Bruce Arena on Dylan Borrero: “He’s Got To Grow Up"

“He’s got to grow up. He’s still a young player. He’s got to mature, for sure.”

Photo By ©J. Alexander Dolan

Dylan Borrero looked like he was going to help the New England Revolution win their second straight game but by the 65th minute, the 21-year-old ended up costing his team a road victory.

Borrero was sent off after a brutal challenge on Mohamed Farsi. It was a poor decision seeing that Columbus still hadn’t passed the halfway line.

That poor decision was compounded by Borrero’s first yellow card occurring after he argued with referee Chris Penso awarding a goal kick to the Crew. While this occurred two minutes before Borrero helped to force an own goal, it was some unnecessary anger, especially considering it was the right call.

Revolution head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena didn’t hold back when talking about Borrero’s errors against the Crew.

“Well, [Borrero’s] a young, immature player and you’re in a game with a referee that’s probably immature as well,” Arena said. “I think the yellow card for dissent, a strong referee doesn’t give that. The yellow card for the foul was clear. No question about that. [Borrero] has to grow up. He’s still a young player. He has to mature.”

Arena has been pleased with Borrero’s performances at times but a constant message from the head coach is that the 21-year-old needs to be more consistent if he wants to become a top player.

“You know, we have to get him to be a little bit more steady,” Arena said after New England’s win over CF Montreal. “He's had some games where it's not been good, and he has to understand that and be a little bit more competitive and a little bit more consistent.”

That wasn’t the first time that Arena mentioned Borrero’s consistency as he mentioned it while discussing the winger’s recent call-up to the Colombian National Team.

“Well, he is a young player and there’s been too many peaks and valleys,” Arena said. “I actually talked to him about that today – he needs to elevate his game where he’s a little more steady game-in-and-game-out. And that takes a little time, he’s still young, the league is new to him, and playing the sport at this level is new to him. So, it’s going to take a little time.”

Arena Says Borrero Feels "More Comfortable Out Wide"

While Borrero has shown some amazing skill and ability, Saturday night proved that the 21-year-old still has a lot of maturing to do if he wants to be a top-tier player.