Leo Campana And Carles Gil Already Developing Chemistry

Gil on Campana: "On the first day we had very good chemistry- on the pitch, training, and off the pitch. For sure, he is going to help us a lot.”

Leo Campana believes he has what he needs to succeed at the New England Revolution.

Campana joined Inter Miami CF in 2022 on loan from Wolverhampton Wanders. After collecting 11 goals and two assists in 1,592 minutes, Campana signed permanently in January 2023.

In his second season, he had nine goals and three assists in 2,641 minutes. Last year he amassed eight goals and three assists in 1,275 minutes while playing behind Luis Suarez.

During the off-season, Campana transferred to the Revolution.

“Obviously, I made the decision to come here, for my playing time,” Campana said. “I know what I am capable of. The only thing I needed is time inside the pitch, and I think here I can find that.”

The Revs struggled to find the back of the net last year, collecting the lowest goal total in MLS (35). The team’s top-scorer was Giacomo Vrioni (9), who is now with CF Montreal.

While the deal to bring Campana to New England was worth $2.5 million in General Allocation Money, head coach Caleb Porter believes it was worth it.

For him, the striker “has a ton of quality, a ton of confidence.” He also complimented Campana’s hold-up play and work rate. Porter called him “a true number nine.”

“He's young, he's 24,” Porter said. “If went out on the international market and tried to find that profile, we would have spent eight to 10 million dollars. So, we had to spend a little bit of money to get him, but we feel like it was a deal based on what we had to spend to get that type of player, the caliber that he has, and he's going to be the guy.”

Campana has enjoyed the conversations he’s had with Porter, saying, “I'm really grateful for Caleb, he knows about my work ethic and about my mentality. So, I think we are having a really good connection also with all the coaching staff.”

Campana has also begun to form a partnership with Carles Gil, who was tied for third in the league in key passes last year with 94.

The two, along with Tomas Chancalay and Luca Langoni, are expected to lead the Revs attack.

Campana believes that Gil, who he calls “one of the best players in the league,” can help him reach his goals.

“I needed to take a step out of there and to focus on me and to focus on my desires to play, to have more minutes, and to score goals,” Campana said of leaving Miami. “Obviously, with Carles, it will be a lot easier to achieve those things.”

While it’s still early days, Gil says that he and Campana are already building some chemistry. The hope is that it translates to plenty of goals and assists during the regular season.

“He’s a very good striker and obviously everyone is very happy to have him here with us,” Gil said. “And he speaks Spanish, so it’s easier for both of us. On the first day we had very good chemistry- on the pitch, training, and off the pitch. For sure, he is going to help us a lot.”