New England Revolution Hire USMNT Legend Bruce Arena As Sporting Director And Head Coach

The New England Revolution announced on Tuesday that U.S. Soccer legend Bruce Arena would be their new Sporting Director and head coach. 

Arena who will be introduced on Thursday at 10 am will start immediately as Director but the current technical staff will remain in place until a start date for him to take over as coach is announced. 

“Bruce is one of the most successful coaches in American soccer history, and we feel his commitment to excellence, track record of winning championships in Major League Soccer, as well as his success at the international level, makes him the best person to bring the Revolution back to MLS Cup contention,” Revolution Investor/Operator Robert Kraft said. “We have known Bruce dating back to the advent of MLS, and we have full confidence that he will raise the level of our club to the standard we all expect and demand.”

Arena is a five time MLS champion and the winningest coach in USMNT history.

“In my conversations with the Kraft family and Brian Bilello, it’s clear that they have high expectations for the club and I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for me to create a winning culture throughout the Revolution organization,” said Bruce Arena. “Boston is a great sports town with a history of championship teams, and I am looking forward to working with the staff and players to make the Revolution a club that our supporters can be proud of and that can be part of the tradition of success in New England.”

The 67-year-old has over four decades of coaching experience and has one of the most decorated coaching careers of any American soccer coach. 

In his MLS career he has recorded five MLS Cup titles, three MLS Supporter Shields, seven MLS conference championships, one US Open Cup title, and one Concaf Champions Cup. In 14 seasons as a head coach in MLS he has been named coach of the year three times.

At the collegiate level Arena saw much of the same with five NCAA College Cup wins and six ACC Men’s Soccer Championships for the University of Virginia. 

“It was evident talking with Bruce that we share a vision for the future of the Revolution and we look forward to having him oversee our soccer organization,” said Revolution Preside Brian Bilello. “We believe that now is the time for a chance in leadership and there is no one batter suited to usher in a new era of success in New England.”

The Long Island native is known around the world for his work as the head coach for the United States Men’s National Team. He holds the record for the most wins by a USMNT coach with 81 and lead the United States to the quarterfinal int he 2002 FIFA Men’s World Cup which is the best finish since 1930. 

Most recently he served as the USMNT head coach for his second stint at the helm from 2016-17 helping them win the 2017 Concaf Gold Cup title and went 16-2 at the helm. 

New England Revolution Let Go GM Mike Burns As It Was Time To Go “In A Different Direction”

On Monday the New England Revolution made another major change in the organization with the MLS club announcing that they would be parting ways with General Manager Mike Burns effective immediately.

Burns who has had a storied career with the club as a player and in the front office has had a rough go of it lately with a rather disappointing seven year run as the clubs general manager. 

“As an original Revolution player and throughout his time with the club’s front office, Michael has always been a terrific ambassador for the club,” said Revolution President Brian Bilello. “His impact on the team and organization has been felt in many ways and we are grateful for his commitment and service to the New England Revolution.” 

Burns was made the GM of the club back in November of 2011 after spending the four previous years as the Vice President of player personnel. While the late form has been rather poor when Burns had taken the job he helped take a 5 win team in 2011 to a club that made the MLS Cup Playoffs in three straight seasons including an MLS Cup Final appearance in 2014. 

New England makes this move less than a week after they relieved Head Coach Brad Friedel of his job after a 2-8-2 start. 

“In light of recent results and the team’s on-field direction over the last few seasons, we felt it was time to take the soccer side of the organization in a different direction. We expect to make an announcement related to leadership of the soccer organization in the coming days,” said Bilello. 

When the club had parted ways with Friedel the former Revs defender and at the time GM Burns spoke with the media for seven minutes on Friday to explain the move and field questions. 

Since that time New England actually came away with a 3-1 win at home over the San Jose Earthquakes.

There is a lot of uncertainty on when upper management made the decision to remove Burns at the moment because on Friday Burns was stated that he would be involved in finding the next head coach of the club. 

“Ownership will be involved, Brian will be involved, and I will be involved,” said Burns. 

More to come but this was the right move for the club long-term. 

New England Revolution Interim Head Coach Mike Lapper Bringing In A Different Attitude

The Mike Lapper era is one game in as the Interim Head Coach of the New England Revolution was victorious in a 3-1 win over San Jose on Saturday night. 

Lapper who was the teams assistant coach under Brad Friedel has seemingly already put his touch on the locker room with the players walking around with a different attitude.

Here is what we know of Lapper thus far:

• He is direct to players as he sat down with 70-80% of the roster to challenge them and gauge where they are at.
• Matt Turner is his guy in net, while many hope for a more continuous lineup that is unclear right now. Friedel had tapped Brad Knighton in a similar way at the start of the season. 
• He speaks very highly of Christian Penilla who after being off the 18 on Wednesday was in the starting lineup against the Quakes. ”When he’s on his game and he’s in it, he’s one of the better players in the league. I mean, that’s reality and you can’t argue that. The trick is finding the motivation.”
• Lapper is instituting a “Man of the Match” after wins but had an issue on Saturday night. “I got to be honest with you, I don’t know who to give it to because everyone put in an amazing shift.”
• He seems more relaxed and laid back: He’s been great since he’s been here. All of the guys like him,” said Farrell.”He’s a guy you can have a conversation with, he tells you what he thinks, he can help you in different areas, and we got the win tonight, so it’s good.”

It’s just one game in but despite being Friedel’s Assistant Lapper comes across in a completely different manner and that is a good thing for at least the short term. 

New England is a long ways away from being back being 3-8-2 and still sitting in 12th place despite the win. 

“I take it with a grain of salt,” said Lapper on the win. “I’m pleased. Don’t get me wrong, but I also know it’s just one game and we just got to keep digging and realize what kind of team we are and really find our identity. That’s what I’m hopefully starting to establish and see where it goes.”