New England Soccer Today

Newcomers Aim to Aid Attack

 

Saer Sene is one offseason signing that the Revolution is counting on to make an impact (Photo: Joshua Pearson).

Last season, there were times in which it seemed that the Revolution couldn’t score a goal even with a net the size of a motorcoach propped up in front of them.

So, short of petitioning FIFA to triple the size of a regulation soccer goal, first-year head coach Jay Heaps and General Manager Michael Burns set out to find attacking talent during the winter to avoid the scoring droughts seen in 2011.

And off they went. After hopping across oceans and continents, two intriguing players emerged in the weeks leading up to Saturday’s season opener against San Jose. One was diligently scouted. The other, well, a serendipitous case of talent falling into one’s lap.

Former Bayern Munich reserve striker Saer Sene and former U.S. youth star Lee Nguyen may have few things in common, but both have been asked to accomplish the same objective: resuscitate an attack that scored only 38 goals in 34 matches last season.

While Sene, the tall (6-3) Frenchman with the blonde mohawk, may not have witnessed the 11 attacking shutouts last season, he’s already been impressed with how the attack is shaping up.  

“I wasn’t here (last year), but from what I’ve seen (so far), there are a lot of things we can accomplish this year,” Sene said through Revolution goalkeeper coach Remi Roy, who served as interpreter to the French-speaking striker. “But it’s not going to be easy.”

Not that it ever is. If it was, the Revolution wouldn’t have overhauled its front office structure, coaching staff and roster. Nor would it have tossed its long-expired blueprints into the shredder. But while that was taking place, another attacking talent that would be asked to contribute was far off the team’s radar.

After signing with MLS in December, Nguyen, a 5-8 former teen sensation who spent three years (2009-11) playing in Vietnam, was picked up by Vancouver. On paper, the dynamic playmaker figured to be a lock for the only team that finished worse than the Revolution. Or not.

Hours after the Whitecaps drew the curtain on their preseason schedule, coach Martin Rennie informed him that he was no longer a part of their 2012 plans. He cut to the chase: the team had to waive him.

“It was a humbling experience as a player,” Nguyen said. “When you’re playing and you’re doing well, you never expect something like that.”

Burns admitted on Tuesday that he was “surprised” that the Whitecaps cut him lose. But he and Heaps weren’t about to dwell on it for very long. With the first chance to grab him in the waiver draft, the Revolution didn’t hesitate. It was a gift signing, in nearly every facet.

After Nguyen got in his first training session with the team on Tuesday, he’s already become a believer in the system Heaps has incorporated with the Revolution.

“(With) all the players he’s brought in and the players that were already here, I think it’s going to be a great season,” Nguyen said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Another thing worth looking forward to is how Nguyen and Sene will bolster the offense. During the preseason, Sene has displayed a knack for getting into good positions and showing for the midfielders. And Nguyen’s documented ability to put passes though to his forwards should give the Revolution many more chances to cash in near the net this year.

Although Nguyen hasn’t yet played with Sene in a proper match, the 25-year-old Texan is anxious to parlay his abilities toward sharpening the attack.

“I want to help them be able to keep the ball,” Nguyen said. “And connect with the midfielders and forwards and create opportunities for the forwards. Whether it’s creating chances for them or creating chances for myself, (I’m) just (aiming for) more goalscoring opportunities and hopefully bring more goals to this club.”

It’s an approach that will undoubtedly help Sene. Despite his 6-3 frame, the 25-year-old Frenchman isn’t so much a typical target striker, but rather a supporting forward who runs off the ball and gets into favorable spots near the net.

“I’ve played in both one and two (striker formations) at Bayern,” Sene said. “(But) I like playing with two because you can run off the (other striker) a little more and because I like to face goal more.”

Both will be depended upon to ensure that #goalscoring (and #winning) will be trending in Foxboro during 2012. They may have different abilities, but both will be aiming for the same thing: helping the team hit tilt in the goals scored category over and over. Now, all they have to do is employ the principle tenet of the Jay Heaps philosophy.

“We have to work hard and work as a team,” Sene said. “But hopefully good things will happen.”

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