Zolak & Bertrand: Porter and Revs ready for Messi, record crowd of 65,000
The New England Revolution won’t need any added motivation to rev themselves up for this weekend’s match in Foxborough. With a club-record crowd of over 65,000 fans expected at Gillette Stadium for the MLS matchup with Inter Miami CF on Saturday, the last-place Revolution will have some extra wind in their sails as they look to break out of a 1-6-1 slump to start the season.
The biggest thing standing between the Revolution and three points? Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport.
Revolution Head Coach Caleb Porter joined 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak & Bertrand on Thursday to shed light on the Revs’ preparations for the first-place team in MLS and defending the world’s most lethal playmaker in Messi, who, according to Porter, the Revs expect to play.
“Obviously, they’re a very good team with very good players,” Porter said of Inter Miami. “The guys are excited. It’s going to be a packed stadium. I think it’s the [second] largest attended soccer match in Boston sports history. So, if you can’t get up for that type of game, if you can’t get excited, and if you can’t perform in that game, you shouldn’t be here.”
Asked what the Revolution can do to limit Messi’s impact on the match, Porter admitted that it won’t be an easy task to keep the Argentinian legend away from the areas of the field where he can cause havoc.
“When he’s on the ball, there’s no one better,” Porter said. “I mean, he’s near unstoppable. The biggest thing you have to do is try to keep him away from where he wants to be, which is around the goal.
“Now, how do you do that? I think a lot of it is you have to make their team defend. If we’re going to sit back in a low block and let them attack all game, we’re going to lose 3-0. But if we can take some pressure a little bit off our defense and make them defend, then maybe we have a chance.”
Although the Revolution didn’t get the positive result they desperately needed in last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Toronto FC, Porter remains confident that the performances are showing signs of improvement. For him, the margin is as slim as simply finishing the quality chances they are already creating.
“We played very well [in Toronto]. We should have won the game or at least got something out of the game,” Porter said. “We need to finish, that’s the biggest thing. We’ve scored five goals in eight games. Our shots are actually 14 to 14, our shots versus the opponent’s shots on average. So, we’re getting as many shots as the opponent is on average.”
Porter and the Revolution know the first quarter of the 2024 season hasn’t gone the way New England expected, but the mentality is now on turning the page to the next quarter of the season.
“We’ve talked about it, we’ve looked at it, we’ve owned it, and now, we have to not let it define us,” Porter said of his team’s start through eight games. “We need to focus on the next quarter, and we need a major uptick in points, in wins, in clean sheets, goals for, and goals against. But this is very much a league where one quarter isn’t going to define you.”
With a fully sold-out Gillette Stadium behind them, the Revolution need the turnaround to start this Saturday night, 7:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium. Listen to the Revolution radio call on Country 102.5 FM and SiriusXM FC (Ch. 157). Watch the game on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, with coverage in English and Spanish.
