BOSTON (CBS) — The Revolution have a break the next few weeks, but midfielder Tajon Buchanan will be hitting the pitch in international play. On Friday, Buchanan was called in to the Canada Men’s National Team for three upcoming World Cup Qualifying matches. 205 more words
Tajon Buchanan Called In To Canada Men’s National Team For World Cup Qualifiers — CBS Boston
TORONTO FC (3) – NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (2) POST GAME SUMMARY
SCORING SUMMARY
TOR – Yeferson Soteldo 9’ (Auro Jr.)
TOR – Kemar Lawrence 15’ (Alejandro Pozuelo)
TOR – Tsubasa Endoh 24’ (Yeferson Soteldo)
NE – Carles Gil 56’
NE – Adam Buksa 78’ (Emmanuel Boateng)
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
TOR – Mark Delgado 55’ (caution)
NE – Tommy McNamara 75’ (caution)
TOR – Nick DeLeon 89’ (caution)
RECORDS (W-L-D)
Toronto FC 2-8-2 8 points
New England Revolution 7-3-3 24 points
LINEUPS
TORONTO FC – Alex Bono; Auro Jr., Omar González, Luke Singh, Kemar Lawrence; Michael Bradley (C), Mark Delgado, Tsubasa Endoh (Nick DeLeon 73’), Alejandro Pozuelo, Yeferson Soteldo (Dom Dwyer 84’); Ayo Akinola (Patrick Mullins 77’)
Substitutes Not Used: Kevin Silva, Noble Okello, Ralph Priso, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Jayden Nelson, Jacob Shaffelburg
Substitutes Not Used: Earl Edwards Jr., Jonathan Bell, A. J. DeLaGarza, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Scott Caldwell
JAVIER PÉREZ – INTERIM HEAD COACH, TORONTO FC
Q. Congratulations on your first win at the helm.
Thank you.
Q. You didn’t have much time with the team before this game. Can you tell us what your main message was to the team? It clearly worked.
Yeah, so I think I mentioned this in the press conference before traveling. We have very limited time, just two days to prepare. The first day we worked on our defensive shape, how we were going to prepare the team against New England, and the second day we work about how we were going to play with the ball. So I think the game reflects both parts of the game that we worked on in training.
Defensive part, at the same time, I like how the team knew how to suffer and get the result and get the job done.
Q. Can you say how much a win does to take the weight off the shoulders of the team and the players do you think this win is?
Yes, I thinks have a very important win because not only for what just happened during the past week but it’s been extremely tough for the players and staff to be away from home, away from their families, and it was kind of very important to put together a good performance, not only to win, but to put together a good performance to believe, again, in us, and I think the team responded. I think the team put together a good performance.
So to answer your question, I think it was a big weight that the players took off their shoulders.
Q. This was the first game where Soteldo and Pozuelo started with each other. What did you make of their collective performance between the two?
I think taking advantage of their ability. Alejandro is a magnificent player with the ball. He’s a player that change the tempo of the game, and Yeferson is a player that can take one, maybe two players by himself. He can hold the ball.
So, basically take advantage of the characteristics of both of them.
Q. Was that your first match as a head coach, if so, how did you enjoy the view from the coach’s box on the sideline, and what goes into the notebook we saw you scribbling in?
What goes into that notebook? A lot of things. A lot of things.
The credit is to the players. The coaches, we are there to support them, to help them, try to read what is in the game before the game to think about different possibilities that can happen.
The beauty of the game is that always it’s going to happen but it’s not in the notebook and you have to react to that. So the notebook helps, but in the end, the players are the ones, they make the performances.
Q. Is there an update on the status of Chris Mavinga? I noticed he was out of the 18 tonight.
Yes, Chris, we kept him out as a precaution because he has some discomfort, so that’s the only reason why Chris was out.
Q. The team is coming home now. You don’t play until July 17th. What is your plan? Will the team get some time off to go back to their homes and families or will you go straight back to practice?
