Friedel: European side holding all the cards in Revolution's second DP target's future

FOXBOROUGH — Once again, Brad Friedel reiterated his desire Sunday to bring in a second designated player from a European club, and noted the European club who owns the Revolution target’s contract holds all the cards right now.

Fans have grown increasingly frustrated with the fact the Original Ten club has not pulled through with its offseason promise of a second designated player for the 2019 season, which is now four matches old with some seven weeks to go before the Primary Transfer Window closes (May 7). In those first four matches, the Revolution have claimed one point out of a possible 12, currently sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and have only scored three goals.

And while some feel that the second DP could be the difference maker for this team, it may be some time before that player puts pen to paper.

“We have been given resources to sign two designated players,” Friedel said during the tail end of his 13-minute post-match press conference Sunday evening. “I’ll speak openly: I would like those players from Europe. Getting a player out from Europe, who’s very good, in January, is really difficult, really difficult. (It has) nothing to do with money -- (it has) to do with the (selling) club allowing the player to leave. That’s really what this amounts to.

“So, we’re negotiating very hard, and not money, on where the team is in the (league) table, where the position, when can that player be released from his contract. This is a player who’s been scouted a long, long time, who I know personally. And I’ve known him for many, many years, who wants to play here, who wants to live here. And it’s not easy to find those players that are very good. And sometimes waiting a couple extra months is worth the wait for the long term. So this isn’t pushing anything back. This has to do with the player being under contract with somebody else and it’s the player that I and my staff want.”

Friedel added, “We will have another Designated Player coming through the door. And we’re trying desperately to get that before May 7th. If not, it will be July, but that will happen.”

BSJ Analysis
A lot of the things Friedel said Sunday make total sense, regardless if you want to believe it or not: the European season, of course, runs counter to the American season, from the middle of August to the middle of May. If the team in question is in the hunt for a trophy, or for a spot in one of the continental competitions, it makes complete sense that they wouldn’t sell the player while the season is ongoing. The board and the manager would be hung in effigy.

That means the Revolution — and the Revolution’s fans — need to be patient. If it happens by May 7, fantastic. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.

But you just read Friedel: he is sure that it will happen.

There’s also one thing you need to keep in mind about a player coming in from Europe, which I don’t think a lot of you are giving consideration to. Even if it’s a signing that does come before the primary window’s closing, that player will have just finished a full European season. It leads me to ask just how much will this player have left in the tank for a hazy, hot, and humid New England summer, plus quite a bit of cross country travel, and playing until October? That would be, essentially, a 14-month playing year for this player. That’s quite a bit of miles on the legs, and doing so without adequate rest.

I know you don’t want to hear this, and I’m willing to take the brunt of your rotten vegetables and half-finished beers for saying it… but the secondary window might be a better time for this lad — if we want to get full use out of him. In mid-July, he’ll have two months of rest and would essentially be in pre-season training during the window.

Will it mean the 2019 Revolution season is a wash? Probably, if it isn’t already. There are 30 matches left, and teams can make a run in MLS. It has happened before.

But before you know it, the 2020 season will be upon us — with a second DP signing ready to go… and well-rested, to boot.