FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Despite arriving to freezing temperatures and snow-covered fields, Ilay Feingold says he’s felt a warm welcome in New England.
“The players received me very well,” he said. “I’m here for [less than] a month, but I feel very warm and I’m really happy about that. It helps me so much with confidence.”
The 20-year-old defender portrays both confidence and self awareness. Even after arriving midway through preseason camp, Feingold was bursting with personality from the start. An Israel native, Feingold seems to have little trouble with his English, though he will apologize to you for it anyway.
To head coach Caleb Porter, Feingold is a right back through and through – making the outside back position one of contention this season, as Feingold battles Revolution veteran Brandon Bye for the starting slot. “Brandon [Bye] is a really nice guy, and even a great player. It’s going to be a good competition,” said Feingold. “We have a good relationship. We respect each other. We’re both going to do our best in order to be in the first lineup. As I said, we respect each other and that’s the most important thing.”
Porter believes that competition is something special – a chance to motivate players to be the best they can be. “Brandon is an experienced player. He has been in this league; Ilay knows that. Ilay is 20 years old. Ilay has got quality. We brought him here to compete with Brandon, and we brought him here to play,” Porter explained. “But you know, Brandon’s not going to give his job away. At the end of the day, I love it. It’s going to be a great competition. They’re both going to play a major role.”
Feingold joins the Revolution on a three-year contract through 2027 and with a club option for 2028. Previously, he played two seasons with Maccabi Haifa in the Israel Premier League and has two caps with the senior Israel National Team, and he hopes to be called up again next month for the chance to represent his country.
Feingold has aspirations to one day play in a top European league and sees this opportunity with the Revs as an important step in the process, but he doesn’t discount the quality and level of play he’s already experienced in this league in such a short time.
“The level of the team is exactly what I expected. I heard that this year the team transferred [in] a lot of good players, so the team level is very high and I’m really enjoying the level,” he said. “As I said at the beginning, MLS, I think in the last years, has developed itself. The league is much better … So, it’s something that is really important for me and I’m really happy about this move.”
With one last chance to play together in a preseason game scenario ahead of the season opener against Nashville, it’s important for players like Feingold – who didn’t get as much time to develop with the team during the monthlong preseason – to log as many minutes as possible on the pitch prior to the regular season’s start.
“It’s really important. It’s a week out from the real games starting. We scheduled it here for a reason, so we could get back in our building here and get comfortable and settled,” Porter said ahead of Saturday’s match. “Obviously, we have 14 new players and most of them need to find places to live, so it’s a lot. We just need time on the pitch, that is the key, and so this is another opportunity for our group to gain time together. Today in training, tomorrow in training, and every step we take on the training ground will help us get connected.”
The Revolution will take on Hartford Athletic at Gillette Stadium on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. ET, in their final match of the preseason campaign. The action will be streamed live on Revolutionsoccer.net.
“For me, every game, every training is an opportunity to prove to the coaching staff that I’m ready to play in the first lineup,” said Feingold. “I’ll do my best. There are great players here, great competition. I will do my best to be in the first lineup.”
