental Draft
Out
James Riley Drafted by San Jose Earthquakes in the 2007 Expansion Draft
Willie Sims Waived
Marshall Leonard Waived
Miguel Gonzalez Waived
Chris Loftus Waived
Bryan Byrne Waived
Andy Dorman Joined St. Mirren on a free transfer
Pat Noonan Joined Aalesunds FK on a free transfer
Avery John Contract expired
Joe Franchino Traded to Los Angeles Galaxy for 2009 second round draft pick
Notable former players
Alexi Lalas (1996–1997)
Joe-Max Moore (1996–1999; 2003–2004)
Mike Burns (1996–2000)
Walter Zenga (1997; 1999)
Raúl Díaz Arce (1998)
Leonel Alvarez (1999–2001)
John Harkes (1999–2001)
Eric Wynalda (2000–2001)
Wolde Harris (2000–2003)
William Sunsing (2002–2003)
Adin Brown (2002–2004)
José Cancela (2003–2006)
Clint Dempsey (2004–2006)
Pat Noonan (2003–2007)
Andy Dorman (2004–2007)
José Manuel Abundis (2006)
Head coaches
Frank Stapleton (1996)
Thomas Rongen (1997–1998)
Walter Zenga (1999)
Steve Nicol (1999, interim)
Fernando Clavijo (2000–2002)
Steve Nicol (2002—)
Team records
- Goals:
Taylor Twellman*, 91
- Assists:
Steve Ralston*, 59
- Games Played:
Jay Heaps*, 188
- Minutes Played:
Jay Heaps*, 16749
- Shots:
Taylor Twellman*, 510
- Shots on Goal:
Taylor Twellman*, 292
- Game-Winning Goals:
Taylor Twellman*, 26
- Penalty-Kick Goals:
Shalrie Joseph* &
Joe-Max Moore, 6
- Multi-Goal Games:
Taylor Twellman*, 15
- Hat Tricks:
Taylor Twellman*, 3
- Saves:
Matt Reis*, 485
- Shutouts (clean sheets):
Matt Reis*, 33
- Wins:
Matt Reis*, 50
- Goals Against Avg. (minimum 1500 minutes):
Matt Reis*, 1.28
- Winning Percentage (minimum 15 wins):
Adin Brown, 56.4
- Saves Percentage (minimum 150 saves):
Matt Reis*, 72.4
* Active
MLS regular season only, through 2007 season [5]
- All-Time regular season record: 148-161-60 (Through Oct 21, 2007)
Home stadiums
- Foxboro Stadium (1996–2001)
- Gillette Stadium (2002-)
On June 14, 2006, MLS announced that the Revolution were hoping to build a new soccer-specific stadium. Bids have gone out to local towns around New England to see where the Revs could have a stadium built.[6]
On August 2, 2007, the Boston Herald published an article stating that the city of Somerville and Revolution officials have held "preliminary discussions" about building a 20,000 to 25,000 seat stadium on a 100 acre site off of Innerbelt Road near Interstate 93, and could cost anywhere between $50 and $200 million based on other similar Soccer Specific Stadiums built by Major League Soccer teams.[7]
General managers
- Brian O'Donovan (1995–2000)
- Todd Smith (2001–2002)
- Craig Tornberg (2003—)
Year-by-year
Year | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Open Cup | CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
SuperLiga | CONCACAF Champions League |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | 5th, East | Did not qualify | Did not enter | Not qualified | Started in 2007 | Starts in 2008 |
1997 | 4th, East | Quarterfinals | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | ||
1998 | 6th, East | Did not qualify | Did not enter | Did not qualify | ||
1999 | 5th, East | Did not qualify | Did not enter | Did not qualify | ||
2000 | 2nd, East | Quarterfinals | Round of 32 | Did not qualify | ||
2001 | 3rd, East | Did not qualify | Final | Not held | ||
2002 | 1st, East | Final | Did not enter | Did not qualify | ||
2003 | 2nd, East | Semifinals | Quarterfinals | First Round | ||
2004 | 4th, East | Semifinals | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | ||
2005 | 1st, East | Final | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | ||
2006 | 2nd, East | Final | Quarterfinals | First Round | ||
2007 | 2nd, East | Final | Champions | Did not qualify | Did not participate | |
2008 | Did not qualify | Qualified | Qualified |
Average attendance
regular season/playoffs
- 1996: 19,025
- 1997: 21,423/16,233
- 1998: 19,188
- 1999: 16,735
- 2000: 15,463/10,723
- 2001: 15,645
- 2002: 16,927
- 2003: 14,641/14,823
- 2004: 12,226/5,679
- 2005: 12,525/13,849
- 2006: 11,786/9,372
- 2007: 16,787/10,217
- All-Time: 16,031/11,780
Goal Song
The song played whenever the Revolution score is "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys. A group of Revolution-era reenactors then fire muskets.
International competition
- 2003 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- First Round v.
Alajuelense – 0:4, 3:1 (Alajuelense advances 5:3 on aggregate)
- First Round v.
- 2006 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- First Round v.
Alajuelense – 0:0, 0:1 (Alajuelense advances 1:0 on aggregate)
- First Round v.
- 2008 SuperLiga
- Group Stage v.
Santos Laguna
- Group Stage v.
CF Pachuca
- Group Stage v.
Chivas USA
- Group Stage v.
- 2008-09 CONCACAF Champion's League
References
- ^ "Revolution announces TV and radio schedule for 2006". 2006-03-14.
- ^ Dynamo beat Revolution 2-1 to repeat as MLS champions, Fox Sports, 2007-11-18, retrieved 2007-11-18
{{citation}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Joyce Furia (2006-02-07). "Meet the Coach, Meet the Midnight Riders". Soccer New England.
- ^ Source: Official website
- ^ "New England Revolution All-Time Leaders". 2007-10-20.
- ^ Major League Soccer Communications (2006-06-14). "Major League Soccer to seek proposals in New England for soccer-specific stadium sites". MLSnet.com.
- ^ Scott Van Voorhis (2007-08-02). "Revolution's the goal: Somerville talks stadium with Krafts". Boston Herald.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official Website
- Midnight Riders Supporters' Club
- Unofficial News Source
- Unofficial News Source
- Revolution Recap Weekly Radio Review
- Official Revolution board, courtesy of BigSoccer