FOXBOROUGH – Bruce Arena won five MLS championships with D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy before taking over the Revolution two years ago. And, though the Revolution appear capable of challenging those teams’ accomplishments, as well as several league records, Arena believes it is too early to judge his current team’s merits.
“I think this team is unique to the teams I had in D.C. and L.A., a different mix of players, different backgrounds, different understandings of the game,” Arena said while preparing for the Revolution’s game against the Columbus Crew on Saturday. “We’ve built this team a little differently and we’ve done a lot of developing our players over the last two years that have gotten us to this point.
“But we’re certainly not a championship team at this point. We have a lot of the regular season remaining. I know there are all possibilities of what we could achieve, but we haven’t achieved that yet. So, as a team, we haven’t paid any attention to those matters at this point in time.”
With nine matches left in the regular season, the Revolution (17-4-4, 55 points) have tied the team record for victories and are on pace to break league marks of 22 wins and 72 points.
The Revolution have come far since May 2019, when they had a 2-8-2 record before the arrival of Arena. But they have recovered from similar depths to attain regular-season success in the pastbefore falling in the MLS Cup a record five times from 2002-14.
The idea this season is to gear up for the playoffs and maintain momentum to the end – a tricky proposition, considering the MLS Cup final will not be contested until Dec. 11. There is plenty of time to go after records, but maybe more time than the Revolution need to prepare for a post-season run.
A key to capturing the MLS Cup is the Supporters’ Shield, something else the Revolution have never won. Since the league switched to awarding MLS Cup hosting rights to the team with the best record, the home team has won eight of 10 finals.
This season, the Revolution (55 points, 2.20 per game) have been in the driver’s seat, leading the overall standings since late May. They hold a nine-point advantage over Western Conference leader Sporting Kansas City, and could also face a challenge from the Seattle Sounders (1.96 points per game), Colorado Rapids (1.87), and Nashville SC (1.78).
While they will likely score more goals than any previous Revolution team (they are averaging 1.88 per game), they have not been a dominant, goal-machine steamroller and are far off the league’s goals-per-game mark (2.65) set by the Galaxy in 1998. In fact, the Revolution’s 14-2-0 mark in one-goal games (yes, a league record) illustrates a slim margin for error that can be interpreted as either a sign of vulnerability or anindicator of resiliency.
Should the Revolution continue on a playoff path, they could have an advantage competing at Gillette Stadium, where they are 10-1-1 (31 points) with five home matches remaining to catch the team record (39 points), set in 2017.
Unlike the past, this Revolution team has contracted the league maximum three Designated Players (Adam Buksa, Gustavo Bou, Carles Gil) and has also established a deep roster. Arena has been successful tinkering with lineups in an attempt to keep players fresh, and the team’s strong start has allowed Bou and Gil to recover after being injured. Revolution teams that won five Eastern Conference titles from 2002-07 struggled in finals, often due to injuries.
Also, like the teams coached by Steve Nicol in the early 2000s, the Revolution are developing players for export. Then, Clint Dempsey earned a $5 million transfer to Fulham FC, and Shalrie Joseph and Taylor Twellman attracted offers that were declined by the Revolution. Now, Tajon Buchanan’s move to Club Bruges for $7 million (another team record), effective after the season, could lead the way to the transfer of goalkeeper Matt Turner, and others, in the future.
Arena’s D.C. United and Galaxy teams set few regular-season standards, saving their best for the post-season. Among the few Arena-led squads leading a list is the 2011 Galaxy, whose 12-0-5 home mark makes them one of five teams that have completed home unbeaten seasons. That Galaxy group won the first of three titles in a four-year period, concluding with a win over the Revolution in 2014. That was the last appearance in the MLS Cup final for both Arena and the Revolution, and this is shaping up as their best chance to return.
“Over the last few seasons, we’ve been right at that playoff line coming to this time in the year, so it’s nice to not really be staring at that going into the last few games,” Turner said. “But we understand that we’re still playing for something. We’re playing to win trophies, to bring a trophy here to lift in front of our fans, and potentially set a new points record in the league. We still have a lot to prove as a team. We really want to prove to ourselves, to our fans, and to the league that we are one of those elite teams over the past few seasons.”###
REVOLUTION TEAM RECORDS
Wins – 17
Home Wins – 12
Points – 59
Home Points – 39
Goals – 55
MLS TEAM RECORDS
Wins – 22
Home Wins – 14
Points – 72
Home Points – 43
Home Points Per Game – 3.0
2021 Revolution: 17-4-4 (55 points); Home 10-1-1 (31 points); Goals scored 47
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Assists (MLS) – 26 (Carlos Valderrama)
Assists (Revolution) – 19 (Steve Ralston)
Game-Winning Assists (MLS) – 8 (Mauricio Cienfuegos, Ralston, Nicolas Lodeiro)
Carles Gil: 16 assists (8 game-winning assists)
MLS COACHING RECORD
Career victories – 240 (Sigi Schmid)
Bruce Arena: 235