New England Revolution Preparing For Tougher CCC Test

They're a very tactical team, and they're very good with the ball."

Photo By ©J. Alexander Dolan

When the whistle blows to start Wednesday’s match against LD Alajuelense, fans shouldn’t expect to see utter domination from the New England Revolution. After facing Club Atlético Independiente, New England will face its first true Concacaf Champions Cup test.

Alajuelense are two-time winners of the Champions Cup, lifting the trophy in 1986 and 2004. They are currently third in the Costa Rican Primera Division and are fresh off a 4-0 thumping of Santos de Guapiles. Former Arsenal attacker Joel Campbell leads the club with four goals so far this season and could cause problems for the Revolution back line.

Speaking to media on Tuesday, Caleb Porter recognized that the talent will be a step up from what New England faced in the first round of the tournament.

“When you go from the Panamanian team to the Costa Rican team, the level goes higher. They have more quality,” Porter said. “They have bigger budgets. They have more talent. They've got a lot of internationals on their team. They have some very good players who've played in World Cups. They have Joel Campbell, who played at some of the top clubs in the world. And so, it's definitely a notch up this leg. This team we’re playing, it's going to be harder for us to advance. In saying that, I think we have a good plan. I'm confident that we're going to have good energy in the game. Our mentality, like I said, is very strong. We have a good read on this opponent, and we rolled out the scout today and the guys are ready.

“I watched their game versus Saprissa. It was 0-0. There's a good level in Costa Rica, and when you look at the rosters, you have a lot of players with a ton of experience, international players who have played, like I said, in World Cups and played in top leagues,” Porter added. “I think they [Alajuelense] are a very technical team. They're a very tactical team, and they're very good with the ball. Their spacing is good, some of their rotations are interesting, and how they look to open you up in the attack, Very impressive, their attacking play, and they've got very good players, talented players in every position, experienced players in every position.”

Along with facing tougher opponents. New England will also have to deal with possible tired legs. This is the club’s third match in about a week. Even after Wednesday’s match, they will return to MLS play on Saturday as they head on the road to face Atlanta United.

With so many matches, a head coach is faced with tough decisions. Does he prioritize the league or a continental tournament? Porter seems to be looking ahead to Saturday as he admitted there will be some rotation against the Costa Rican club.

“So, we will rotate this game a little bit like we've been doing, maybe even a little bit more just to make sure we have energy and that we're fresh physically,” he said. “We have to be very smart, because not only are we trying to win the leg and advance, we don't want to get injured. So, there's a lot of discussions, a lot of hours spent in tight windows preparing, making decisions, and trying to do the right thing so that we win all these games, and it hasn't fallen for us in the league, but we can't do anything about that now. We've got to put that aside and focus now on getting the job done in this first leg against Alajuelense. We need to get an advantage in that first leg going back to the away leg.”

The head coach also have a look into how these decisions are made.

“Yeah, I think in these windows, it's very important that you rely on your sports science and medical staff to help you make good decisions, to look at the training loads, to look at previous injury history, to look at the questionnaires that we have the guys answer every single day that lets us know their baselines on how they're recovering,” Porter stated. “And there's always risk, always risk in these windows. You can't minimize early in the year the risk to a point where there's no risk, and we try to, but you try to make good decisions based on what you know and based on discussions, and in some of it, it is also just the player. How do they feel? How are they recovering? And so, I think we've done a good job over the four games, cycling guys in and out while keeping a core, because it'd be easy for me to just say, ‘Okay, 11 new guys.’ Well, we're not going to win the game, and it's my job, no matter what the challenge is, to try to find a way to win every game. I’m never trying to lose a game. I’m trying to win every game. And so, I know we have a good plan and I know we're making what we feel are the right decisions tomorrow.”

With a second leg on the road, New England will need to utilize its home advantage on Saturday. If they don’t, the Revolution’s time in the tournament could soon be coming to an end.