No. The team is, as I said before, it’s been a really challenging time for everybody, players as well as staff. They need to go home. They need to see their families. Some of the players, they have never been in Toronto. They need to settle down. So they are going to have some days off. They are going to come back happy to the training facility we have waiting for us in Toronto. We have an amazing stadium, and hopefully we have, as well, the fans waiting for us in the stadium.
And that’s what they need, just some days off to settle down in Toronto, and then we will go back to business, go back to work.
Q. Is there an update on your situation? Obviously we’re assuming that you’re going to be coaching the next game, but have you been given any type of formal update on your situation as a head coach?
Yes, I think I mentioned this before. I was going to take today, today’s game, as my next challenge, and I think right now, the answer is the same. My next challenge is June 17 at home, and get three points over there. So if the management doesn’t communicate to me anything different, I will be taking that challenge.
Q. Perhaps you could ask for a raise.
Excuse me?
Q. Perhaps you could ask for a raise.
Let’s keep winning.
TSUBASA ENDOH – MIDFIELDER, TORONTO FC
Q. Can you give us an idea of what that win meant to you guys after going through so much leading up to tonight’s game?
It meant everything. You know, collectively, individually, honestly. It was much needed. We played hard. We came out strong. I mean, you know, it was just we gave it all, and it’s something that we showed on the field.
Q. Obviously you must be happy to be going home back to Toronto. Can you tell us what the feeling is in the locker room about coming back north of the border?
You know, all I can say is that we are all excited to be back in Toronto after spending time for, I don’t know, more than three months in Orlando. You know, it wasn’t easy but we adjusted. It just is what it is. We are professionals, so we adjusted.
So, yeah, but we are excited to be back home, hopefully in front of fans.
Q. And can you tell us, was the game plan different going into this game? You didn’t have much time with Javier, but what was his message to you in the couple of days you had working with him?
It was like you said, it wasn’t much time to prepare for this game. So you know, we only had a couple days to get ready for this game.
So it wasn’t easy, but it was clear collectively what we need to do, and you know, each player did everything. Each player gave everything on the field. I mean, you know, you just leave it on the field, and we got those three points and that was definitely much needed as a team and we can move forward from here.
Q. Do you feel like that was a better representation of what this team is capable of than the previous six, seven, eight matches have been?
It’s hard to compare. I mean, like, you know, it’s just one game. But you know, it was just a fresh energy from the team. We knew what we need to do on the field, and there’s no talk. We just have to show on the field, and that’s what we do, right.
So we just go out there and we got the three points and hopefully, you know, it will get better from now on.
Q. You’ve only started one game this season, I believe, before this, and that was all the way back on May 15th against New York City FC. Why has it been, I guess, tough for you to get playing time here?
Well, I think I missed the whole preseason because of my injury. I had a surgery, and it hasn’t been easy to get in the mix. And as a player, it’s honestly tough to miss the whole preseason, and just coming into the game and try to understand what the new coach is trying to do.
So I mean, for me, that’s part of the reason why. But even after I came back from surgery, I was struggling a little bit. So it wasn’t — I wasn’t feeling my best. So that was definitely part of it.
But now I’m feeling 100 percent. I’ve been ready, so like I said, I have not been playing in the last couple, I don’t know, back in 2019, first part of 2019. I just had to keep my head down and keep training. You just need to keep training hard, and you know, be ready. Be ready for this kind of opportunity, and then once it’s laid out in front of you, you just need to take it. I’ve been saying that or I’ve been telling myself that for every single time every single year when I first was out of university, right.
So, you know, that’s all you can do. That’s all you can control. So, yeah, I’ve been ready. I’m not the type of guy who complains, go to the coach or whatever. So, just, you know, keep my head down and just be ready for this kind of opportunity. That’s it.
Q. Going forward as a team right now, what do you guys think you have to like sort of concentrate on to sort of keep your play at a consistent level where you can start to get points?
