![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Sene1.png?resize=378%2C230\" "\\"Sene1\\"")
<\/a>Saer Sene is one offseason signing that the Revolution is counting on to make an impact (Photo: Joshua Pearson).<\/p><\/div>\n
Last season, there were times\u00a0in which\u00a0it seemed that\u00a0the Revolution couldn’t score a goal even with a net the size of a motorcoach propped up in front of them.<\/p>\n
So, short of petitioning FIFA to\u00a0triple 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Former Bayern Munich reserve striker Saer Sene and\u00a0former U.S. youth star Lee Nguyen may have few things in common, but both\u00a0have been asked to accomplish the same objective: resuscitate an attack that scored only 38 goals in 34 matches last season.<\/p>\n
While Sene,\u00a0the tall (6-3) Frenchman with the blonde mohawk, may not have\u00a0witnessed the 11 attacking shutouts last season, he’s already been impressed with how the\u00a0attack\u00a0is shaping up. \u00a0<\/p>\n
“I wasn’t here (last year), but from what\u00a0I’ve seen (so far), there are a lot of\u00a0things we can accomplish this year,” Sene said through Revolution goalkeeper coach Remi Roy, who\u00a0served as interpreter to the French-speaking striker. “But it’s not going to be easy.”<\/p>\n
Not that it ever is. If it was,\u00a0the Revolution wouldn’t\u00a0have overhauled\u00a0its front office structure, coaching staff and roster.\u00a0Nor would it\u00a0have 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.<\/p>\n
After signing with MLS in December,\u00a0Nguyen, a\u00a05-8 former teen\u00a0sensation\u00a0who\u00a0spent three years (2009-11)\u00a0playing in\u00a0Vietnam, was picked up by\u00a0Vancouver. On paper, the dynamic playmaker\u00a0figured to be\u00a0a lock\u00a0for\u00a0the only team\u00a0that finished worse than the Revolution. Or not.<\/p>\n
Hours after the Whitecaps drew the curtain on their preseason schedule, coach Martin Rennie informed him that he\u00a0was no longer\u00a0a part of\u00a0their 2012 plans. He cut to the chase: the team had to waive him.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Burns admitted on Tuesday that he was “surprised” that the Whitecaps cut him lose.\u00a0But he and Heaps\u00a0weren’t about to\u00a0dwell 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“(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.”<\/p>\n
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\u00a0documented ability to\u00a0put passes though to his forwards should give the Revolution many more chances to cash in near the net\u00a0this year.<\/p>\n
Although\u00a0Nguyen hasn’t yet played with Sene in a proper match,\u00a0the 25-year-old Texan is anxious to parlay his abilities toward sharpening the attack.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
It’s an approach that will undoubtedly help Sene. Despite his 6-3 frame, the\u00a025-year-old Frenchman\u00a0isn’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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Both will be depended upon to ensure that #goalscoring (and #winning)\u00a0will 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.\u00a0Now, all they have to do is\u00a0employ the principle tenet of the Jay Heaps philosophy.<\/p>\n
“We have to work hard and work as a team,” Sene said. “But hopefully good things will happen.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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