The Revolution had been struggling under Walter Zenga, who was in a player-coach role. Zenga had hoped to start preparing for the 2000 season, proposing to bring in Pelé’s son, Edinho, at goalkeeper, among other changes. But after a loss to the Dallas Burn, general manager Brian O’Donovan replaced Zenga with interim coach Steve Nicol, a former Liverpool star who had been player-coach with the Boston Bulldogs. [Read more…] about Oct. 2, 1999 – Steve Nicol’s first win as Revolution coach
Todd Smith, Revolution GM since Sept. 26, 2000, had been diagnosed with cancer, but continued to work full-time, announcing his resignation effective at the end of the season. Smith had fired Revolution coach Fernando Clavijo after a 5-2 loss at Colorado dropped the team’s record to 2W-4L-1D on May 22, 2002, replacing him with assistant Steve Nicol on an interim basis. [Read more…] about Sept. 6, 2002 – Revolution general manager Todd Smith announces resignation
The Revolution won their second successive match as things seemed to be transforming for the team. After a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Fire on Aug. 18, 2002, the Revolution were in ninth place in the overall standings, 7 points away from a playoff berth with six matches remaining. [Read more…] about Aug. 28, 2002 – Revolution 3:1 Colorado Rapids. First Revolution win at (renamed) Gillette Stadium (Att.: 13,210)
New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol tried to make it work, but MLS’ haphazard attempt to send a team to compete against Real Madrid resulted in disappointment.
As I wrote in The Boston Globe: “If the MLSers are routed, nobody should be shocked …” [Read more…] about Aug. 11, 2005 – Steve Nicol named MLS All-Star team coach for Trofeo Santiago Bernabeu at Real Madrid
Diego Fagundez (b. Feb. 14, 1995) had played in two U.S. Open Cup road matches before making his MLS debut for the New England Revolution. Fagundez replaced Zach Schilawski in the 66th minute, earned a penalty kick less than two minutes later (Shalrie Joseph converted a team-record 10th PK), then his 86th-minute goal concluded the scoring.
“We wanted to get a spark,” Revolution coach Steve Nicol said after the game. “We had thoughts of playing him at some stage. He’s been doing great in training and you can just see his enthusiasm, he’s got a footballer’s brain. He did a fantastic job, he gets the penalty, he gets the goal.”
Fagundez signed a contract Nov. 15, 2010, then made his first Revolution appearance as a substitute for Ousmane Dabo in a 3-2 win over D.C. United in a U.S. Open Cup match in Boyds, Md., on April 26, 2011. Fagundez made his first Revolution start alongside 22-year-old current Atlas Guadalajara striker Milton Caraglio (probably the youngest starting forward pairing in Revolution history) in a 2-1 loss to Seattle on Oct. 1, 2011.
The previous youngest scorer at Gillette was Canada’s Kara Lang (Romero/16 years, 11 months) in a 3-1 win over Japan in the 2003 Women’s World Cup.
TODAY IN NEW ENGLAND SOCCER HISTORY
Manchester United dominated as the largest crowd for a Revolution friendly arrived at Gillette Stadium. 19-year-old Federico Macheda scored twice for the Red Devils, making their fourth New England appearance in 61 years. Man United’s previous visits included victories by 2-0 over the New England All-Stars (just before the 1950 World Cup, sort of a preview of the U.S. upset victory over England in Belo Horizonte); 11-1 over the Fall River All-Stars in 1952; and 7-0 over Fall River SC in 1960. [Read more…] about July 13, 2011 – Revolution 1:4 Manchester United (Att.: 51,523)
The New England Revolution began competing in the U.S Open Cup in 1997 but did not take their first regulation-time away win in the competition until this match. [Read more…] about July 11, 2007 – Rochester Raging Rhinos 2:4 Revolution, U.S. Open Cup at PAETEC Park (Att.: 8,551)
Kerr’s arrival would help the New England Revolution’s offense, and also have long-term implications for New England soccer. While playing for the Revolution, Kerr worked as an assistant coach at Wellesley High School in 1997. Kerr then coached the A League Worcester Wildfire in 1998 and the Boston Bulldogs, starting in 1999. While with the Bulldogs, Kerr recruited Steve Nicol, who took over as player-coach after Kerr was named head coach at Harvard University. Kerr hired Paul Mariner as a Harvard assistant in 2003, Mariner going on to become Nicol’s assistant with the Revolution from 2004-09. [Read more…] about June 26, 1996 – Revolution acquire John Kerr Jr. from Dallas Burn in exchange for Zak Ibsen
Clinton Drew Dempsey — named after the Man With No Name, Clint Eastwood — was 22 years old and in his second season with the New England Revolution when he established himself among the starting candidates for the U.S. national team. Dempsey has gone on to captain the USMNT, totaling 56 goals, second to Landon Donovan (57) on the all-time list.
May 28, 2005 – U.S. 1:2 England at Soldier Field, Chicago
Dempsey began his professional career as a Revolution holding midfielder in 2004. In the second month of the ’04 season, Revolution coach Steve Nicol switched to a 3-5-2 alignment; two weeks later, with Taylor Twellman absent, Dempsey made his first start at forward, paired with Pat Noonan. [Read more…] about May 28, 2005 – Clint Dempsey scores first international goal
The Revolution were on the way down and Real Salt Lake on the way up. Though the Revolution closed the regular season with a winning record (11-10-9), they were eliminated by Chicago in the first round of the playoffs. RSL edged into the post-season on goal difference, then won the 2009 MLS Cup. The Revolution’s next visit to Salt Lake City resulted in a 5-0 defeat July 2, 2010, as the team was on the way to experiencing three consecutive losing seasons. [Read more…] about April 25, 2009 – Real Salt Lake 6:0 Revolution. Worst Revolution regular-season defeat