Can you repeat that.
Q. Sure, I’ll repeat that. What part of your game as a team do you think you have to concentrate on or work on or keep a consistent performance going forward?
Personally, a discipline. We just need to be disciplined defensively, offensively. You know, we have a lot of probably players on our team that offensively we can damage the opponents.
But then defensively, you know, we just need to be on the same page, and collectively understand each other. Then, you know, if we don’t concede a lot of goals, we can definitely win the game because we have a lot of talented, attacking players. We showed today that we could score goals. So that showed on the field, and yeah, we just need to keep building on.
Q. On a lighter note, what’s the first thing you do when you get back to Toronto? I don’t suppose you have any plants that need watering at your place or anything like that?
The first thing I’ll do, probably, maybe I’ll go to a restaurant and go to patio and feel like a normal person again (smiling.)
-TORONTO FOOTBALL CLUB-
TORONTO FC (1) – NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (0) POST MATCH SUMMARY
SCORING SUMMARY
TFC – Ayo Akinola 29’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NE – Tommy McNamara 40’ (caution)
NE – Henry Kessler 48’ (caution)
NE – Brandon Bye 63’ (caution)
TFC – Auro 71’ (caution)
TFC – Richie Laryea 84’ (caution)
NE – Teal Bunbury 90’+3 (caution)
MEDIA NOTES
RECORDS
TORONTO FC: 10-2-4 34 PTS.
NEW ENGLAND: 5-4-7 22 PTS.
LINE-UPS
TORONTO FC – Alex Bono; Richie Laryea, Laurent Ciman, Chris Mavinga, Tony Gallacher (Auro 56’); Jonathan Osorio (C), Marky Delgado, Nick DeLeon (Liam Fraser 70’), Pablo Piatti (Omar Gonzalez 85’), Alejandro Pozuelo; Ayo Akinola (Patrick Mullins 86’)
Substitutes Not Used: Quentin Westberg, Eriq Zavaleta, Erickson Gallardo, Tsubasa Endoh, Jayden Nelson
NEW ENGLAND – Matt Turner; Brandon Bye (Kelyn Rowe 68’), Andrew Farrell, Henry Kessler, DeJuan Jones (Alexander Buttner 80’); Scott Caldwell (C), Tommy McNamara, Tajon Buchanan, Lee Nguyen (Cristian Penilla 68’), Diego Fagundez (Teal Bunbury 80’); Adam Buksa
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Michael Mancienne, Antonio Mlinar Delamea, Seth Sinovic, Kekuta Manneh
GREG VANNEY – HEAD COACH, TORONTO FC
Three wins in a row and unbeaten in six, you must be feeling good about your squad?
“Yeah, tonight is a different kind of proud. This is a tough place to play. It hasn’t been friendly to us over the years. And this was a tough game. This was a scrap it out battle for every inch kind of game. You’ve got to protect your goal, protect your box. You’re fighting for space just to move the ball and you’re trying to break on the counter sometimes. A little different look, but I’m proud of the guys. They stood strong and resilient and we created some good chances in the transition. I know Ayo when he came off said, “I should have had three.” But that’s him being humble and being the kind of worker that we need at the top right now. The release that he was able to give us throughout the game when everybody else was working. You’ve got to win like this, especially in places like this and I thought it was an incredible effort.”
Can you talk about the job Richie Laryea did on the defensive side?
“This is a tough game for both fullbacks. They’re a team that really gets their fullbacks pushing high. If you don’t get a lot of pressure on the ball early, they get those fullbacks high and there are a lot of decisions to be made. You get put in a lot of one on one situations with the overloads they put on one side and Richie did a phenomenal job of making good decisions, which is showing more of his progression in the position. His ability to close down, get tight to guys and defend one on one, to stand guys up at the right times, I thought he had a very mature performance, and a different kind of performance. Usually, in games he impacts a lot more on the attacking side. Tonight, he showed that he continues to grow on the defensive side. I thought he was excellent.”
