Revolution host New York City FC on 20th anniversary of 9/11

The New England Revolution’s match with New York City FC at 7 p.m. Saturday at Gillette Stadium is an emblematic event featuring regional teams directly impacted by the tragedies that occurred on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.

The Revolution have scheduled pregame and halftime ceremonies commemorating the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center towers in lower Manhattan, damaged the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and caused a downed jet in rural Pennsylvania.

An American flag will be unfurled during the playing of the national anthem and held by representatives from USO New England, the Wounded Warriors Project and Tuesday’s Children. All active and retired military personnel and first responders will be honored during halftime as Heroes of the Match.

Revolution head coach Bruce Arena is a native New Yorker who lost a friend who worked at the Cantor Fitzgerald brokerage, which took a direct hit from the commercial jet that struck the North Tower. Arena was the U.S. Men’s National Team coach living in Fairfax, Va., at the time and following Friday’s practice he recounted the personal and professional impact of the tragedy.

“Obviously 9/11 was a very difficult day for all Americans,” said Arena. “I was the national team coach and it was a shocking day, a day of sorrow for all Americans and I lost a friend.

“The national team was trying to qualify for the World Cup and our next qualifying game was in Foxboro against Jamaica. That day I recalled we invaded (Afghanistan) … it was a really dramatic moment.

“We beat Jamaica that day and qualified for the World Cup. Things went on to where we had the 2002 World Cup and 9/11 was still something strongly on our minds. Our treatment and the security we received in the World Cup was obviously a result of the tragedy on 9/11.

“Losing so many Americans and being a New Yorker is something that sticks in my mind to this day. It was a day that impacted what I was doing for a living because of the political situation around the world.”

Revolution midfielder Tommy McNamara was a 10-year-old fifth grader living in West Nyack, N.Y., a hamlet in Rockland County about 18 miles north of Manhattan.

“I was in school and all of a sudden some of the other students were getting pulled from class in the middle of the day,” recalled McNamara. “Eventually I was pulled out of school and explained what happened but I didn’t fully comprehend everything that was happening.

“It impacted my family, my friends and my school mates.”

McNamara had family members who were involved in both the cleanup and restoration efforts and with the building of the Freedom Tower that stands 94 stories above Ground Zero.

“My family worked in construction and they helped with the cleanup of the World Trade Center and the building there and the memorial,” said McNamara. “It was obviously a very difficult moment for everybody and it’s nice that the club is doing something to remember them.”

The Revolution has the best record in MLS at 16-4-4 and, with 10 games remaining, have a clear path to securing the first Supporter’s Shield in team history.

“I think we get high marks for our performance and we are the leading team in the league in terms of points,” said Arena. “But I think we realize that in Major League Soccer the regular season is very important but not as important as the playoffs so there is a lot ahead of us.”

The Revolution had their nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) broken by a 2-0 loss to New York City FC on Aug. 28 at Yankee Stadium. The Revs rebounded with an inspiring 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union at Gillette on Sept. 3.

Revolution keeper Matt Turner (USA), forward Tajon Buchanan (Canada) and lethal striker Adam Buksa (Poland) were away representing their respective nations in the World Cup qualifiers. Playmaker Carles Gil was competing in his first match since suffering a muscle injury on July 31 and leading scorer Gustavo Bou was out with an undisclosed ailment.

The Revolution played the final 30 minutes plus stoppage time protecting a one-goal lead with 10 men on the field after midfielder Arnor Traustason picked up a red card in the 59th minute.