FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – On his 28th birthday, many expected Lee Nguyen to be training on a pitch 30 miles north.
Instead, Nguyen was where he normally is, busy getting ready for an all-out playoff push with his New England Revolution teammates while the US national team prepared for their upcoming friendlies at nearby Harvard Stadium.
Following a 2-1 win over Columbus on Saturday night, the impending announcement of Jurgen Klinsmann’s latest roster was not weighing on Nguyen, despite the fact they would be training in Cambridge for three days prior to a Friday night match in Hartford, Conn., against Ecuador (7 pm ET; ESPN).
“I was just really focused on playoffs,” said Nguyen. “I hadn’t really heard anything, so I wasn’t too hung up on it. I knew the main focus was trying to get this team into the playoffs.”
The Revolution midfielder has certainly garnered enough attention to be mentioned as a possible USMNT fixture at some point in the near future based on his superb form this season.
It’s no coincidence that New England is 10-1-1 in games that Nguyen has scored, thanks in large part to his league-best seven game winners, but things haven’t always come this easy over his first couple of years with the Revs.
“It was a bit of an adjustment period trying to get into the MLS,” said Nguyen. “It’s different than any other league in the world, with the travel, with the two conferences. It was getting used to all that and at the same time jelling with my teammates. You can see now, third year here, everybody’s playing very well, and we’re putting all the pieces together.”
With 14 goals – a record for a New England Revolution midfielder – and five assists, he has been spawning Twitter hashtags (#Nguyenning, #MVLee) as he amasses MVP consideration.
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Yet, the self-effacing Nguyen hasn’t even had much time to notice as he concerns himself only with his club’s big picture.
“I’m sure at the end of the season I’ll look back and probably be a little bit in awe, I guess,” said Nguyen of his accomplishments this season. “Right now, our team is grooving and our big picture is to win this weekend, get into the playoffs and from there the MLS Cup is reachable.
“If we all do well, then everybody’s going to be watching us. That’s all you can ask for.”