Was there a particular reason for Omar Gonzalez not starting?
“No, not really. Just a little bit of a rotation. We have to play these games back to back on turf. So, with that being said, I don’t really want to put any of these guys, if I don’t have to, two games in a row on turf, especially with the way these games are coming so fast. So, it’s more of a management choice. I thought Laurent stood strong tonight. He did a great job. He and Chris are a nice pair. They do well on the field. They have such a good relationship on and off the field that they did a nice job. We saw it in the playoffs. I have full confidence in those guys. That gave us a chance for Omar, who has played a ton of minutes through all of these stretches, to catch his breath tonight and it was nice for us to not have to put him on the turf two games in a row.”
Can you talk about Alex Bono and what kind of teammate he has been?
“Yeah, Alex came in the offseason. He went off and trained somewhere and he just gained some experience in that trial. He also gained some perspective. He came back talking about how happy he is to be here, and he saw things from a little different perspective. He just came back ready to work every single day. What I’ve seen is him get back that full level of confidence that he had, that certainty. He has belief, but I think now he’s confident and really believes that he is again back to where he was. I don’t need to document it, but he had a tough stretch, where everybody had a tough stretch in 2018. And I think over the course of this time and a bit at the end of last year, he’s really just found some peace and some confidence again, and assuredness. He looks solid back there. I know there were a couple of crosses he’d like to have back. That’s one of his bread and butter strengths and one of the reasons why we thought he would do great in this game, to help us snatch some of those crosses that were hanging up there. But he just looks really assured out there and he has three shutouts, and all three of them were great performances. He continues to compete. We’ve got two good goalkeepers right now. Two goalkeepers I believe are in form and we’re going to try to keep it that way and see where we go.”
ALEX BONO – GOALKEEPER, TORONTO FC
Every time you’ve been called on you’ve done the job, you haven’t let a goal in, how difficult has it been this season?
“Yeah, it’s obviously difficult but I just want to start off by thanking this organization. Thanking Toronto FC, thanking the front office and my coaches for allowing me to have the opportunity to play as many games for such an awesome club. This is all I know from a professional standpoint and I’ve learned so much here along the way. I’ve been here for six years now, if you told me that six years down the road I would have started 100 games when I first walked into the training facility, I probably would of thought you were crazy and I’m so honoured and I’m so blessed to be part of this organization and so grateful for the opportunity they’ve given me. 100 games is 100 games, whether you get it in three years, four years, six years, it’s 100 games and I’m obviously very proud and very honoured. It has been a different role for me and all I’ve been focusing on is going in day in and day out training as hard as I can, try to put myself in the best position that when I do get these opportunities that I take them with my full ability because I’ve lived it as much as anyone, you don’t know when the next one is going to come, so for me to be able to take them one at a time. I thought I was a little sloppy today but at the end of the day, it’s another shutout, that’s a full team shutout, full team effort and I’m really proud of the game today.”
What are your thoughts on passing Stefan Frei for most clean sheets in club history?
“I’ve played against him a few times and in the limited conversation, he seems like an awesome guy. He was obviously before my time here and he’s a fantastic goalkeeper, so I’m not going to speak to his tenure at Toronto FC. For me again, I’m just so incredibly honoured and grateful for the opportunities that have been put in front of me from the team and the organization and the coaching staff. I can’t say enough that it is the guys around me that make my job easy. You’ve seen these last few games that I’ve been playing have really been scrappy games, fights, dog fights from minute one to minute 90 and you can’t keep zeros on the board if all 11 guys aren’t on the same page, so I can say that for every single shutout that we’ve accumulated that I’ve been in net for. From that perspective, I’m not too focused on the individual records, I just want to play games and I want to have fun and I want to win, that’s all that matters to me. So as long as I get opportunities to do that, I’m a happy man.”
