New England Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps

Excited about getting (to MLS Cup) obviously. Before the game it was two teams, almost like a heavyweight fight, two teams going at it. In the end, we didn’t follow exactly what we wanted to do – we didn’t want to give up the first goal or the second goal, but I really like the way we responded. It shows a lot of hunger in our guys and we’re excited to be able to get through.

You want to be mindful of Lloyd Sam’s speed and we felt when we made that move in New York it really solidified us and allowed us to be a little bit more aggressive actually. It’s a defensive move but it allows us to be a little bit more offensive. Chris (Tierney) can get up as a winger and he can do certain things. Unfortunately, we had to take Kelyn (Rowe) out of the lineup. I think Kelyn’s been playing great and he was excellent off the bench tonight. But what Kevin (Alston) was able to do, he’s a lockdown defender and he frees up Chris (Tierney) to be a little bit more of a winger and then the service comes in. So I think Chris and Kevin, being on our team, the two most senior guys – heck, I had uniforms on when I played with those guys – and having them both out there was really important.

I thought it was a good game. I didn’t think there was anything malicious out there. The last game was physical, coming into this one was going to be physical and I think both teams really went after it. I credit New York, I thought Mike Petke and his group did an unbelievable job, they were ready. I thought Tim Cahill was a handful all game. I think he was an inspirational leader. You can understand why he’s just a legend across the league and the world. Then Thierry Henry, I thought was just class on the ball. So those two guys, when they’re on their game they’re unbelievable.

It looked like we had the first goal handled and then Tim Cahill got his foot in and scored a big goal. It’s who he is. You could tell how he celebrated, how the group went with him. They really rallied around Cahill. I liked the way we responded. We were bending, then we started to get a bit more of a game after that and then I liked we were able to get a set-piece goal. That was something we worked on all week, that exact play. It was actually similar to a play we ran in New York and we missed the chance. We knew there was going to be some space in that area and we were able to hit on it. I think you have moments in the game where you need to find a goal, knowing you worked on certain set plays and things you know are going to work. That gave our guys a little bit of energy then Charlie (Davies) finished off two great chances.

Kevin (Alston) was on the left with (Lloyd) Sam and Andrew (Farrell) was on the right with (Thierry) Henry. I thought Andrew did an unbelievable job tonight, I thought he was really good. But Thierry, even after the game, just his class coming over and congratulating us just in the matter that he did it. You look at a player like that. I said it last week, when you see a player like him and Jermaine (Jones) playing against one another, it was special being a lifetime MLS guy. But seeing him tonight on the turf, everyone talked about it but he didn’t miss a beat. He was himself and created a lot of what they got. I don’t think anyone can hit that ball the way he hit it to (Tim) Cahill and some of his touches out there were pretty good.

I had to give (the game ball) to Charlie (Davies) and I’ll tell you why. We were hard on Charlie this week. We thought in New York, he always plays hard, but didn’t find the right angles, the right gaps and this week we were asking a little bit more of him. Even yesterday, I got on him in training because the cold weather on his body hurts him and he was kind of taking it light and I really wanted to see him get up to where he was tonight. And I thought today from the opening whistle, the number of times he got behind their backline early and then took chances. Charlie Davies can score and I think when he gets in those areas he’s going to put them away.

Well, to be honest with you, last year when we brought (Charlie Davies) in we knew we were going to keep him around. I never felt Charlie – after returning back from D.C. and back and forth – I think for Charlie he just needed to get somewhere and get into the culture of a club. Charlie’s personality makes him who he is and if he’s always constantly moving around, I don’t think he can become the player he wants to be. So I knew we were going to keep him last year even though he wasn’t playing. I told him, 2013 might not be your year, but 2014 is going to be your year. So in the offseason we talked a lot about the way he was going to come in. He came into preseason flying then picked up a hamstring injury that really set him back. I credit Charlie on all of it. We gave him a stable environment but he was fighting for his position every day from the time his injury happened to this entire 2014 to the point when he did get his chance, the staff was rooting for him, the entire team was rooting for him, I think he’s been the inspirational guy that when he did get his chance, you could see guys rooting for him. It was in Dallas where he got his first start and then as the season went on after that, you could see him taking more minutes, getting more starts and when he started the team wanted to help him play better. I think that’s a pretty amazing story.

I think it’s a special night. I think those (local) guys, even Scott Caldwell, was just pretty amazing. A lot of our aggression and the way we play kind of stems from a New England culture. I was born and raised here and I think we want that because when you get into the trenches, when you get into the battles, I really feel that’s an advantage for us. I love having guys out there that have that character and know who they are.

