The 2008

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

season was the thirteenth season of the team's existence. The regular season began on March 29, 2008, with a 3–0 win over the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

and ended on November 6 with a 3–0 playoff loss to the Chicago Fire.

Background

After losing a third straight

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

final in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, the Revs began the 2008 season with high hopes. For the first time in team history, New England participated in four different competitions during the regular season. Their 2007 U.S. Open Cup had qualified them for the preliminary round of the inaugural

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

, and their top-four finish qualified them for the

2008 North American SuperLiga The 2008 North American SuperLiga was the second edition of the SuperLiga competition. The top four Major League Soccer and Liga MX teams by point totals at the end of the season earned qualification. All games of the tournament were broadcast liv ...

. The Revs also played matches in the 2008 Open Cup and the 2008 regular season.

Review

The club started the season well, reaching their July league-fixture recess at the top of the overall MLS table. This early-season success continued in the 2008 SuperLiga, which the club won on August 5, 2008, by beating their 2-time MLS Cup rival the

on penalties. Injuries, fatigue, and fixture congestion eventually caught up with the Revs, however, and the team performed poorly after returning to MLS league play. In an effort to spell his regular starters, coach

Steve Nicol ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

started mostly reserves in an Open Cup semifinal against

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. The Revs lost the match, and Nicol was widely criticized for the decision. The Revolution also crashed out of the

, losing to regional minnows Joe Public FC of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

6-1 on aggregate, including an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at

Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Footb ...

. Mostly on the strength of their hot start, the Revolution managed to make the playoffs. They were unable to advance, however, as they drew 0–0 at home and lost 3–0 away to the Chicago Fire.

Match results

Friendlies

On March 6, the Revolution played a match against

CF Atlante Atlante Fútbol Club, is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. Founded in 1916, Atlante were original members of the Mexican Primera División when it began in 1943. Atlante has won three national league championships, two ...

Playa del Carmen Playa del Carmen, known colloquially as 'Playa', is a Resort town, resort city located along the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is part of the municipality of Solidaridad, Quintana Roo, Solidaridad. As of 2020, the city's ...

MLS regular season

Open Cup

SuperLiga

Champions League

Playoffs

Standings

Conference Overall

Notes

External Links
2008 Schedule
{{2008 in American soccer New England Revolution seasons

Sports competitions in Foxborough, Massachusetts