Leo Campana Ready To Score For The Revolution After Dealing With Injuries
“I know what I’m capable of, and I know I can score a lot of goals on this team when I’m playing.”
Leo Campana is confident that the goals are coming.
The 24-year-old striker came to the New England Revolution during the off-season in a trade with Inter Miami CF worth $2.5 million in guaranteed General Allocation Money (GAM).
He has since scored two goals in 724 minutes. After missing a total of seven games because of two separate hamstring injuries, Campana is back on the field, recording consecutive starts.
“I try to see the positives in the bad things that happen in your life,” Campana said. “I think it made me grow as a person and as a professional.
“Obviously, I had a difficult time here in the first months because you play three games and you’re out four, you play three games and you’re out four. It’s difficult to find that rhythm of the game again. I think it’s just a matter of time, to keep playing, to keep enjoying, to be confident again, and then the goals will come.”
Campana has collected 30 goals during his MLS career, putting him in rare air as one of three players to score at least 30 goals in fewer than 5,500 minutes since the start of 2022. Lionel Messi and Sam Surridge are the others.
Expectations were high for Campana upon his arrival in New England, with sporting director Curt Onalfo saying that they believed he could score 15 to 20 goals this year.
These expectations haven’t come to fruition.
“It’s frustration, I would say, but I manage that frustration really well,” Campana said. “I’ve been working really hard with the team. They’re helping me a lot because throughout the years I’ve been having a lot of problems, like injuries, muscle injuries.
“They’re helping me a lot to find the solution of everything, so I’m really grateful for them. They made me feel special. That’s the only thing I need, to feel that I have their support and then everything will come sooner rather than later.”
Injuries have certainly been a factor in Campana’s season, as have frequently changing strike partners. Campana started alongside Ignatius Ganago and Tomas Chancalay before playing with Luca Langoni in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers.
“Playing with Luca was nice because he’s a guy that has a lot of pace, he goes behind,” Campana said. “He gives me that freedom, a little bit more, between the lines.”
With 15 games left in the season, there are plenty of opportunities for Campana to find the back of the net.
He’s confident that it will happen.
“I know what I’m capable of, and I know I can score a lot of goals on this team when I’m playing,” Campana said.
Not as ready as we are to actually SEE him score goals! Yes, there has not been a consistent team up front, but whew, he just seems out of position a LOT of the time. Fingers crossed.
Right now he is a big question mark.