The Soccer Show: New Revs assistant Tab Ramos sees “a lot of quality here”
It’s rare that a player breaks history before they even set foot on the field. Tab Ramos, a U.S. Men’s National Team legend and 15-year coaching veteran who joined the New England Revolution as an assistant coach last week, found himself in that exact situation back in 1995.
As the answer to the trivia question, ‘Who is the first player to sign a Major League Soccer contract?”, Ramos is one of the most recognizable and celebrated figures in American soccer. At the time the new league was being formed in 1995, the Uruguay native was featuring with La Liga club Real Betis, before deciding to return to the United States.
The former head coach of the U.S. Under-20 National Team, the Houston Dynamo, and Hartford Athletic, Ramos joined D.J. Bean on today’s edition of “The Soccer Show” to discuss his new role on New England’s coaching staff, his Hall of Fame playing career, and the growth MLS has seen since his playing days.
“When I signed, teams didn’t even have names,” Ramos quipped.
Fast forward to 2023, and MLS has become a destination for some of the world’s biggest soccer stars, most recently with the arrival of global icon Lionel Messi in Miami.
“I never saw it going as well as it has gone in my wildest dreams,” Ramos said of the league’s growth over nearly 30 years. “I’d be lying if I said I had a dream that it would one day be like this.”
In his playing days, the Revs’ new assistant coach was a legendary midfielder for the United States, totaling 81 caps with trips to the 1988 Summer Olympics and three FIFA World Cups. As a coach, his success at the international level continued as he guided the U.S. Under-20s in four FIFA U-20 World Cups and multiple Concacaf U-20 Championships during his near-decade heading the program.
During his renowned tenure with the U.S. U-20s, Ramos developed a national reputation as an elite talent evaluator with a knack for player development. That sharp eye for potential is what makes his assessment of the Revolution even more tantalizing.
“There’s a lot of quality here,” Ramos said of the current Revolution squad, which sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference entering tonight’s match against Charlotte FC. “The fact that there’s three or four players who can win a game by themselves at any time is a great advantage. As long as you stay organized, you know that you who the guys that can make a big difference.”
With five games remaining in the regular season, the Revolution sit in a congested battle for home field advantage in the Eastern Conference. Only two points separate second place from the Revolution in sixth place. With Ramos’ expertise on the bench alongside Interim Head Coach Clint Peay and the rest of the new-look coaching staff, the Revs should have more than enough experience in the technical area to make noise in the postseason.
Watch the Revolution host Charlotte FC tonight on the club’s annual Fight Childhood Cancer Night, tonight at 7:30 p.m. on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Listen live on 98.5 The Sports Hub with Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies calling the action.
