Richie Williams Talks About Djordje Petrovic Missing Thursday's Game
Richie Williams Talks About Djordje Petrovic Missing Thursday's Game
Williams: "We're sympathetic with Djordje right now.”
The New England Revolution continue to have discussions with Djordje Petrovic, who missed Thursday’s game against Atlas FC.
The goalkeeper hasn’t been a full participant in training since the Revs rejected transfer bids from FC Nantes of France and Nottingham Forrest of England. Petrovic has taken part in individual goalkeeping drills during this time.
Interim Revs head coach Richie Williams said that Petrovic will not be fined for missing the Leagues Cup game.
“Djordje's situation right now; we're sympathetic with Djordje right now,” Williams said. “We're just doing what's best for both sides; for Djordje, for the future.”
The situation is a tricky one because of the nature of professional sports.
While Petrovic is one of the best goalkeepers in Major League Soccer—he currently leads the league in saves (99) and has the best save percentage (78.6%)—there’s no guarantee that he will receive future offers akin to the ones he’s already gotten.
Additionally, European seasons will have kicked off by the time the MLS season concludes. As such, it’s less likely that clubs will be looking for a starting goalkeeper.
Williams stated on Thursday that the Revs are having ongoing dialogues with Petrvoic.
“Our conversations with Djordje have been great,” Williams said. “Djordje’s a great goalkeeper, great person, and like I said earlier, we’re just going to take it day by day.”
Earl Edward Jr. was the starting goalkeeper on Thursday. He made six saves to help the Revs get to penalties.
Edwards Jr. told Gustavo Lopes of Nossa Rádio USA that he’s remained in close contact with Petrovic.
“Over the week, [we’ve had] a lot of conversations about his situation and him encouraging me to just be ready to play,” Edwards Jr. said. “We have a great relationship so there was no love lost there.
“He texted me right away and he’s proud of what I did. [I’m] looking forward to continuing to work with him.”
The Revs have advanced to the Round of 16, where they will face Querétaro FC at Gillette Stadium. Discussions with Petrovic will continue in the lead-up to the game.
“Djordje will be hopefully ready in the coming days, and we’ll see,” Williams said.
Richie Williams Talks About Djordje Petrovic Missing Thursday's Game
I understand these comments and I like the approach to player management, the consideration of his career. I also want a commitment to our Revs objectives.
> no love lost
That means the opposite of how he used it, but I'm sure it wasn't intentional 😄
I don't know that I would take management's friendliness about this at face value—it could easily be diplomacy—but I believe Earl and it's nice to hear that Petro isn't totally sulking in a corner and they're getting along well.