Revolution Forward Ignatius Ganago joins DJ Bean on “The Soccer Show”

Revolution forward Ignatius Ganago’s first season with the Revolution has a similar trajectory to New England’s 2025 campaign. The first four games were an adjustment period that factored into a slow start, where Ganago and the Revolution found themselves in a 0-3-1 hole to begin the season.

But now that New England has found its footing, Ganago and the Revolution are off and running with a 5-1-1 record over their last seven games. Ganago joined DJ Bean on “The Soccer Show” this morning to preview tonight’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes and share his thoughts on his debut campaign in MLS.

“My experience has been really good,” the 26-year-old said. “I really like the league. Everything here is good. Even in the club, everybody’s nice. They’re pushing me to reach my level, so I really like that.”

Ganago has featured in New England’s starting lineup in all 11 of the team’s matches this season. The Cameroonian international netted his first goal, and first assist, for New England in the club’s 2-0 win over New York City FC on April 19 at Gillette Stadium.

“At first it was a little bit tough because it’s a little bit different from where I came from,” Ganago said of his adjustment to the style of play in MLS. “Here it’s more of a box-to-box game. You need to run a lot. There are a lot of counters attacks, so you need to adjust for that. Now I’m ready for that and I’m feeling good.”

Since then, the Revolution collected seven points from a three-match road trip, with victories at Charlotte FC and Toronto FC, followed by a come-from-behind 3-3 draw at Orlando City SC, where New England fell into a two-goal deficit in the early stages, last Saturday in Florida. Ganago drew a foul in the final minutes of the match, allowing Carles Gil to score the game-tying goal via penalty kick.

“We are now like a family,” Ganago said. “We know each other well. We’re like a family- we help each other, we encourage each other. That’s like our power in each game. When somebody loses the ball we aren’t complaining, we fight for him and encourage him to get back to his level. This is the fighting spirit we have right now and that’s good for the team.”

With eight goals scored over their last four games, Ganago feels entirely confident in New England’s ability to create chances and find the back of the net.

“We have players like Leo [Campana], players like Carles,” Ganago said. “Even in the middle, we have [Alhassan] Yusuf, Matt [Polster], Jackson [Yueill]. They’re very good players. For me, it was like we just needed time to get to know each other well. The chemistry is getting there, so it’s pretty easy now.”

And, of course, it never hurts to have Gil guiding the attack as he continues to play in MVP form. New England’s captain owns six goals, four of them game-winners, along with two assists this season. Gil has reached the scoresheet five consecutive games.

“He’s amazing,” Ganago said of the 2021 MLS MVP. “I didn’t really know him before I came here. When I was coming, I tried to know about the team and he was the first player they mentioned. Now I see it every day in training, in the games, and I’m like ‘this guy is a genius.’ He’s so good.”

Tonight’s match, which features the league’s top defense against its top attack, kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium. New England’s lone home match of May airs on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app in English and Spanish. Listen live via the club’s local radio call on 98.5 The Sports Hub with Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies calling the action.