Why The Revolution Added A Set Piece Expert From Brentford FC

The Revs addressed a 2024 weakness by bringing in a set piece coach from the English Premier League.

Photo Courtesy of the New England Revolution

Set pieces were a weakness for the New England Revolution in 2024. To address this, the club brought in Marc Ortí Esteban as a set piece analyst.

Ortí Esteban spent two years in the English Premier League with Brentford FC, analyzing set pieces before, during, and after matches. During his first season with Brentford, the club ranked third in the league with 16 set-piece goals.

Before that, Ortí Esteban worked with FC Midtjylland, FC Barcelona, and E.F. Gava.

“Obviously, it’s an important part of the game,” head coach Caleb Porter said about set pieces. “In most leagues in the world, 30 percent or 25-35 percent of the goals scored are on set pieces.

“We weren’t really good last year on that, and we thought it was important to bring in a guy that could run those. Look around the world, a lot of the top clubs in the world have set piece coaches. It’s not something in MLS that many clubs have.

“I decided with the opening on my staff to go after a set piece guy, and we were able to get a guy from Brentford FC. They’re known as a breeding ground of set piece coaches. They have some of the top set piece coaches in the Premier League right now with clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United. So, he’s got a really good understanding of just that side of the game.”

On Saturday, the Revs scored two set piece goals. The first came when Jackson Yuiell found Leo Campana on a corner kick in the 40th minute. Yueill took the kicks on the left, while Carles Gil managed the right.

The Revs got a second goal via a Maxi Urruti free kick in the 87th minute.

“[Ortí Esteban] came to us now three weeks, or four, [weeks ago],” Mamadou Fofana said. “He shows us [a lot of] video. He shows us what we have to do.

“Today, we scored on set pieces. It was good. We will continue to work [on them]. I think it’s important, because some games, you can’t score like normal, so set pieces will help us and we have to work on these.”

When asked how detailed the Revs have gotten with set pieces, Urruti said, “A lot.” He then echoed that the team had watched videos.

While the Argentine striker admitted that he hasn’t had many free-kick goals in his career, he did say that the team recently worked on scoring from a similar spot.

“It was a difficult position, you know? Yesterday in training, we practiced this position. I took the ball today and scored,” Urruti said.

The Revs will hope for more set piece success once the regular season kicks off next week.

And while set piece coaches are somewhat rare in today’s MLS, Porter predicts that there could be more in the future.

“It’s great, because it’s a specialized part of our game,” Porter said. “I think you’ll see more and more MLS teams have set piece coaches like the rest of the world.”