A Revolution fan favorite will be back in the building on Saturday night when New England welcomes Nashville SC to Gillette Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff. Teal Bunbury, a 14-year MLS veteran who spent eight seasons and scored 45 MLS goals with the Revs, will make his first visit to Foxborough wearing the Nashville gold.
Bunbury joined DJ Bean on The Soccer Show on Saturday morning to discuss the matchup and the return to his old stomping grounds.
“Who knows what the outcome is going to be, but I think it’s going to be a great matchup. I’m really excited to play against [Henry] Kessler, to play against [Dave] Romney, [Matt] Polster…so many guys,” Bunbury said. In particular, I’m excited to see Bruce [Arena], give him a little banter too. I’m excited to see the fans as well. I got a lot of love and appreciation for them.”
Bunbury is thriving in his new surroundings, having started all three games to open his second season with Nashville en route to an undefeated 2-0-1 record. Through three games, they are the only MLS team yet to concede a goal. But before the whistle blows on Saturday night, Bunbury will take a moment to reflect on the special memories he made with his old teammates in New England.
“I could go on forever about that. As time went on with that group in New England, there was a great balance of older guys, younger guys, but we were able to kind of share the appreciation and love for one another, have that banter, but know that we were fighting for one another,” Bunbury recalled. “Off the field, I think we were just really close.”
A Canadian-born who later called Minnesota home, Bunbury looks back fondly on his time in New England, where he and his wife bought their first house and began raising their two daughters.
“To be honest with you when I first got there [to New England], I didn’t know if I was going to be there eight months let alone eight years. It’s a really special place.”
Bunbury is not the only MLS veteran enjoying a reunion on Saturday night. Revolution defender Dave Romney, who has started every match for New England to open the season, will face his former club for the first time. Romney started 90 regular season and playoff games for Nashville SC from 2020-2022 on a team that built a reputation as the league’s stingiest defense. Over three years, Romney’s teams in Nashville conceded only 101 goals, second fewest in the league.
Watch the Revolution take on Nashville SC on Saturday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. Listen on 98.5 The Sports Hub HD2, with Brad Feldman and Clyde Simms calling the match. Fans can also select The Sports Hub’s radio call tonight as an audio option within MLS Season Pass.