It’s pretty special because it wasn’t easy. Day one, Remi Roy, my goalkeeper coach and assistant coach now, rolled our sleeves up in November 2011 and really wanted to build something championship worthy and get back to where the club was in ‘05 and ‘06 and ‘07. It’s been a lot of sleepless nights, it’s been a lot of hard work so there’s a reward in getting (to MLS Cup). But I think for us, the ultimate reward for us is getting that ring. For me, that’s what this is all about, getting the Kraft family and how amazing they’ve been – not only to me as a soccer player here, but now as a coach – getting them the due ring. They deserve it and I want to get it for them.

To be fair, I thought (New York’s) midfield was excellent in the first half, I thought we were a little bit second. At halftime I had a pretty stern talk with our midfield, I said, hey you guys are what got us here and you guys are going to be what second half. I thought Lee (Nguyen’s) performance in the second half – I don’t think he took a foot wrong in that second half. He did everything. Jermaine (Jones) – the same thing, he had a look in his eyes that said, not tonight. That’s why we didn’t make many changes and we wanted to keep it the same way. The only change we made was bringing Kelyn (Rowe) on. I thought that was it, at the right time get some fresher legs out there and extend the field.

I think the last one was when Taylor (Twellman) had the bicycle kick, it was a quiet crowd, I remember that. I think our fans are amazing to continue to come out, I think they bought into what we were trying to do. The energy – I think it kind of feeds on itself, knowing there’s going be a big crowd makes more people want to come out. Being a part of the fort is exciting now and it carries throughout the stadium. That’s what we’re trying to do with the league, having these environments where you go in and there’s an atmosphere and it’s an event. I think we’re starting to get that here. Even 30,000 people tonight, I don’t think anyone sat down, it was an exciting game.

New England Revolution forward Charlie Davies

Words can’t really describe it for me. It was such a long season, so many ups-and-downs, but we’ve always stuck together, continued to get better. For me, personally, it’s unimaginable really. These five years, really just grinding it out. Things would go against me and there’s a lot of tears and pain, but through it all I just continued to fight and stay with it and things have turned out for the best.

It’s always tough when you’re not playing, especially when you kind of know you’re coming into a situation where the players in your position are established. You’ve got to sit and wait your turn. So coming in to this new season I worked my tail off in the offseason. Maybe too hard. I came in injured and had to battle through calf strings throughout the first half of the season. Finally got myself fit and had to wait my turn. It took nine losses to get my chance, but eventually I got it and I made sure I took it and ran with it. I think what’s really important, the guys in this locker room have pushed me since I’ve been here. They’ve really seen the potential that I have and they want me to succeed and that goes a long way. That’s why I’m playing the way I am now. These guys have all the faith and confidence in me and have built me up from the bottom as well as the medical staff here. Keeping me healthy, that’s been extremely difficult over the last five years. Finally, to feel healthy and be able to play week-to-week at 100% is a great feeling.

It’s amazing. To be in my first MLS Cup. This franchise has been there three or four times and hasn’t won yet. For us to finally get a chance to win one would be extremely special, especially since I grew up here. Bringing a championship back to Boston would be the ultimate goal and something we hope we can do. I think all have the confidence that if we go out and play the way we can that we can make that happen.

New England Revolution defender Andrew Farrell

It’s hard to contain someone of his caliber and his level (Thierry Henry). I think we did a good job throughout the two games.  A lot of people in this locker room look up to Henry. Who knows what he’s going to do next. I want to say good luck to him in whatever he does next.

Charlie (Davies) has been through a lot. His perseverance and fight shows on the field when he plays. We saw this today with his two goals. This team is a family, so when someone is going through tough times we are behind them. We want to see a good person do well – so we back him up all that we can.

Tonight was a lot of fun. As we saw in the first leg, we knew it was going to be a battle. Guys like Jermaine (Jones) and Scottie (Caldwell) had a tough game in the midfield. We knew it was going to be hard, and they brought it to us. They are a great team and they made it hard for us to get the result. Two great goals from Charlie and a few great saves from Bobby (Shuttleworth) and we got the win.

I thought A.J. (Soares) was going to head the ball – and while he did well to body Cahill off the ball, it hit my knee and went right to the middle of our box. Bobby tried to get it but he wasn’t able to, and they scored. Luckily, Charlie scored a couple of goals and we were able to come out on top.

