Everyone knows that New England in the fall is beautiful, but in the winter? One word, Brrrrrrrrr! This is why the New England Revolution have decided to head to more temperate climates, as the team heads to Bermuda to train for the upcoming MLS season. With the wintry cold conditions in New England it limits the outdoor training time of the Revolution. The Revs have spent the last couple of weeks training indoors working on their strength and conditioning, but there has not been much on-the-ball training.
Players are looking forward to the change in climate, as Revolution’s midfielder Wells Thomson said, “It’ll be great. Being from North Carolina, I’m looking forward to some warm weather. It gets kind of mundane being indoors all the time.”
The Revolution will train in Bermuda and then play two exhibitions, one against the Bermuda national team and then against a Bermuda select team. They will return to the United States on February 21. Thomson is anxious to see how the Revolution plays in these friendlies stating, “You can see how things develop. We’ll get a lot of our questions answered.”
The staff of New England will continue to try to address needs of the Revolution as the season draws nearer. The Revs are under their salary budget and still have 5 open senior roster slots. With all the moves that rival DC United have made in the off-season the Revs need to pick up some players if they want to compete with United.
New England head coach Steve Nicoli has recently spent time scouting possible players in Central America, and newspaper reports have said he has been in Costa Rica. There has been Costa Rican newspaper reports that the Revs are looking at LD Alajuelense striker Victor Nunez. Nunez scored the only goal in a recent friendly against Jamaica. The Revs are also looking at Deportivo Saprissa defender Gabriel Badilla. In Bermuda the Revs will look at other players, with one player already being brought in for a trial.
The Revolution need help at the forward position, as they let many go in the off-season. Their midfield will is young and unproven, so with a lack of forwards and an unproven and inexperienced midfield a lot of pressure will lie on the defense. The Revs need to pick up some forwards to balance their attack. The season is still over a month and a half away, so there is still time for them to bring in some scoring punch, which they sorely need to keep up with the newly stacked lineup of DC United.
Author: Jason Green
Enjoy watching the Revolution in person this season. Check out the availability of New England Revolution tickets
