The New England Revolution are an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. It is one of the ten charter teams of MLS, having competed in the league since its inaugural season.
The club is owned by Robert Kraft, who also owns the New England Patriots along with his son, Jonathan Kraft. The name "Revolution" refers to the New England region's significant involvement in the American Revolution, which took place from 1775 to 1783.
New England plays their home matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, located 21 miles (34 km) southwest of downtown Boston. The club played their home games at the adjacent and now-demolished Foxboro Stadium, from 1996 until 2001. The Revs are the only original MLS team to have every league game in their history televised.
The Revolution won their first major trophy in the 2007 U.S. Open Cup. The following year, they won the 2008 North American SuperLiga. They won their first Supporters' Shield in 2021. The Revolution have participated in five MLS Cup finals from 2002 to 2014, which are the most of clubs who have not won the MLS Cup.
History
The early years (1996–2001) Soccer has a long history in the New England region. In 1862, the Oneida Football Club in Boston was the first organized team to play any kind of "football/soccer" in the United States. In the 1920s, the Boston Soccer Club (later renamed the Bears) and Fall River F.C. were formed and played in the professional American Soccer League, which comprised teams based in the Northeastern U.S. region. The 'Marksmen' were one of the most successful soccer clubs in the United States, winning the National Challenge Cup four times. At the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930 in Uruguay, Bert Patenaude (from Fall River, Massachusetts) scored the first hat-trick in World Cup play. The American team finished in third place. The Boston area was next represented by the New England Tea Men (1978–80) and Boston Minutemen (1974–76), who played in the FIFA-backed, major professional North American Soccer League (NASL). However, each club struggled for financial solvency and folded. The NASL folded in 1984, leaving the United States without a major professional top-level soccer league until Major League Soccer (MLS) began play in 1996.
The success of the 1994 FIFA World Cup (with Foxboro Stadium as one of nine venues) paved the way for a new era of sports in the Boston area and to bring professional soccer back to the region. On June 6, 1995, Robert Kraft became the founding investor/operator of the Revolution, joining Major League Soccer (MLS) as one of its 10 charter clubs for its inaugural season in 1996. Kraft is also the owner of the National Football League's (NFL) New England Patriots and CEO of the Kraft Group.
The Revolution were the last of the MLS charter clubs to name a head coach, ultimately selecting Frank Stapleton on January 4, 1996, after conducting interviews with Osvaldo Ardiles and Brian Quinn. The Revolution played their first-ever league match on April 13, 1996, a 3–2 loss away to the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The match saw the Revolution's first goal in club history scored by Robert Ukrop in the 20th minute (he would score the second goal in club history in the 71st minute). The Revolution recorded their first-ever club win a week later on April 20, a 1–0 victory over the MetroStars courtesy of a Nicola Caricola own goal. The Revolution played its first home match on April 27, 1996, beating D.C. United in a shoot-out in front of 32,864 fans at Foxboro Stadium.
The inaugural Revolution team featured several U.S. Men's national team regulars returning from abroad to be part of the new league. Despite the presence of Alexi Lalas, Mike Burns, and Joe-Max Moore, however, the team was one of only two that failed to make the playoffs of the then 10 team league. Stapleton clashed with several Revolution players, with Lalas and defender Iain Fraser requesting trades. Stapleton would resign at the conclusion of the season, on September 26, with a record of 15 wins and 17 losses.
In November, Thomas Rongen, who had led Tampa Bay to the Supporter's Shield the prior season, was appointed as Stapleton's replacement. In 1997 the Revolution qualified the playoffs for the first time in team history, buoyed by the stand-out play of pre-season acquisition Walter Zenga and All-stars Alexi Lalas and Ted Chronopoulos. However the Revolution failed to advance past the first round, losing in the Conference Semifinals home and away to D.C. United. For the next five years, this playoff result would be the Revs' best (which they matched in the 2000 season), as a revolving door of players and head coaches failed to make much of an impact on the fledgling league.
In February 1998, the Revolution participated in the first three-team trade in league history, ultimately signing 1997 All-star and D.C. United stand-out striker Raúl Díaz Arce. Arce recorded 18 goals and 8 assists for the Revolution in 1998, but the team were unable to build on the success of the prior campaign, and Rongen announced his resignation on August 24. Zenga stepped in as manager for the remaining six matches of the season, and was named the league's first player-manager on October 28.
In 1999, The Revolution traded for National Team captain John Harkes, as well as 1996 MLS All-Star Giovanni Savarese. Despite these additions, the team again missed the playoffs, and only recorded one additional win over their 1998 campaign. Zenga was relieved of his coaching and playing duties on September 30. Steve Nicol concluded the season as Revolution interim manager, and Fernando Clavijo was named head coach on November 29.
