Ilay Feingold "Can’t Wait To Get Started" With The Revolution
Ilay Feingold discusses what attracted him to New England, early impressions of the team, and competition with Brandon Bye.
Ilay Feingold is ready to start his next adventure.
The 20-year-old right back signed with the New England Revolution through the U22 Initiative in January 2025. Before that, he logged 48 appearances for Maccabi Haifa in his native Israel.
While Feingold admits that the weather in New England is “totally different,” he’s happy with the transition.
“The players received me very well,” Feingold said. “I’m here for [less than] a month, but I feel very warm and I’m really happy about that. It helps me so much with confidence. It feels good on the pitch. I can’t wait to get started and start the season. I hope we will have a good season this year.”
Feingold stated that one of the reasons he was drawn to the Revolution was the club’s success at developing players.
Matt Turner, Tajon Buchanan, Adam Buksa, and Djordje Petrovic all spent time in Foxboro before being sold overseas.
The most recent example is Esmir Bajraktarevic, who followed the Pro Pathway before being transferred to PSV in the Netherlands.
“I had some Zoom meetings with [Porter] and some of the sporting directors,” Feingold said. “They mentioned it, that some of the players here from New England made the move to Europe. It’s something that is really interesting.”
While it’s still early days, Feingold is impressed by what he’s seen in training and preseason games, noting, “The team level is very high.”
Feingold has also enjoyed working with head coach Caleb Porter.
“I see [Porter is] a really modern coach,” Feingold said “I like his vision of the game and I try to do my best to understand him, to understand the team. I think we have a good team, very talented. I think we’re going to have a nice year this year.”
Feingold will compete with Brandon Bye for the right back spot. The 29-year-old is about to enter his eighth season with the Revolution.
Porter explained, “We brought [Ilay] here to compete with Brandon. We brought him here to play. But Brandon's not going to give his job away. At the end of the day, I love it. It's going to be a great competition, and they're both going to play a major role.”
Feingold praised Bye, saying, “Brandon is a really nice guy and even a great player.”
“It’s going to be a good competition,” Feingold said. “We have a good relationship, we respect each other. We’re both going to do our best in order to be in the first lineup. As I said, we have big respect for each other and that’s the most important thing.”
While Feingold has only been training with the Revolution for just over a week, he feels fit since Maccabi Haifa was in the middle of their season.
With one preseason game left before the season opener against Nashville on February 22nd, Feingold is ready to give his all to his new team.
“For me, every game, every training is an opportunity to prove to the coaching staff that I’m ready to play in the first lineup,” Feingold said. “I’ll do my best. There are great players here, great competition. I will do my best to be in the first lineup.”