New England Revolution Not Worried About Mamadou Fofana's Off Night
"Again, he’s been through a lot – he lost his dad a couple weeks ago and he’s traveled a lot on the break. I don’t know if that was a part of it. He’s a human being."
Wednesday night’s 3-2 loss to Nashville SC was 27-year-old center back Mamadou Fofana’s worst performance but his head coach and teammates are not worried.
The usually stout center back struggled as he committed a foul against Hany Mukhtar in the box, gifting Nashville a penalty kick. Sam Surridge converted, securing a hat trick and three points for the Coyotes.
Additionally, Fofana simply looked out of sorts. He gifted Nashville opportunities and had some miscommunications with his teammates.
The center back was subbed out in the 65th minute, a tell-tale sign that a center back had a poor performance. Still, after the match, Revolution head coach Caleb Porter didn’t want to pin the blame on Fofana.
“[Fofana] just has to put it behind him,” Porter said. “Again, he’s been through a lot – he lost his dad a couple weeks ago and he’s traveled a lot on the break. I don’t know if that was a part of it. He’s a human being. He has had a great season so far, and he has been a key guy for us. I didn’t think he was great today, but for sure, I wasn’t punishing him by taking him out. I just felt Wyatt [Omsberg] would bring just a little more in the aerial duels and a little more leadership, which I felt we were lacking at the time. So, it wasn’t me trying to pin this result on him. I just didn’t think he was in a great mindset after the penalty, and I felt Wyatt [Omsberg] would just help us in the game.”
While moments such as Wednesday’s loss can be difficult for a player like Fofana, his teammates have his back.
“I make errors. They make errors. We all make errors. But it's important that we stay together and we stay united, and we don't criticize one another,” center back Brayan Ceballos. “We all make mistakes. We have many games. We just have to keep working because it's important, because we have many games ahead.”
It is important to remember that athletes aren’t robots. While they get paid quite a lot of money to play soccer, it isn’t their entire life.
Athletes have families. They suffer loss. Sometimes personal struggles outside the pitch can lead to poor performances, just like any other person.
A quick turnaround could be beneficial for Fofana. It will allow him to forget about the poor performance and aim to help New England avoid three straight losses.
When New England faces the Colorado Rapids on the weekend, Fofana is likely to once again feature as he looks to put his poor performance in the rearview mirror and help the Revolution secure an important three points.
This Revs squad and coach are nothing but consistent. They always have excuses for losses. Nashville was the better team last evening by far.
You know, here's a thought, maybe Fofana should have been given the night off. Period. This coach and his assistants don't seem to watch their players as well as they should.