FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It was Carles Gil’s body of work over the course of a 34-game regular season that earned the 26-year-old playmaker Major League Soccer’s Newcomer of the Year award, but it didn’t take nearly as long for his New England Revolution teammates and coaches to realize he was special.
“It was long before his first game. It was when he first came in in preseason,” said Teal Bunbury. “You could tell (from) his touch. His calmness on the ball was something I figured out right away – he’s not scared to get (the ball) with 10 guys on him.