![\"Revolution](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Reis-Heaps1.png?resize=454%2C283\")
<\/a>Revolution head coach Jay Heaps will need veterans like Matt Reis (left) to help steer the club toward the postseason in 2013.(Photo: Kari Heistad\/CapturedImages.biz)<\/p><\/div>\n
This year\u2019s theme to the Revolution\u2019s off-season acquisitions has been experience. Last year, 21 of the club\u2019s players had less than two years\u2019 experience playing in MLS. It\u2019s a troubling statistic that may partly explain why the club missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season despite having so much talent and promise.<\/p>\n
When head coach Jay Heaps and General Manager overhauled the team last year, they did so hoping that the new blood they injected would grow and gel with the current veterans. But all that changed when veteran players became expendable. The mid-season trade of Shalrie Joseph coupled with the off-season departure of Benny Feilhaber has further reduced the already small amount of veteran players on the Revolution\u2019s roster.<\/p>\n
Three of the clubs four transactions this off-season have involved snagging players who have league experience. The first signing was Andy Dorman, who joined the Revolution in 2004 from Boston University and was present for three Cup runs before transferring to Europe.\u00a0Also in the mix\u00a0are Hunter Freeman and Chad Barrett, both of whom\u00a0were\u00a0selected in the Re-Entry draft.<\/p>\n
Should\u00a0they reach an agreement,\u00a0Freeman\u00a0brings six years worth of MLS experience to Foxboro, plus two seasons with Norway\u2019s IK Start. Barrett is a league journeyman with eight years of experience with three clubs. These types of potential signings could be Heaps\u2019 and Burns\u2019 winning formula to creating and maintaining a roster in MLS.<\/p>\n
Any successful team needs veterans and young players to combine and complement each other effectively. That\u2019s the case in every sport.<\/p>\n
But achieving such a balance is a bit trickier to ascertain in MLS. Having experience in other leagues, even those at a higher level than MLS, can\u2019t always prepare a player for American soccer. Major League Soccer is different. It\u2019s got a fast pace. It\u2019s physical. And when it’s played on\u00a0the\u00a0Gillette Stadium turf,\u00a0the going is\u00a0even less forgiving\u00a0.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, American soccer doesn\u2019t have an internationally recognized style. Whereas the Spanish game is based around precision passing, the German on relentless attacking, the Italians on brick walls for defenses, and the English on all of the above, America\u2019s style is still in the process of being discovered.<\/p>\n
In 2011, former Revolution head coach Steve Nicol and Burns signed French left back Didier Domi, a veteran of top European leagues. Domi stayed at the highest possible level of soccer during his entire time in Europe suiting up for the likes of Newcastle United, Paris Saint-Germain, Espanyol, and Olympiakos.<\/p>\n
Domi didn\u2019t pan out for the Revolution and was gone by mid-season. He only played in nine games and stated early on that he was struggling to get acclimated to the so-called American game.<\/p>\n
Not every player is like Domi. MLS has seen its fair share of experienced international players who have not only filled stadiums, but also brought their teams success. But teams, particularly the Revolution who have seen a slew of experienced internationals come and go, need to learn that some players find American soccer unorthodox and unpredictable. Just because a player had all sorts of success across the pond doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ll produce the same way when they\u2019re plopped on an American field.<\/p>\n
To blame last year\u2019s failure to reach the playoffs solely on a lack of player experience would be folly. The Revolution were competing in an Eastern Conference that was stacked with solid players and tough to beat teams. The advent of Heaps and the re-shuffling of the Revolution\u2019s brain-trust also likely created some growing pains. And the fact that Heaps and Burns overhauled a roster added an uncharacteristically steep learning curve.<\/p>\n
Last year, Heaps and Burns asked for some patience for the squad to tighten up. Player movement and a few losing streaks were speed bumps on the Revolution\u2019s path to creating a cohesive, well-balanced squad.<\/p>\n
But with pre-season days away, 2013 looks encouraging. Aside from the acquisitions the club has already made and will continue to make before the season opens in March, last year\u2019s players have another year of mental, tactical, and physical experience necessary to be successful in MLS.<\/p>\n
Follow Julian on twitter @juliancardillo\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In order for the Revolution to return to the playoffs, they’ll need to lean heavily on the experienced players they’ve added during the offseason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[24,3],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Reis-Heaps.png?fit=481%2C265&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17508"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17508"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17516,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17508\/revisions\/17516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}