Greg said your training stint with a club in England left an impression with you, what impact did it have on you?
“Yeah definitely. The first day I went back in the training ground that I got back, I walked in the doors and said we’re so blessed to be part of this Toronto FC organization. The way that this club treats the players, the facilities that we have, all the people that surround us day in and day out all the resources we have as a club and as an organization are simply unmatched and that’s not just in North America. Granted, it was a Championship club that I was training at and they were fighting to stay in the Championship but it’s still a high level of soccer. For me to come back and walk back into our facilities and see the guys and girls that help us day in and day out from top to bottom it’s just a first-class organization and to be part of it I’m so incredibly honoured. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed it when I went to train, I learned a lot in the couple weeks I was there but at the end of the day I walked back in the training facility and said this is really really special. I hope that guys that have been other places that come here, obviously notice it. It’s the one thing I tell the young guys and the one thing that was told to me when I came in was listen it doesn’t get much better than this across the league and that really is the truth, you can’t say enough good things about this organization and the opportunities they provide for us.”
-TORONTO FOOTBALL CLUB-
Competitive redundancy is the byproduct of an unbalanced pandemic-configured MLS schedule. The Revolution (3-3-6) will engage the Montreal Impact (5-6-10) for the third time this season in a 5 p.m. match on Wednesday at Gillette Stadium. The Revolution opened the season with a 2-1 loss at Montreal on Feb. 29 under unfavorable circumstances. The Revolution…
Revolution coach Bruce Arena has issues with MLS’ unbalanced schedule — Boston Herald
TORONTO FC (0) – NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (0) POST MATCH SUMMARY
SCORING SUMMARY
None
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
NE – Kelyn Rowe 38’ (caution)
NE – Scott Caldwell 41’ (caution)
TFC – Michael Bradley 50’ (caution)
MLS IS BACK TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
| GROUP C | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | PTS. |
| Toronto FC | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| New England Revolution | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| D.C. United | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Montreal Impact | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 0 |
Bold – Advanced to Round of 16
MEDIA NOTES
LINEUPS
TORONTO FC – Alex Bono; Auro Jr. (Laurent Ciman 82’), Omar Gonzalez, Chris Mavinga (Jozy Altidore 86’), Richie Laryea; Michael Bradley (C), Marky Delgado (Noble Okello 68’), Alejandro Pozuelo; Pablo Piatti (Tsubasa Endoh 67’), Nick DeLeon (Jacob Shaffelburg, HT’), Ayo Akinola
Substitutes Not Used: Quentin Westberg, Eriq Zavaleta, Griffin Dorsey, Liam Fraser, Erickson Gallardo, Jayden Nelson, Patrick Mullins
NEW ENGLAND – Matt Turner; Andrew Farrell, Henry Kessler, Brandon Bye, DeJuan Jones; Scott Caldwell (Wilfried Zahibo HT’), Teal Bunbury (C) (Cristian Penilla 60’), Kelyn Rowe (Gustavo Bou 60’), Diego Fagundez; Adam Buksa (Justin Rennicks 77’), Tajon Buchanan
Substitutes Not Used: Brad Knighton, Jeff Caldwell, Michael Mancienne, Seth Sinovic, Antonio Delamea, Alexander Buttner, Issac Angking, Damian Rivera
GREG VANNEY – HEAD COACH, TORONTO FC
Are you happy with where the team is heading into the knockout round? And we got to see a glimpse of Jozy Altidore and Ayo Akinola playing together, what did you think?
