FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Saër Sène didn't play for the first team during his time at Bayern Munich, but the trappings of his spell with the German giants appear are evident each time he takes the field.
There are certain markers – a move here, a touch there – that betray why a player has spent time around the highest levels of the game. New England coach Jay Heaps said he spotted them time and again as he ran the rule over the 25-year-old striker last month.
WATCH: Sene scores in Revolution intra-squad match
“Technically, he has it,” Heaps told MLSsoccer.com. “You can see that he's played at that high level and trained at that high level. That can certainly help us, having guys around who have seen what it takes at the highest level. Now – in my conversations with him and we had a lot – it's about making a career.”
Sène's desire to emerge from Bayern's reserve side in the German lower divisions laid the framework for his free transfer move to the Revolution on Monday. A little bit of help from Bayern played its part, too, according to New England general manager Michael Burns.
“We had our discussions with Bayern Munich prior to him coming over to Arizona to get a look at him for the week,” Burns said. “We knew before he joined us in Arizona that if we wanted to complete the signing, then Bayern Munich was going to cooperate and allow us to do that.”
All parties agreed to have Sène spend a week with the squad in Casa Grande, Ariz. The period gave the Revs and Sène a chance to ponder and reflect upon the potential dividends of a transfer.
“He certainly fit in right away,” Heaps said. “That's one thing that's always a positive. You get a guy in and you can see how he interacts with the team. That was a huge positive. He had days where he was the best finisher we had out there and it showed. It's important that he can come in with that confidence. We're excited to get him in.”
It didn't take long for Sène and the Revolution to sort out his future with his freedom from Bayern already in hand. With the deal now sealed, the onus now falls on the speedy striker to reproduce his form at a higher standard as he seeks to create his own path in MLS.
“We got the deal done pretty quickly once he left Arizona,” Burns said. “We're starting the visa process and the ITC process. We'll get them back as quickly as we can. He's got a history of scoring goals and we hope that continues in New England in 2012.”
