With the weight of the world off his shoulders, New England Revolution midfielder Latif Blessing can put the fortunes of the team on his back.
Blessing returns to the lineup after missing the last two MLS matches when the first-place Revolution (6-1-3) begin a three-game road swing on Saturday night (7:30) against Toronto FC (2-2-6) at BMO Field. The Revolution are riding a seven-game unbeaten streak (4-0-3) and are 2-0-1 on the road this season.
Blessing spent the past two weeks in his native Ghana completing the paperwork to bring his wife Khloe and 10-month-old daughter Reign to the United States. The young family has been reunited and relocated to their new home.
“He is getting better,” said Revolution head coach Bruce Arena. “His family is happy, he is happy, so mission accomplished there and now he has got to get back and focus on his profession, which he is doing.
“So, we think in a short period of time Latif will be back and full speed.”
Blessing’s mission to be reunited with his family was a drawn-out process that dates to his years with Los Angeles FC, which won the MLS title last year.
Blessing became disenfranchised in LA and signed with the Revolution on Jan. 18 with his family situation still unresolved. The Revolution took up the cause and helped Blessing cut through the red tape to be reunited in America. Blessing knows the best way to repay the Revolution is to perform on the pitch.
“I think they helped me out a lot, I give credit to them,” said Blessing. “I think they make me happy so I have to make them happy, too.
“In this process they helped me a lot. I think I give them credit and, they helped me a lot to bring my family here. I’m so excited for them to be here with me. My wife has never seen me playing before so I think she is going to be excited to see me play.”
The match features two of the most successful coaches in MLS history that share a long association both for and against each other. Toronto FC coach Bob Bradley worked under Arena as an assistant at Virginia (1983-84) and with D.C. United, where they collaborated to win consecutive MLS titles in 1996 and 1997.
Arena is the winningest coach in MLS with a record of 256-149-126 over 19 seasons while Bradley is 192-146-95 in 15 campaigns.
“Coaching against him, in all honesty, is not any different than anybody else,” said Arena. “Obviously, there is a long relationship there and I have the greatest respect for him and love his family.
“You know all of that, but we are professionals. When the ball is dropped, we are ready to go.”
Blessing is also part of the Arena-Bradley connection. Blessing played for Bradley in Los Angeles and he understands the team structure the Revolution are up against.
“I think we have got to be strong mentally,” said Blessing. “We have to be compact, we have to work hard because I think they have good players.”