TUCSON, Ariz. – It took an extra 24 hours and a bevy of last-minute changes to the travel plans, but the New England Revolution safely touched down in Tucson, Arizona late Monday night to kick off the final phase of their preseason preparations.
The original itinerary had the Revs arriving in the Grand Canyon State on Sunday, but the winter weather which has hammered the Northeast in recent weeks delayed the club’s arrival until Monday.
It was worth the wait, though, as conditions for Tuesday morning’s first training session at Kino Sports Complex could not have been more ideal. While mountains of snow have forced the Revs to train indoors back in Foxborough, they were greeted by temperatures hovering in the low 70s in Tucson.
“The snow kind of puts a damper on things back home,” said Teal Bunbury. “It’s so nice to be out here in the warm weather and blue skies. You could tell all the guys were buzzing for our first session to get the long trip out of us. We’re just excited for the last stretch of preseason before the season starts.”
Briefly escaping the brutal conditions back home are a nice little bonus, but in truth this extended stay in Tucson is all about preparing for the regular season, which kicks off in less than three weeks when the Revs visit Seattle Sounders FC on March 8.
The centerpiece of those preparations is the Desert Diamond Cup, which will see the Revs play four matches in a tournament-style competition. While their first two preseason contests during the trip to Casa Grande were more like scrimmages, these will operate as legitimate games.
“There are still some similar components in terms of managing minutes, but there are a little bit more bright lights,” said head coach Jay Heaps. “We’re starting to finalize not only roster spots, but positional starts and where guys are going to shake out as the season goes.”
“For us, it’s a little more important,” said Bunbury. “It’s closer to the regular season. You want to stay injury-free, but we also know it’s a tournament. We want to win games and that’s why we play. We want to get sharp and we want to get our fitness. A lot of those things play into it.”
Heaps downplayed the importance of results in the Desert Diamond Cup, particularly through the early part of the competition when teams are still likely to use most of the roster in a single game.
But while results aren’t paramount, strong performances are required, beginning with Wednesday night’s DDC opener against Real Salt Lake (8 p.m. ET, streaming live on revolutionsoccer.net).
“We are getting closer to the start of the season and it’s time to focus seriously on these games,” said captain Jose Goncalves. “I think we understand each other much better than the first [trip] and I think we can achieve a little bit more. That’s why we take all these games here seriously.”