For us we are pleased and content with where we are in terms of the results so far. I can nitpick forever. We should have taken three in the first game. But for the short turnaround, guys dug down. Two 9:00 a.m. games and a game in 48 hours in between there so I’m really pleased with the guys resiliency, the battle. We did some really good things, especially in the first half, I thought, in terms of our ball circulation and made it really difficult for them. So, I’m pleased with our performances, so now our games move to night. We’re getting our legs underneath us. Jozy is getting himself back into the fold with us. Oso should be ready hopefully for the next game, to get involved. It was a little bit of a precautionary choice today. So, the team continues to build and that’s what these events are about. So, I’m pleased with where we are at. I’m pleased with where our mindset is at. These 9:00 a.m. games are brutal. And we’ve just grinded through another one. In terms of seeing Jozy and Ayo on the field together, it was nice. I think it’s a handful for defenders. We slid Ayo out to the right side, so he was kind of coming off the right wing. Jozy was then playing as the target, but at times bringing Ayo in to run off Jozy. And that’s where the opportunity and the penalty kick, almost came from right off the bat. I’m pleased. They’re two strong guys who are going to be a handful for defenders in the moments that we use them together. One of those moments today where it came out. So, we’ll see how we play it out as we move the tournament and into the rest of the year.
Did these games play out the way you envisioned them? The team seemed to never get out of second gear, and it seemed like more of a grind to just get through the games.
I’m not sure if you’ve watched any of the other 9:00 a.m. games. They all look very similar. You can start and get going a little bit. The ball is moving quick. Everybody is fresh in the early part of it. But as the game continues, it’s really a grind. There’s no other way. It’s not different for any game. Yesterday, New York and Philadelphia in the morning. Everybody is complaining about how slow the game was. I say come try to play a game at 9:00 a.m. in Florida. At 10:00 a.m. when it starts to get hot, no clouds, no cover from the sun. The guys, it’s just gritting it out. Your mind is telling you to take a rest, but you know you also can’t take a rest and you’ve got 11 guys trying to coordinate when they can be resting at the same time. It’s choosing your moments. That’s what these games are about in the morning. You’ve got to choose the moment when you sprint and when you can make a difference. And then you’ve got to take advantage of that moment. And neither team really took advantage of the moment. And that’s why it ended 0-0. Sometimes defensively both teams made a play here and there, but these games are a grind and it’s about taking advantage of that moment whenever it shows up, and they don’t show up that often because guys don’t have the capacity to repeat sprints the same way they would if it was cooler outside, or if it was even at night here. So, I’m pleased. I’d be hard pressed to say there’s a team in the tournament that’s had as difficult a schedule as we’ve had in playing two games at 9:00 a.m. and one off two days’ rest. So again, it shows the strength and resiliency of our group. Even the depth, some of our young guys coming in and helping us out. So, I’m very pleased. Now we need to take that mindset and some of the good moments we’ve had over these few games and put them into complete games and continue to build in this process of getting better in the process through the tournament. Trying to win it.
Would you have traded the clean sheet for a goal today?
That’s a good question. Winning the game was our priority. That’s what we wanted to do. That’s what we set out to do. I think getting the clean sheet was important for our group in this tournament. I think we are confident we can create chances, we can score goals. With Jozy coming back in the mix, and Oso coming, we know our attack is going to continue to do its thing. I think showing some resilience as a group, getting a shutout is very important, especially because we’ve given up some goals that we’re not very proud of in the first couple of games. So, the shutout is important. I don’t know that I can ever answer that question precisely, but I think the shutout was good for our group today.
ALEX BONO – GOALKEEPER, TORONTO FC
How did you feel out there, Alex? It’s been a bit of a long time since you’ve played?
I felt really good. Obviously, the 9:00 am kickoff is a little bit different and not something we’re used to, especially in the heat, and makes it a lot more difficult. I feel bad these guys in front of me that work so hard and have to deal with that heat. So, the preparation is a little bit different, but the instruction is the same. I’ve got to go out and play 90 minutes. And so, I was ready for it. I felt good going in and I’m happy that we’re now at the top of the group and put ourselves in a good position to move on, and that was the goal today.
Alex, can you walk us through the point blank save you made late in the game?
