Nick Lima Says It Was An "Easy Decision" To Sign With The Revolution
Nick Lima Says It Was An "Easy Decision" To Sign With The Revolution
Lima: "I was just excited and champing at the bit to sign the dotted line to come here.”
After three seasons with Austin FC, Nick Lima was traded to the New England Revolution on Dec. 11, 2023.
This can be seen as a drastic move because it means relocating to a new region with a different lifestyle and climate. But Lima was excited about the opportunity.
"It was an easy decision to come here,” Lima said. “With the guys in the locker room, first and foremost, but just the winning mentality and I think recently the results. They had a little misfortune last year, but you still see that it’s a resilient group. I was just excited and champing at the bit to sign on the dotted line to come here.”
Lima noted that part of the appeal was that he’d be playing alongside a “very talented group.” He also feels that the club “has a winning culture.” In sum, he feels “blessed and honored to be here.”
Lima was a starter in the Revolution’s first two competitive games of 2024, playing 90 minutes at right back against CA Independiente and 87 minutes against D.C. United.
The opening week was a mixed bag for the Revs as they beat Independiente 1-0 but lost 3-1 to D.C. The second game was derailed by a 25th-minute red card given to Giacomo Vrioni after he was shown two yellows.
“Part of [the D.C game], we played down a man and we created chances and we even were 1-1 at a time,” Lima said. “I think the message is that we can fight and we will fight. Despite everything that could be used as, ‘Hey, we're tired,’ we fought through it.
“Yeah, [D.C.] got their goals at the end. Hats off, they have a big player. When you lump enough into [Christian] Benteke, he’s going to find his opportunities in that game.
“But I think there's a lot of positives that we take away from that month and that game in particular in D.C. and especially Panama, also another hard-fought game in tough conditions, in a tough environment. So it was good overall.”
The Revs are looking to learn a new system under new head coach Caleb Porter, which will take time.
“I think we're all buying in,” Lima said. “Caleb comes with a ton of experience and we all respect that. We're all itching to learn [the system] and to be a part of it.”
While the Revs start the year with a busy stretch of four games in 11 days, Lima doesn’t necessarily see that as a bad thing. He explained that as “a competitive player, I want to play more games than I want to train.”
These games provide the players with an opportunity to learn Porter’s system and build chemistry. The must-win situations also serve as preparation for the Leagues Cup and MLS playoffs.
Lima believes that success will come for the Revs as long as they continue to work hard.
“[Positive results are] going to come but we're putting in the work first,” Lima said. “I think no one's missing the boat that the work needs to be put in and Caleb definitely is reiterating that. We're all working hard. It’s a talented team, so we have that but hard work comes first and that's not missing.”
The move to New England might’ve been drastic, but Lima is fitting in just fine.
The California native has even acclimated himself to the weather, regularly wearing short sleeves during the cold days.
“I think you practice how you play and I always play a game in short sleeves so I want to get used to it,” Lima said. “But you know, the cold weather is cold weather. It's something I’ve never played in but if you're wearing short sleeves out here then the games aren't gonna be an issue.