Farrell taking charge at Revs’ training camp
New England Revolution center backs Andrew Farrell and Henry Kessler comprised one of the most formidable defensive tandems in MLS last season.
REVOLUTION NOTEBOOK
Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena was able to improve the backend of his 4-2-3-1 formation in the offseason by importing speed at the right and left flanks. Arena already has talented players at the outside back positions with DeJuan Jones, Brandon Bye and Matt Polster.
Arena even experimented with fleet-footed Tajon Buchanan, a natural midfieldwinger, at right back during the Revs’ run to the Eastern Conference title game last season.
Arena bolstered the speed and depth at both positions by signing international standout Christian Mafla and versatile MLS veteran A.J. DeLaGarza.
Mafla is a left-footed defender who has played his professional career in South America, most recently as a starting left back for Atletico Nacional in Columbia.
Kessler is currently on loan with the U.S. Men’s U-23 National Team while Buchanan is away with the Canadian U-23 squad. Farrell has taken on the task of integrating the new players into the Revolution’s evolving backend in training camp. Farrell is bilingual and serves as a conduit between the Spanish-speaking players and the coaching staff.
“It’s something that I think we want to do, push our fullbacks into the attack and help whip balls into our forwards and our attacking players and get them in good forward positions,” said Farrell. “The guys we’ve brought in have done really well and not just the outside backs, but all the guys we’ve brought in have adapted really well.
“Now we’ve got pace out there with the wing backs. We’ve got a lot of speed on our team and that can really hurt our opponents when we keep the ball in play. It’s how we want to play this year. It’s an important aspect of our game where we can send these guys forward.”
The Ice Man
The Revolution signed midfielder Arnor Ingvi Traustason to an international transfer agreement on March 16 and let him leave the next day. The ink was still wet on the contract when Traustason departed Foxboro to participate in the Iceland National team’s UEFA 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
In his international career, Traustason has collected 37 caps and scored five goals for Iceland. Traustason, 27, transferred to MLS from Malmo FF in Sweden where he tallied 17 goals and 20 assists in over 100 appearances.
“We think he’s going to be a good player for us, a complement to our roster,” said Arena. “He can play in the wide positions where we think we can use some help and he’s experienced at both the international and club levels.
California dreaming
Arena likes what he’s seen from the mixed brew of incumbents and newbies in training camp, but drills and intrasquad scrimmages reveal only so much. He is anxious to see how the players perform against live opposition during a series of friendly matches in Los Angeles beginning with the LA Galaxy on March 27.
“We are excited about going to California and really seeing where our team is at,” said Arena. “We are going to get a lot of answers to our questions when we play the Galaxy and LAFC in California.”