New England Revolution Look to Beat the Heat (And FC Cincinnati)
“I think the heat begins and ends with the mentality and kind of the message being put out there."
Unless you live in a permanent air-conditioned bubble, you will realize that the sun seems to be beating down on the region (and the country) with an increased magnitude.
Just dealing with the heat in daily life can be a challenge. Now try and imagine playing 90 minutes of professional soccer.
When the New England Revolution face FC Cincinnati on the road Saturday current reports have the temperature sitting around or below 90 degrees Fahrenheit. While a little cooler than recent days, that is still some extreme heat to play soccer in.
But for Nick Lima, the right mentality can make playing in the heat a breeze (as well as staying hydrated).
“I think the heat begins and ends with the mentality and kind of the message being put out there,” Lima said. “I was in Austin for a couple years and one of the years there was a little bit of an excuse and you saw it be an excuse. Then other years it was, ‘Hey, use that as an advantage.’”
Lima then gave an example of a conversation with LAFC legend Gareth Bale about the Texas heat.
“I remember one game I was sitting there and Gareth Bale was like, ‘Hey, is it always this hot?’ and I was like, ‘Well, it’s Texas bud.’ Some guys don’t want to play in it,” the outside back. “Point being, if you come into the game and you’re just not mentally ready, you know that it’s going to be hot, you don’t want to be there, you don’t hydrate well, that cramps, injuries, and muscle fatigue can be a real issue. If you can keep those things at bay, the injury side, and stay healthy and stay on the field, yeah, you can use that as an advantage. Fitness can really be a determinant in winning games at the end of the game. If it’s close and we’re pitching a shutout or whatever, you have a little more gas in the tank come 80th, 90th minute, it comes down to last moments as you saw yesterday. I don’t know the weather, what it was last night in Cincinnati, but that may have been a factor as well. The practice in the heat can definitely be a positive and I think it has been. We’ve been out there, it hasn’t been eight or nine in the morning, it’s been 10:30-11, so it’s definitely been hot. So, I think we’re ready to go this weekend in the heat.”
The Revolution made some adjustments in order to better serve players as well as prepare for playing in such a boiling atmosphere. Head coach Caleb Porter moved training up a half hour while also stating that the game is managed a little bit differently when being played in such conditions.
“Yeah, you have some adjustments. You can’t overthink it, but we did move training up a half hour just so that it’s a little bit cooler,” the head coach said. “I think the big thing is guys need to really focus on their hydration. Even if you’ve been drinking the right amount of liquids, you have to drink more, because they lose more fluids, so those are little things that are really important. Our sports science and performance department do a good job that these guys are eating all the right things and hydrating properly. There’s an acclimation, but it’s hot here, we’re training every day. We’re actually training in hotter weather than we’ll have there [in Cincinnati], because it’s a night game and obviously we’re training at 10:30 [a.m.]. I do think tactically, you have to also manage the game in a different way when it hits the summer and the heat kicks in. You don’t want to be getting in an open track-meet type of game for 90-plus minutes. We need to be smart with how we control the game with and without the ball.”
Beyond the heat, New England also has to go up against Pat Noonan’s FC Cincinnati. FC Cincy just beat the Philadelphia Union 4-3 on Wednesday and are second in the Eastern Conference.
Porter gave his opponent a glowing review but also mentioned that due to some absences their are areas where the Revolution can capitalize.
“Yeah, they were the best team in the league last year over the course of the 34 games and this year they are number two in the league to [Inter] Miami,” Porter said. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Miami has [Lionel] Messi and that Cincinnati has [Luciano] Acosta, because they are probably the best two players in the league right now. I think the analytics and the production and all that will show that. Acosta is a very dangerous player. He’s always lurking and ready to hurt you, and we have to do a good job of just keeping our eye on him. Of course, we have to play our game and we have to put pressure on them as well. They have some guys out: Miles [Robinson] and [Matt] Miazga. They’ve conceded a few goals, obviously, the last several games, but they’ve scored a lot of goals. So, they are an extremely dangerous team and deservedly at the top of the league right now.”
Along with the Messi comparison, Lucho Acosta can earn comparisons to Carles Gil. Both No. 10’s are the straw that stirs their respective drinks in the midfield and are the heartbeat of the attack for their clubs.
Gil and Acosta also both boast MLS MVPs on their resume. If New England wants a win on Saturday, the Revolution will need to stifle the midfielder the best they can.
He [Acosta] has been one of the best players in the league and we’re going to look out for him,” Lima said. “I think every team tries to with more or less success, as you saw last night. He’s a key factor for them, has been and will continue to be. So, we have to go with him in the front of our mind throughout the whole night. As you can see, he slips away for a minute and wins a game, last minute. He’s a tough player. I think they have a locker room of good players with plenty of experience. Yeah, he’s going to be a key piece in our success and shutting him down. When teams do that, I think you can find some success against them.”
If the Revolution can secure a win on Saturday they have the chance to get out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference. But even more importantly it will show that New England can compete with the best sides in the conference.
Acosta had a goal and an assist in his first ten minutes coming out of halftime in Foxborough. That was enough for them to take a 2-1 win back in March. It would be great if the Revs gave a strong statement of intent to compete in response out in their place.
it's so interesting to me how Lucio wasn't nearly as good at DC United or Atlas even though he was closer to what you'd consider "in his prime". Bit of a late bloomer.