Initially, we thought they were going to use the flanks well and try to attack us that way. We also thought that they were going to use Cahill’s ability in the air. The first half they did a good job winning the second balls and running at us. The second half we did a good job limiting that, and guys like Jermaine and Lee did a good job distributing the ball.

It was nice having Alston on defense. He has a lot of speed and he shuts down people well. We did a good job limiting what they can do. Chris (Tierney) also does a great job up top whipping those balls in – as we saw for the goal when he put a nice ball in the box and Charlie was able to get on the end of it. 

New England Revolution midfielder Teal Bunbury

It’s been 38 games or more, and we put a lot of work into this season. It was a lot of hard work and it is well deserved. The fans and reporters don’t see everything in the back scenes. From getting treatment, to staying sharp with our fitness coach; these are all things that are very important that people do not know about. We’re going to enjoy ourselves today, but we come right back to work because we have another game to play.

I feel like it’s our mindset to stay in the moment and stay focused. When we stayed positive with each other tonight we were able to execute and get the job done.

I’m confident in all the guys here. It doesn’t define us when we go through a dark time. Your character comes out during a hard patch. We’re Eastern Conference Champions, and it’s great. However, we want to be MLS Cup Champions.

Last year with KC was great; and I’m very proud of that. This is a new year, and I’m glad and blessed to be here with the Revs. The guys here are unbelievable, and this is a great opportunity. This doesn’t come around that often, and I want the guys to enjoy it. We have to go in and play well but we have to enjoy it.

Henry is a legend. He makes thing happen, and we saw that today. He is one of the best of all time, and for me – probably the best. It was a pleasure playing against him. Credit to him for having such an extraordinary career – I hope the best for him in whatever he does.

It’s a mindset that you have to build throughout a whole year. It doesn’t just happen overnight. I think our comradery and fans were things that helped us win tonight.

New York Red Bulls Head Coach Mike Petke

No it doesn’t. Whether it was off his hand, off his head, I am so freaking proud, so proud of my guys for these two games, especially today. How they came with this energy, and this attitude, and listened to the game plan, and deserved to win. Not taking anything away from New England, New England did a great job, they got it done. But to get back to your question, it doesn’t matter if the ball came off his hand or anything. We lost today, and I wish New England the best. They gave us a hell of a series. I think this was a phenomenal game for all who watched. We did enough to win, but at the end of the day we didn’t.

There was a lot of opportunities today. We put two away, we could have had more. It was the same story as the first game. At the end of the day the guys left everything out there. This is, I think, perhaps, in the circumstances, how big of a game it was, how big of a moment it was, this was their best game.

We didn’t want to start switching things up too early. I think it paid off getting two goals, but then, yes of course at the end, the last 20 minutes we pushed Thierry (Henry) up front, brought Connor (Lade) on, and went to three in the back at around six minutes left, seven minutes left. And the reason why we didn’t switch too early was because we had the momentum, we had the opportunities, we were all over them, and we felt that a goal would come, but then it became evident that we had to switch it up.

Absolutely, and to go back to the situation with Tim (Cahill) over the last month, month and a half I’ve said it to him, I’ve said it all along; it wasn’t because he wasn’t doing well, it was because of where he fit in the scheme, we had the leading goal scorer up there, but he showed today that he is a world class player.

I don’t think there will ever be a player in this league, there never has been, that has what Thierry has in all aspects. I’m sure you guys have your opinions, I’m not in press conferences, I don’t have to deal with him with the media. I’m honored to have played with him, coached, and witnessed him every day in practice, the good and the bad times. Whatever he decides to do, he is going to be successful at whatever he does. It’s just been a phenomenal two years as a head coach to have a mind like that and a person like that.

A big part of our game plan today was to get the ball wide, especially with Tim (Cahill) up there, and the fact that Lloyd (Sam) could tear up outside backs. Thierry (Henry) likes to come in a little more, but obviously we want Thierry on the wing. The first thirty minutes we didn’t get Thierry (Henry) the ball enough, but we got Lloyd (Sam) the ball plenty, and he did well. I’ve never seen Thierry (Henry) more dedicated, focused definitely this week and over the last month or so. Just his presence on the field today was huge for us.

His (Charlie Davies) speed. It’s as simple as that. He’s a quality player too. I’m not taking that away from him, but his speed. I thought one of the adjustments we had to make at halftime was playing with one forward, and with Olave and Ibrahim (Sekgaya) to spread out responding to the runs in between them. He’s an opportunist; he’s got a little bit of other players that I can’t think of off the top of my head, he’s got pace, he’s cool in front of the ball, and having the game be over now I’m complimentary. It’s great to see after what he went through that he is doing well. It’s a great story, and it’s good for him.