Clavijo led the Revolution to a .500 record - the best tally in the club's history until that point, and also led them back to the playoffs for the first time since the 1997 season. Pre-season addition Wolde Harris led the club in scoring with 15 goals. The Revolution would again fail to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs, but did manage to record their first-ever playoff win, a 2–1 result over the Chicago Fire thanks to goals from Eric Wynalda and Mauricio Wright. Harkes represented the Revolution in the 2000 MLS All-Star Game.
The Revolution made history in the 2000 U.S. Open Cup, becoming the first-ever MLS team to lose to an amateur club, when they were defeated in the second round at home by the Mid Michigan Bucks 1–0.
The Revolution began their 2001 campaign with six straight defeats. They managed only 7 victories in the season, but did manage to make the final of the 2001 U.S. Open Cup - ultimately losing to the Los Angeles Galaxy on a golden goal by Danny Califf. It was a harbinger of finals to come for the Revolution.
Attendance in these early years was high despite the team's poor on-field performances. More than 15,000 people per match regularly came to watch the Revolution play in the old Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Steve Nicol era (2002–2011)
Liverpool great Steve Nicol was appointed as head coach on a full-time basis during the 2002 season. He had previously held the position of interim head coach during the 1999 and 2002 seasons. After taking over, Nicol guided the Revolution to a playoff berth for a league-record eight straight seasons, failing for the first time in 2010. The first six of those berths (from 2002 to 2007) resulted in an appearance in the conference final or better, including three consecutive MLS Cup finals from 2005 to 2007. From the 2008 season until 2013, the Revs failed to go further than the first round of the playoffs. Still, Nicol was respected as one of the best coaches in the league.
Playoff success (2002–2007) In his first season in charge, Nicol guided the Revs to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference. The team advanced through the playoffs to MLS Cup 2002, where they lost to the Galaxy again, this time 1–0 on a golden goal by Carlos Ruiz. Held at Gillette Stadium, the Cup final was attended by 61,316 spectators, the largest figure for any MLS Cup until MLS Cup 2018, and the largest for a Revolution match until 2024.
Consecutive MLS Cup finals Craig Tornberg was officially named the Revolution's general manager on December 16, 2003. The 2003 New England Revolution season saw the Revolution's 3rd all-time hat trick, scored against the Chicago Fire on August 31 in a 5–1 win, by Revolution striker Chris Brown. In July 2003, the Revolution signed José Cancela from Deportivo Saprissa. On July 27, 2003, Gillette Stadium hosted a double-header, with FC Barcelona and Juventus FC playing at 4:00 pm as part of the ChampionsWorld Series, and New England playing DC United at 6:30. In front of 30,912 fans, the Revolution established a 2–0 lead on a brace from Twellman, with Cancela recording his first assist as a member of the team. However, an 83rd-minute goal by Eliseo Quintanilla, as well as three second-half, stoppage-time goals by Quintanilla, Dema Kovalenko, and Alecko Eskandarian, would see the Revolution enter the All-Star break with a 4–2 defeat. The Revolution set new club records for goals in a half (4) and total goals scored (6) in their 6–1 September 18 victory over Colorado Rapids.
In 2004, former England international, Plymouth Argyle F.C., and Ipswich Town F.C. legendary striker Paul Mariner would join Nicol's staff as an assistant coach.
After losing in the conference finals in 2003 and 2004, the Revs repeated their 2002 feat finishing tops in the east and losing the cup final to Los Angeles 1–0 in extra time again in 2005. New England had a real chance to win their first MLS championship, in MLS Cup 2006, against the Houston Dynamo. After Taylor Twellman scored in the 113th minute, the Revs allowed an equalizing header from the Dynamo's Brian Ching less than a minute later that sent the game to penalty kicks, where the Revs lost 4–3. Their 2002 MLS Cup appearance granted them a spot in the 2003 CONCACAF Champions Cup, but they lost their first match-up 5:3 on aggregate after playing two games on the road to LD Alajuelense. The Revolution again faced LD Alajuelense of Costa Rica in the home and away 2006 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. The "home" game was played February 22, 2006, in Bermuda despite some fans feeling that playing at Gillette Stadium in the adverse conditions of winter in New England could have been advantageous. The Revs failed to advance, as they drew 0–0 in Bermuda and lost 0–1 in Costa Rica.
In the 2007 season, the Revs made it to two cup finals. The 2007 MLS Cup was a rematch from the previous year, though the result was the same as Houston defeated New England 2–1.
In the 2007 pre-season, New England sold Clint Dempsey to Fulham F.C. for a club, and league, record fee of $4m. Jose Cancela was lost in the 2006 MLS expansion draft to Toronto FC. The Revolution announced in November 2006 that they were not exercising the contract option of José Manuel Abundis. Daniel Hernandez would return to Liga MX and sign with Club Puebla. Offseason acquisitions overwhelmingly came through the 2007 MLS Superdraft, in which the Revolution made a joint-highest 6 selections, with 2 in the first round, selecting Wells Thompson and Amaechi Igwe.