Zolak & Bertrand meet new Revs boss Caleb Porter
The New England Revolution are under new management in 2024, as Head Coach Caleb Porter is now underway in his first season guiding the club. As is a rite of passage for any new coach of the Revs, Porter faced the ultimate test for the first time on Thursday afternoon – the weekly interview with Zolak and Bertrand, who were joined by Joe Murray.
A two-time MLS Cup champion with Portland in 2015 and Columbus in 2020, Porter has been well traveled and well tested in the league before his hiring as the ninth head coach in New England’s history. After two successful stints at other MLS clubs, Porter knows a good thing when he sees it.
“I try to pick the right job for me, a job that I think fits what I’m looking for,” Porter said. “I try to pick a city that I like to live in, that’s very important to me. And I really like the story of all the jobs I take. I like the story of taking over the New England Revolution, which is a club with a rich history, an MLS Original club with good tradition. Some success, but never an MLS Cup. I loved the idea of bringing the first MLS Cup to the New England Revolution.”
His Revolution team is off to a decent start in the new campaign, easily handling Panamanian club CA Independiente, 4-0 on aggregate, to advance into the Concacaf Champions Cup’s Round of 16. With one home game under his belt, the head coach’s overall first impression of his new surroundings has been a positive one.
“The stadium is beautiful, the facilities for us are outstanding,” Porter said. “Our training ground is one of the best in the league. I thought that was a huge attraction as well. The Krafts invested a lot in that training ground and it is a really nice environment for our players to train in every single day.”
Now with Round One of the Champions Cup in the rearview mirror, Porter needs his team to get on track in league play in order to not fall behind in the MLS standings. The Revolution opened the MLS season with a 3-1 defeat at D.C. United last Saturday, playing down a man for 65 minutes after forward Giacomo Vrioni was sent off with two yellows inside the first 25 minutes.
“A lot of people don’t realize how hard it is to play down a man that long, especially under the circumstances of our travel,” Porter said. “I was proud of the guys. We had it at 1-1 in the 72nd minute, where I thought maybe we could even get something out of the game down a man, which rarely happens in our sport. We did show, even though we didn’t get the result, a lot of character.”
The Revs’ MLS campaign resumes with the home opener on Sunday, a 2:00 p.m. ET kickoff vs. Toronto FC. Listen to Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies call the match on 98.5 The Sports Hub HD2.
