CARSON, Calif. – Matt Reis has no conflicting interests, by any means, but the LA Galaxy's goalkeeper coach admits it won't be easy rooting against the New England Revolution in Sunday's MLS Cup final.
Reis spent 11 seasons with the Revs, most of them as the No. 1 goalkeeper, before retiring after last season, and he has great affection for the club, its players and staff and takes pride in they're phenomenal late-season run to reach their first MLS Cup title game in seven years.
It's going to be an emotional game for him, he said.
“There's a ton of history there for me, on both sides,” said Reis, a Southern California product who started his career with the Galaxy. “Having spent 11 years there and working hard with the players there, the staff and the organization, trying to get the franchise back to the top of the league, where we had been before, it was a very large undertaking, and we put a lot of hard work in it.
“To see the Revs back in the MLS Cup final, that's something I'm proud to be a small part of that. The work that the front office and the coaching staff and the owners did to get the back [to the postseason], within three years, turn it around, is really remarkable, and they should be applauded for it.”
Reis, who joined Bruce Arena's Galaxy staff upon retirement said it's “tough” that now he's doing all he can to ensure a New England defeat on Sunday at StubHub Center (3 pm ET; ESPN, UniMas, UDN in US | TSN1, RDS2 in Canada).
“It's been fantastic here, and to be a part of this ride, too, now and to see how much work we've put in to get to an MLS Cup ... whether you're a player, whether you're a coach, to get to the final game is what everybody in this league wants to do. To be fortunate enough to be there again is really remarkable. The fact that it's against the Revs is just really, really ironic.”
This is Reis' seventh MLS Cup final. He was on the bench, backing up Kevin Hartman, when the Galaxy lost to D.C. United in 1999 and to San Jose in 2001 and when LA beat the Revolution, 1-0, in overtime in 2002. He was in the nets for the Revs when they lost to the Galaxy, again in OT by a 1-0 tally, in 2005 and when New England dropped back-to-back finals in 2006-07 to the Houston Dynamo.
Of the many memories, a few stand out.
“What I remember [about 2002] is kicking the ball up in the air at Gillette Stadium and looking up and seeing people in the upper decks and saying, 'Gosh, look at how many people are here,' ” he said. “I remember it as a great game, back and forth, with grass still on the [Gillette] field. I remember chances going back and forth.”
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Reis went to New England the following year. The 2005 final was painful.
“I remember getting fouled by Chris Albright on a corner kick, and the ball dropping to Pando [Ramirez], who buried it while I was on the ground,” he said. “I remember [Ugo] Ihemelu clearing a ball off the line that Pepe Cancela hit that was going in the upper corner, and [Ihemelu] had a diving header to clear the ball, and losing that way.
“Obviously, I've lost far more than I've won, but they're all special in their own regard.”
Reis followed the Revolution this year and was excited – but not surprised – by their quality, even without the late-season addition of US national team midfielder Jermaine Jones.
“I'm not that impressed because I knew we were there, I knew how close we were,” he said. “It's just great to see them get it done. To really get it done speaks volumes of the work that they've all put in.
“I disagree with a lot of people. I don't think it's just about Jermaine Jones. I think he's really given them the confidence to go out and get it, but it's all the other guys that have been there, that have put in the work, especially the lean years where we weren't doing well. To see now where they've come, it's great for them.”
