The New England Revolution resume MLS play when they engage CF Montreal on Saturday night (7:30) at Stade Saputo.
The Revolution return to work after an extended down period that began when MLS went dark to compete in the Leagues Cup Tournament. The Revolution’s last MLS contest was a 4-0 win over D.C. United at Gillette Stadium on July 15.
The Revolution played in four Leagues Cup matches and were eliminated in Round 16 by Queretaro FC of LIGA MX on Aug. 7. The match ended deadlocked at 1-1 but the Revolution were outscored 4-2 in penalty kicks.
The break was extended another 10 days when the Revolution’s match at Nashville FC slated for Aug. 16 was postponed until Oct. 14.
“We’re back into MLS play and we did have a couple of weeks of break,” said Revolution interim head coach Richie Williams. “It’s going to be good to get back into the MLS league schedule.
“We are going up to Montreal, which is a very good team, and it is not going to be an easy game. We have to be prepared and ready to go.”
Despite the extended time away from MLS activities, a lot of newsworthy events went down at the Revolution’s training facility in Foxboro during the break.
Revolution head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena remains on indefinite administrative leave since Aug. 1 pending an investigation my MLS for making “insensitive and inappropriate remarks.” The inquiry has dragged on for nearly a month with no resolution in sight.
“I don’t have any comment on it because nobody really has any idea what is going on,” said Williams. “They are still continuing their investigation and whenever they decide it has come to an end, that’s when they will inform us.”
The biggest development during the break involved 23-year-old Sebian national Djordje Petrovic, the Revolution’s MLS All-Star goalkeeper. The Revolution entered into a transfer agreement with Chelsea on the English Premier League for Petrovic that is potentially worth $18 million to the club. Earl Edwards Jr. is expected to start in goal against Montreal.
“It’s a team game,” said Williams. “Djordje is a big part of our team but Earl has played in games for us this year and had done really well.
“I don’t know the details of everything but my assumption is that this was just a really good deal for both Djordje and the organization. Obviously with Chelsea being one of the best clubs in the world, I think that these were all factors in determining the sale.”
The other major development involves striker Gustavo Bou, who has five goals and three assists in 14 games. Bou suffered a leg injury during Leagues Cup and is expected to miss four weeks. Bou left Foxboro to do his rehab in Argentina. Bobby Wood and Giacomo Vrioni are projected to be the starting forwards at Montreal.
The Revolution return in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 12-4-7 record with 11 games remaining in the regular season. The Revolution have a busy stretch of three games in eight days. The Revs will host New York Red Bulls on Wednesday night and Austin FC next Saturday.