It was a ball that came through. Rule of thumb I use is if a ball is outside the frame of the goal, is to hold your ground unless you think you’re going to get there. So, I decided to stay in, and he had time to dribble in and play a ball across. At that point you’re not really sure who’s there to get on the end of it. So, we work on it a lot in training, to come out and make yourself big and put a block on it and hope it hits you. I was fortunate in that moment that I was able to put myself in a good position and get a block.
Alex, the clean sheet was a nice pickup. What is the takeaway heading into the knockout round?
We showed a lot of resilience today. Obviously in the first half we were on top of the game a lot. Going into the second half we found ourselves against it a little bit. And we talked about it before the game, when you get tired, it’s inevitable during these games, it’s important that we keep mental strength, and I thought our group showed a ton of mental strength today, staying tuned in all the way until the final whistle, even when we were up against it at the toughest times. I give the guys a lot of credit for staying tuned in and engaged throughout the whole match.
AYO AKINOLA – FORWARD, TORONTO FC
Ayo, when you were taken down late in the game on the edge of the box, did you think that was a penalty?
I initially thought it was, but at the same time, I saw the skid marks on the grass, and it was just outside. So, I had a feeling…I thought initially they were going to give a penalty at first, but after it went to VAR, it was just outside the box, and I actually thought it was outside the box.
Ayo, were you starting to feel the effects of the 9:00 a.m. start, the heat and the humidity, with this being the third game you’ve played?
Just a little bit, but at the same time I’m kind of used to it. So, I wasn’t overly concerned about the heat because I think just the preparation was right for me. But I think just a little bit there were times when I had a lack of concentration, little slip ups, but I thought overall it was good for me.
Ayo, you’ve been very cool and collected as you’ve had so much success in this tournament. What’s life been like, has your phone been blowing up?
Just from family and friends, just cheering and supporting me. But at the same time, I’m not going to let social media get to my head. I know if you get complacent, it’s just going to go downhill. I just try to keep a humble approach and ground level it.
-TORONTO FOOTBALL CLUB-
Marshall Leonard remains a capable defender in his new career. The former New England Revolution defender, who now works as an emergency-room doctor in New York City, delivered a gripping message to athletes Wednesday night during his appearance on on ESPN’s “SportsCenter With Scott Van Pelt.” After acknowledging the paralyzing uncertainty many athletes feel as…
Ex-Revolution Defender-Turned NYC Doctor Has Powerful Advice For Athletes — NESN.com
Marshall Leonard remains a capable defender in his new career. The former New England Revolution defender, who now works as an emergency-room doctor in New York City, delivered a gripping message to athletes Wednesday night during his appearance on on ESPN’s “SportsCenter With Scott Van Pelt.” After acknowledging the paralyzing uncertainty many athletes feel as they wait to wait to resume play amid the coronavirus outbreak, Leonard explained to them why it’s so important for them to do whatever it takes to stay in shape. “… I’m a sports fan, I was an athlete previously before, and all the health care providers we’re missing sports just like everybody else,” Leonard said. “As an athlete, I can’t imagine not having a season all of a sudden. One day you wake up and you can’t finish out a championship, you worked so hard for that. “We’re not able to watch it on tv (as healthcare workers). That (used to) give us a lot of relaxation, we come back from a hard shift, we sit back and watch a game. I know I do, and I know a lot of my colleagues do. “… (athletes should) Use this time — and I know it’s completely awkward — use this time to keep yourself in whatever shape possible because when this is done, I’m telling you right now, we need you. We’re doing our thing now but after this we’re going to need you because we’re going to want to watch those games at a high level as well.” These words undoubtedly will resonate with players and fans alike during these unsettling times. Leonard played 63 games for the Revolution between 2002 and 2007. He helped New England win the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2007 and finish runner-up in the MLS Cup final in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Read more at: https://nesn.com/2020/04/ex-revolution-defender-turned-nyc-doctor-has-powerful-advice-for-athletes/
The view from left field 