Yes and No. No because we made it within one goal of the MLS Cup, but yes because we didn’t get to the MLS Cup. I think we’ve made tremendous strides over the last two years, and I’m proud of them. Whatever happens next year as far as what my game plan is, and what we decide to do, this is going to be a great memory.

I know exactly what I see, and I know exactly what our plan is, as we’ve talked about leading up to this.  I don’t think I’m ready to talk about that right now, but we have a very good plan for the future, and it is going to take understanding from our fan base, understanding from the media perhaps. We want to build something, I want to build something, and I think that we have a good idea of how to do that.

I’m big on character. I’m also intelligent enough to know that I inherited 90 percent of this team, and I put my character into them as much as I could. We have strong personalities on the team. At the end of the day if I look back from when I took the team over to now I am damn proud of the character, and I’m very proud of the responsibility my players have taken on their shoulders, and accountability that they had. Looking into the future I hope we keep a lot of the character that we built.

Like I said, I’m not ready to completely talk about it. I have losses that I have to answer to, and we’re not ready to roll out our game plan for the future. It’s kind of a lot to look at, but I think that this was a four year project, Thierry’s contract status, not to say he’s not coming back or anything, but his current contract was a four-year project. We had some guys on the team getting on in years. Whatever our plan going forward is going to be what’s best for the organization, what’s best for the club like I said, and everybody will be on board.

I remember so much, I remember first and foremost the signings of guys like Thierry Henry, no matter what you say about him. Tim Cahill coming in, those are huge names, huge players for a club like us, and a city like New York. Phenomenal ride, fantastic ride. I’ll just remember the players that came in and out, the magnitude of certain situations we were under and guys stepped up. I’m proud of this team, I’ve been proud of them since I’ve been with the Metrostars, but now as the coach it’s a lot different to look at them and have these feelings come out. It’s so different than being a player. We have crushed guys in the locker room. My thing is if we would have lost to the Kansas City of last year, so I take my hat off. I’m happy for New England, I truly am. Jay (Heaps) came in with me, we grew up together in this league.  We both came in the same time as a coach, pretty much, and it’s important like somebody like Jay (Heaps) or myself to be at this point. I feel that if we didn’t slip up a little bit here and there, and capitalize, we’d be celebrating right now.

New York Red Bulls forward Tim Cahill

It’s just disappointing. I still think that we were the better team. Over of the two legs they deserve credit. They took the opportunities but for us it’s just disheartening because we’ve worked so hard to put ourselves in this position and if we don’t concede two goals we win 2-0. If a few of us put away some more chances maybe we take it into extra time. Yeah, it’s pretty hard to take because I thought we played well and obviously we put them under a lot of pressure. But its football so you have to really give them credit. Today, their fans were brilliant and so were ours and they ended up victorious but it’s just one of those ones that you want to try and forget as soon as possible.

I know I just paid my respects. Let them lift the trophy, round of applause and then I’ll get off. When I was in Qatar, I lost the final against Japan. I stayed on the pitch right until after the trophy, that’s football you know they deserved it. Regardless of how it went, could’ve been different. But, I think they deserve that moment because they’ve fought just as hard as we have all season and they put themselves in a position to win the game. You know, two crosses that we should’ve dealt with and I’ve always said I know we’re going to concede but also know we’re going to score goals and today we didn’t score enough.

It always is, but that’s us. We don’t do things easy and it was just one of those things that we win together and we lose together and I’ve said it all season. When players are called upon you have to step up and we stepped up numerous times but overall over the two legs if we could do it different we probably would have.

Who knows mate. You know. I’m going to have a little break with the kids. Chill out. I’m going to play in Asia Cup and try and do well for my country.

I actually feel that today was made for us to go to the final. I think everyone felt that. You could see in their players’ eyes that they were stuttering a bit when we started to press on. I’m just proud of the boys, really, because it’s unfortunate that I haven’t been here all season and I really wanted to contribute in a big way for the team and we didn’t do the job. But, overall they’ve got to be proud because we’ve actually did really well this season, especially for someone like Bradley Wright. We wanted to win the game for him and get him to the final and even though he didn’t get MVP, which is a travesty because of what he’s done in this league. Scoring, equaling the American record. I feel it’s a disgrace that he hasn’t been properly commended for that because he’s the hardest working player in this league by far, on and off the park.

