FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Krisztián Németh is back in full training after returning from international duty late last week, giving New England Revolution head coach Brad Friedel yet another selection decision to make ahead of Friday night’s meeting with the Montreal Impact.
Friedel has used the same match-day squad for the past two matches – a home draw with New York City FC and a road win over the Houston Dynamo – but Németh could force his way into the group after scoring a stunner for Hungary in a recent friendly loss to Kazakhstan.
“The way all the players are playing, they’re all fighting for their places,” Friedel said. “That gives us a very, very nice problem to have when we go selecting who’s going to be the starting 11. Now we’re getting to a point where we have very good players that we may have to leave out of the 18.
“That’s what I wanted to have and that’s what we’re getting.”
Németh is one of several attacking options at Friedel’s disposal, but the 29-year-old forward operates a little differently than anyone else on the Revolution roster. A pure finisher, Németh thrives on his technical ability and an innate nose for goal.
Those were qualities on full display when he lashed home a long-distance goal for Hungary 11 days ago, and that strike offered Németh a boost as he returns to club duties with the Revs.
“It’s always good to score in the national team,” Németh said. “(It had been) a long time (since) I scored, so that’s a positive, and of course, it gives me a little bit more confidence.”
Confidence is coursing through Revolution camp at the moment after a trio of positive results, particularly for fellow attackers like Cristian Penilla (one goal, three assists) and Diego Fagundez (two goals), while others like Juan Agudelo, Teal Bunbury and Kelyn Rowe have also played significant minutes.
With options so plentiful, Németh has seen just 20 minutes of action this season – a substitute appearance against the Colorado Rapids – but he’s embracing the competitive atmosphere and believes the daily battle for playing time will serve the Revs well in the long term.
“If we fight for the positions … everybody is going to be improved and it’s going to be a benefit for the team, a benefit for the players,” said Németh. “We’re going to be better after that, for sure.
“We have competitions, so it’s good for the team, always. You can see in training, everybody gives 100 percent, and I think in the games you can see it.”
Németh didn’t travel to Houston last weekend – he returned from Hungary on Wednesday, and Friedel said another long flight to Texas on Thursday “would’ve been too much for him” – but he was excited to jump back into training on Monday as the Revs continue to build a bit of momentum.
“I watched the (Houston) game, of course, and I saw we really played well,” Németh said. “I hope we’re going to continue like this and keep winning, and always stay in the playoff position.”
