The Revs were eliminated on penalties to Pumas after the game ended 3-0 in regulation time. Tommy McNamara and Sebastian Lletget missed their penalties
Another embarrassing night in the life of the New England Revolution, the second upset the team has suffered in the space of four days and the second vexatious elimination in the “Bruce Arena era” in the Revs.
After winning the first game 3-0 at home, the team needed only one goal away from home to increase the advantage that was already large and almost irreversible. However, the mentality and approach chosen by coach Bruce Arena was decisive for the outcome of the game. Translating in the coach’s own words: “We don’t need to score goals, they do.”
Few sentences in soccer scare me and bring me remorse like this one where the coach explicitly imposes the anti-game. Even having the MLS MVP as his number 10, two great forwards and a National Team left-back in the squad, the coach still preferred to defend for 90 minutes instead of actually playing a soccer game. Which obviously didn’t work out as regulation time ended 3-0 for the Mexicans. And on top of that, he insisted on reaffirming that the team had the right approach for the game.
Another problem was blatant in yesterday’s game and also in that tragic elimination to NYCFC last year. The head coach tends to make almost no substitutions in important games, for example Bruce ended the game with only 2 substitutions in yesterday’s game and ended the game against New York in a similar scenario.
Even when the game screamed the name of Emmanuel Boateng and the fans were also asking for the player, Bruce decided to put one of his trusted players like Tommy McNamara who also had a bad game and ended up losing the penalty in the end. Even his insistence on not putting Boateng in the games is one of Bruce’s biggest flaws against New England, as Emma is without a doubt the best player coming off the bench, changing every game he plays.
What appears to be is that Arena sits comfortably in its glorious past and national and international titles. Therefore, the media and fans end up sparing him when criticism is necessary, in the same way that other players who are loved by the fans are not criticized when necessary. We need to be honest and say that the phrase “In Bruce We Trust” has not worked for some time.
He needs to take more blame for his actions and own up to the mistakes, because despite being a multi-champion, he hasn’t won anything relevant in New England yet and is still in the shadows of the United States’ terrible disqualification for the 2018 World Cup. Last night game is another dark spot on the coach’s extensive curriculum.
My point here is not to ask for Bruce Arena’s head but to mention that we cannot 100% trust a coach who says he doesn’t need to score goals. As much as some think the phrase is irrelevant, a soccer team shouldn’t have this weak and dumb mentality. A team like the star-studded New England Revolution cannot be eliminated in such a shameful and humiliating manner.
To save the season, Bruce urgently needs to beef up the defensive lineup, as defender Omar Gonzalez, ex-Toronto and LA Galaxy, received numerous criticism from fans for his slowness and fault in one of last night’s goals. Jonathan Bell, on the other hand, hasn’t played a good game in a long time and starts to raise doubts about his real potential.
Other players like Adam Buksa need to step up and live up to their salary and starting position. Buksa missed several goals in both games and on top of that he didn’t take any of the penalties, even though he was a designated player. Arnor Traustasson still hasn’t performed well for the Revs. Jozy Altidore also hasn’t done much for the Revs in his first few months with the team.
Overall, Bruce remains the greatest coach in history and the biggest winner. He has enough experience to make a turnaround and lead the club to its first MLS Cup. Whether he will actually make it, only the future will tell, but yesterday’s defeat shouldn’t mean the end of the world for New England Revolution fans but a warning for the players and coaching staff.
(Cover: Instagram/New England Revolution)