I think, no one knows, really, do we? So, for me it’s been a pleasure. We’ve had a good time and we’ve helped deliver the first-ever trophy here. I got the chance to know the legend on and off the park and one thing I will say to him, it’s been a pleasure. If he does decide to retire cause I don’t know if it’s official yet.

I’ll talk with the club afterwards but I’ve enjoyed it. It’s been an unbelievable two and a half years. It’s been amazing but main thing for me is to concentrate on the Asia Cup now. You know there’s no more Red Bulls missing out on Tim Cahill going international duty now. We’ve done well, we win together, we lose together and I’ve got an Asia Cup now. I’ll have a few days off and then keep myself ticking over, but, I’m excited. I was excited for today, I’m probably one of the biggest believers in these players whether I play or don’t play in this club and the team. And I still think if we play this game again we’ll win it. But, we didn’t. So to their manager and to their club and to their fans, they’re the underdogs now but they should go and believe they can win it because they’ve defeated all the objects in front of them to be where they are.

I’m buzzing. The thing is I’ve helped bring some sort of success to the club. You know, when I was first here there was five thousand people in the crowd if not less. I’ve helped bring a fan’s activation, that’s my main thing. Everywhere I go the fans love me and I love them. So, even when I sit on the bench I have a great interaction with them and that’s what I’m proud of, more than anything what the clubs done. I’m proud of what we’ve built as a fan base and now we have to, well the club has to keep that momentum going because without fans, the clubs are nothing and that’s what they need to remember. To make football successful, it’s about the quality on the pitch which makes them come back not the fireworks.

New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles

Yeah, I definitely have to go back and look at a replay for both goals but from what I can remember in the first is we expected they were going to play short corners and they did and that’s what went out to Tierney and they were just sending it out quick enough because he played a good ball in – a ball too low for me to come and get. But we had two guys there; I thought it was going to be well covered. I’m not sure what happened on the scramble.

It’s tough to start talking about that right now because we don’t know what the future holds. Just for right now, (Thierry Henry) gave it all tonight. He led by example. He played a beautiful ball for the first goal. He allowed us to continue to press to get that second goal and he was our leader tonight. Without him, we would have been in a different situation, that’s for sure.

Yeah, this one’s tough. Last year was just strange because we couldn’t actually believe we were out – way more shocked. This one was tough because the guys battled so hard. It was a pretty emotional rollercoaster going towards the end of the season until this point. And the belief was infinite. We really thought we were going to make it all the way to the final. We thought that were going to get the result that we wanted today and right now it’s just very difficult to process.

Charlie (Davies) had a great game. He moved a lot, whether it was on the edges of the 18 to the middle of the 18. He created a lot of havoc for not only our center backs but our entire defense. You have to hand it to them. That was their game plan is to put pressure on us, to work their tail off and it started from him. He was putting our center backs under pressure early and often and he – okay, the first one was a bit accidental but he did well with the second one.

I haven’t seen the handball. All I remember seeing was the ball ping-pong a little bit. I think it might have deflected off one of our defenders, whether it was Tim (Cahill) or Ibrahim (Sekagya). Tierney played a great low ball in, but we definitely had the guys there to defend it and we just didn’t do well there.

I thought last year was tough, but this one’s even more difficult only because we were only 30 minutes away from the final. I mean, I’m not sure really exactly the time but we came into Foxborough today really thinking that we were going to accomplish what we wanted and so when we scored that second goal and it was 2-1, I think there was a belief throughout the entire team, throughout the entire organization, that we were going to advance. Just fortune wasn’t with us today.

Red Bull likes to keep it exciting so we’ll see what happens. To be continued. I think if you look at the last two years, this organization has accomplished some good things. Last year, we won the Supporters Shield – a bit of a shock exit but this year we had our backs against the wall. And we were able to not only get into the playoffs but scrap through it. I use that word scrap specifically because one thing that’s described this team over the years is they have that fighting spirit and I think everyone agrees, whoever watched the game today, that spirit was there. So regardless of what they do, I think if they can continue to build off of that theme, I think the organization is headed in the right direction. There’s a lot of optimism on the horizon.

Regardless if this is Thierry (Henry’s) last game or not I’m very grateful for the experience. He not only provides the feedback necessary to continue to grow as a player but his example and the class that he’s shown in the last four and a half years is a model for anyone. I think the organization is also grateful and I’m not necessarily convinced that it is done but regardless of what happens he’ll continue to be an asset, whether it’s in the past or going forward.