With Brad Friedel at the helm, the New England Revolution became a pressing team that refused to be outworked. The former goalkeeper was also lauded for bringing a professional mentality to the locker room. An under-reported part of the Friedel era has been the rise of halftime subs.
During Saturday’s game against Columbus Crew SC, Friedel made two changes at the break, inserting Diego Fagundez and Justin Rennicks for Cristian Penilla and Juan Agudelo. This tactic might be a rarity in soccer but it’s become a go-to for Friedel.
In 2018, Friedel made 13 halftime substitutions over the span of 11 games.