FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Lee Nguyen played for the New England Revolution for six full seasons and helped the team nearly win an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup, but he received a mixed welcome from fans at Gillette Stadium Saturday night when he returned to Foxborough with Los Angeles FC.
A chorus largely composed of boos rang out in the 79th minute when Nguyen entered the game off the bench in LAFC’s eventual 2-0 victory.
The Revolution sent Nguyen to LAFC last spring following a bitter trade dispute that lasted eight months. While some fans showed their ire toward the former Revolution captain and team MVP, the club prepared a short highlight montage of Nguyen that played on the jumbotron before the game.
After the game, Nguyen gave his jersey to a Revolution fan seated in the President’s Club along the near sideline and said he also spoke to other supporters.
“It’s great to be back,” Nguyen said after the game. “Lots of history, a lot of great things, good times when I was here.
“This is my first time back since I left for LAFC. You never know how fans are going to react. It was a tell after the game that everybody was amazing and thankful, and it was great to see that. That warms my heart. It was a great welcome back for sure.”
Nguyen sounded genuinely cheerful – but also seemed to be measuring his words when asked about the circumstances of his departure.
Just before he winked at his former teammate, Charlie Davies, in the tunnel outside the visiting team’s locker room, Nguyen was asked about the specifics of his trade request and why he chose to sit out during preseason training.
“These are conversations we’ve had at the end of last season. … It was just something that – things were not going anywhere, and so these were advices from my agents to me that if we wanted to move things along we gotta do something because they weren’t doing anything at the time. So, I didn’t want it to come to that, but it did.”
Nguyen requested a trade numerous times after the Revolution were eliminated from playoff contention the previous season. Former Revolution general manager Mike Burns, who initially spoke out against Nguyen skipping training, eventually traded Nguyen last May.
“Mike said it: They weren’t willing to budge on anything. That was their stance. I had to take my stance. Now, we are where we are,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen did not criticize Burns or former Revolution coach Brad Friedel, who was fired in May.
“Listen, this is a profession based on results,” Nguyen said. “At the time, I think the Revs were going through a bad streak and anyone under the helm was going to be in the hot seat.
“Bruce [Arena] came in and has done a good job to re-right the ship and they were on an 11-game unbeaten streak. Goes to show that sometimes you need new blood.”
Revolution attacker Juan Agudelo told reporters before Saturday’s game he was looking forward to seeing Nguyen. Afterward, Nguyen said the feeling was mutual and he still follows his former teammates.
“The way we kind of departed on terms, yeah, it was a situation that obviously wasn’t the way I wanted it to happen, but it happened and both sides had to move on,” Nguyen said. “There’s no bad blood between me and my teammates and staff. It’s just a thing that I needed, to change the scenery and get a new challenge.
“I always wish well the guys on the Revs because I have a lot of great friends on this team, so it’s always great to see them do well. But at the same time, I’m going to wish LAFC all the best and if we have to meet each other in the finals, so be it.”
Can the Revolution make it to the MLS Cup this year?
“I don’t see why not,” Nguyen said. “They were on a great streak before today. In this league, you just have to make it to the playoffs and anything can happen.”