Revs to host two-time champion LD Alajuelense
New England Revolution center back Dave Romney has run the gambit of extracurricular tournaments during his 10 MLS seasons.
Romney will make his eighth Concacaf Champions Cup appearance when the Revolution host leg one of their Round of 16 clash with two-time winner LD Alajuelense on Wednesday (6 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium.
The second match will take place on March 14 at Estadio Alejandro Morea Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Romney will be making his third Champions Cup start with New England. His previous five appearances were with the LA Galaxy.
“It is always fun to play teams and guys from other countries,” said Romney. “Culturally it is a cool thing and I’m sure they love it as well and you always love to test yourself against the best in other leagues.
“I always take it as a way to kind of compete and see where we stand in the rest of our Concacaf region. I always love it. I can’t say if everyone feels the same but I think it is a fun test and a fun competition for sure.”
The Revolution and LDA played in the 2003 and 2006 Champions Cup Tournaments with the La Liga Los Leones, holding a 2-1-1 lead in the series. LDA will be making its first appearance in New England as the previous four engagements were held at neutral sites.
The Revolution advanced to the Round of 16 with an aggregate score of 4-0 in its home and home opening round series against Panamanian contender CA Independiente. Revolution goalkeeper Henrich Ravas recorded a clean sheet in both contests.
While the Revolution have enjoyed early success in the Champions Cup, it has not carried over to the MLS side of the slate. The Revolution are 0-2 in league play after Sunday’s dispiriting 1-0 loss to resurgent Toronto FC in the home opener.
Juggling a busy interwoven schedule of Champions Cup and MLS games to start the season has tested the managerial skills of Revolution first-year head coach Caleb Porter. The Revolution will play eight games in 26 days, a grueling endeavor for players who are still finding their soccer legs. The Revolution resume MLS play on Saturday night (7:30) at Atlanta United FC.
“It is extremely difficult because you are not conditioned to do it,” said Porter. “This game isn’t made to be played every two or three days like we are doing, but especially when you are not conditioned early in the year to do it.
“I am really proud of the guys that they have been grinding. Mentally and physically, it is a grind and we have to keep grinding. We have got to stay mentally strong and keep our energy up and that is what we are going to do.”
Porter has been through the process during his previous MLS tenures with the Portland Timbers and the Columbus Crew. The reward for winning the Concacaf tournament is worth the effort. The winner of the Champions Cup qualifies for the FIFA Club World Cup against winning teams from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.
Porter knows from experience that LD Alajuelense is a huge step up in class for CA Independiente and that the Revolution are at a competitive disadvantage playing leg two in Costa Rica.
“They put the advantage at being home for the second leg because you know what to do,” said Porter. “It is really important to us in this first leg to set up ourselves up for the second half of the series and put ourselves in a good spot in the aggregate.
“When you go from the Panamanian to the Costa Rica team the level goes higher and they have more quality. They have bigger budgets and more talent and they have a lot of internationals on their team.”
Revolution striker Giacomo Vrioni picked up a yellow card in the second game against CA Independiente and is ineligible to compete in the next match.