CASA GRANDE, Ariz. – After the New England Revolution announced the signing of Antonio Mlinar Delamea on Tuesday, head coach Jay Heaps said that the next step for the club would be to finalize and announce a second international center back signing.
The Revs completed that step on Friday morning, unveiling 30-year-old Ivorian international Benjamin Angoua, who arrives on loan from Ligue 1 side EA Guingamp with an option to purchase. After landing in Boston on Thursday night, Angoua was aboard the Revs’ flight to Arizona early Friday.
Now, with both Angoua and Delamea in camp, New England’s next step is to thoroughly integrate the duo into the club’s setup – both on and off the field – throughout the next five weeks.
“It’s really getting them comfortable,” Heaps said. “It’s getting them sorted off the field and making sure that everything they need is taken care of, so they can focus 100 percent on the group.”
Delamea is helped by the fact that he speaks English, and although Angoua isn’t fluent just yet, Heaps said that “he’s actually much better at English than I think he gives himself credit for,” indicating that communication should never be an issue on the field.
Angoua has also found a comforting presence in Xavier Kouassi, also from the Ivory Coast and a fellow French speaker. The duo had been in touch even before Angoua’s move to New England was official, and Heaps said that they connected almost instantly.
New England will be hoping to forge a similar connection between Angoua and Delamea, who may well be paired together in the heart of the Revolution’s defense this year. Seven preseason matches throughout the next four weeks should help immensely in that regard.
Heaps and the Revolution’s technical staff are confident that the duo will develop a complementary relationship on the field, as the Revs specifically targeted central defenders with playing styles and attributes that they believed would work well together.
“Especially when you’re looking for two pieces, you want to see how they would work together and how they would complement our other players,” Heaps said.
While Angoua is expected to play as a center back in New England, he also provides an element of versatility along a Revolution backline that required reinforcements ahead of 2017.
“He’s primarily a center back, but he’s played on both the left side and the right side,” Heaps said of the veteran with more than 100 appearances in Ligue 1 and 17 caps with the Ivory Coast. “I think that versatility really helps complement what our group does.
“In terms of his presence, what he brings with how he plays is exactly what we need.”
