Sweeney: Five takeaways from Gustavo Bou's first meet-up with the Boston soccer press corps

FOXBOROUGH — New Revolution signing Gustavo Bou, his ITC and P-1 Visa now in the hands of the Foxborough MLS outfit, met the Boston soccer press corps following Tuesday morning’s training session at Gillette Stadium.

Bou signed with the club last Wednesday, and the Revs announced that he was officially added to the roster on Monday. That means he’s eligible to make his Revolution debut Wednesday night, when The Boys In Blue host Vancouver Whitecaps in the two sides’ lone meeting of 2019.

The Argentine known as La Pantera answered questions for about 11 minutes through team interpreter Lucas Santos, so here are a few of the things we’re taking away from it.

As expected, Bou is saying all the right things

I used my rudimentary Spanish and asked Bou right from the off, “Qué puede traer a este equipo?” Basically, I asked, “What can you bring to this team?”

Through Santos, he said, “The few days I've been here, I'm very pleased with what I've seen from my team. I can see there's a strong team here; I'm happy to be part of this project. I'm very eager to get the season going for me. I want to get on the field, help the team as much as I can.”

I then asked — in English this time — him about his skill set.

He replied, “I'm really a player that likes to move in between spaces up front, and I’m a player that likes to be in constant contact with the ball, either making runs or helping teams make fit in both through for the runs. Obviously they brought me here to score a lot of goals, and I hope to continue doing that here. But you know, it's not all about that the goals: I'm here also to help other teammates score.”

He also noted that he’s looking forward to the new challenge of MLS.

So far, Bou is saying the right things. He’s not making too much noise, even though there is considerable hype given that he has scored 120 goals during his time in Mexican and Argentinian football. The fact he wants to connect and be unselfish is also a good sign. He values himself as an off-the-ball runner, so the thing to watch Wednesday — when Bou comes on — is his movement.

In seeing him in training Tuesday, he glides with ball. And he has power, too: he practiced taking a penalty, and it had a punch behind it.

Expect Bou to challenge for playing time on the left

During Tuesday’s training, Bou was lined up on the left-hand side in a small-sided, half-pitch game, and as he worked on the ball, got it onto his right.

That looks like what we should expect to see out of La Pantera.

“I spoke with Bruce (Arena),” Bou said. “He talked to me a little bit of his game tactics in what he's planning to employ in the next coming weeks. And he told me, he's seen a lot of me when I play in Mexico (and) is trying to use me in the same position a little bit on the left. He's trying to have me play on the left in order to get more contact with the ball with my teammates and being able to link up a little more with the midfield and the other forwards.”

In a two-striker system, you’d see him up top, on the left, where Juan Fernando Caicedo is usually aligned. In the 4-2-3-1, he would either be up top, or over on the left where Cristian Penilla had entrenched himself.

Arena’s building something special, and Bou will be a part of it

Sometimes new players let things slip, and on Tuesday, Bou said that Arena told him this is a project, and while Arena is, “trying to put together a very competitive team, even now mid season, but mainly focused on next year trying to build a more competitive team. He told me he really wanted me to be part of that project.”

With the run of form the Revs have been on these last two months — 4-0-4, in case anyone needed a reminder — it’s not hard to envision this particular team breaking the playoff-less skid which is at three years. And while one can look at the interpretation and panic — “OMG, they’re not going to win this year! — without thinking, I think it’s safe to say that the club is a few pieces away from making a serious MLS Cup run.

The fact that Bou will be here — saying the right things, scoring goals, setting up his compañeros for goals of their own — should make Revolution fans sleep somewhat easier than they have the last three seasons. Patience is going to be needed.

The Revs’ incumbent Spanish-speaking players are a help

Before Bou arrived, New England had four players who only speak Spanish: Cristian Penilla, Luis Caicedo, Juan Fernando Caicedo, and Carles Gil. Throw in bilingual speakers such as Diego Fagundez, Andrew Farrell, and Juan Agudelo, and it’s a veritable fiesta in the Revolution changing room.

The players who speak Spanish are certainly helping him make the transition from Xolos de Tijuana in Liga MX, where there are no English-speaking players on the roster, to the Revs, which has a roster chock full of English speakers. And Bou speaks no English.

“In terms of language," Bou said, “it does help that there's other Spanish-speaking players in the team, but you know like they say, football is a really a universal language. On the field we’re really talking football, but it does help make that transition easier coming to a new league.

“It makes you feel a bit at ease when you come in. And you find players who speak the same language certainly helps you relax after the first few days, which were a little bit hectic when move into a new country, new city, new league.”

And people have talked up MLS to him in the lead-up to his move to Foxborough.

“I have a lot of friends, colleagues, that I played (with) before, are playing here and have told me great things about the league. You know, clearly MLS is a league that is growing year over year, and that's one of the main reasons why I came here,” he said.

He wanted to get the move made

Even though Arena said Tuesday that he didn’t think Bou “would have been seeking us,” the Argentine felt some anxiety over the length of the transfer process.

“Honestly, I was more anxious prior to the transfer being completed last week, but right now I'm not really anxious. I'm happy to be here; the players have welcomed me with open arms. And honestly I'm just really eager, looking forward to getting my first few minutes in the field,” Bou said.

In the days before the deal was announced, Bou took in the Rolling Stones show at Gillette and posted photos of him in Boston on Instagram. Even so, he wanted the deal done, seeing it was — by his admission — 90 percent completed before he flew to the northeast.

“There was some minor details (that) still had to be figured out between the clubs. So naturally, as a player, you want to get the feeling that things are getting sorted out; you want to feel calm but up until the transfer was completed, I do admit I was feeling anxious. But right after that, I honestly am just happy that it happened. I'm happy to be here, and I'm looking forward to get my playing time started,” he said.