Tierney “Honored” To Be All-Star
- Updated: July 19, 2015
Photo credit: Chris Aduama/aduamaphotography.com
On Saturday, Chris Tierney became the first New England Revolution player named an MLS All-Star since 2011 after Colorado Rapids/All-Star Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni selected him for the gameday roster. The same day, the Revolution defender was selected as captain as the team ended its five game losing streak by defeating New York City FC, 1-0.
“I’m surprised [to be named an All-Star], but pretty humbled and honored to represent the club any chance I can, so it’s a great feeling,” said Tierney, who said he learned of the honor a few days ago after training.
Tierney was a Supplemental Draft pick for the Revolution back in 2008 and eventually worked his way into the Revolution’s starting line-up. He’s since become one of the most consistent players on the team and Saturday marked his 175th appearance for the club.
“It says a lot about him,” said Revolution head coach Jay Heaps of Tierney’s All-Star selection. “When I first saw Chris come into the league he was a young kid just finished up at University of Virginia and a lot of the time he was just working his way into the squad and making the bench was a big accomplishment for him. I think that was something I loved seeing back then was that he kept working; no matter what he worked.”
Since working his way into the line-up, Tierney has made the Revolution left back spot his own even as the defenders beside him frequently changed.
“I think it’s a great testament to him,” Heaps said. “He’s really honed his craft. He’s made himself one of the better left backs in this league, not just defensively, but then when he attacks offensively he really is a danger and that started when he first made our team. He played different positions in college, he played more as a winger, he played in the middle, so when he got here he realized he had to work at that position and he worked hard and I love that example that sets in the locker room for the young guys to say ‘hey look, here’s a guy that didn’t make the bench the first 6, 8, 9 months of his first year, didn’t faze him. He came back his second year didn’t make the bench a ton even then, but continued to work and then the progress started to show and all that work started to be something.’”
That example set by the Wellesley, Mass. native likely played a role in Heaps naming him captain with Jermaine Jones and Jose Goncalves unavailable on Saturday.
“Always [has meaning to be captain],” said Tierney. “I’m never shy about saying how much this club means to me, so getting a chance to captain the team, especially when we take three points, it’s the cherry on top, so it feels great.”
To top it all off, Tierney got the honor of being captain in front of the Revolution’s largest home crowd of the season with 28,811 in attendance.
“The support was excellent,” said Tierney. “They really drove us on, especially at the end when we were under some pressure. They were great as usual.”
And it wasn’t just Heaps that was proud of all Tierney has accomplished, culminating in the All-Star appearance, his teammates also showed respect.
“I played with Chris ever since I was 14 years old, so I’m very proud of him,” said fellow New England native Charlie Davies. “He deserves it. He’s put in a lot of hard work and last year I feel like that was his coming out party as far as on the national level of MLS really showing that he’s one of the best in MLS at left back. He scores goals, he puts in brilliant crosses and he’s very smart tactically. His positioning has really helped him develop into one of the premier left backs in this league, so we’re all proud of him.”
After traveling to Chicago to face the Fire next Saturday, Tierney will join the MLS All-Stars in Colorado at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to face Tottenham Hotspur in the All-Star game on July 29.
“We know he’ll represent the Revolution extremely well,” said Davies. “He’s a great teammate and we’re all wishing him the best in the All-Star game.”
Related Posts
About Sean Donahue
