The 1996 New England Revolution season was the inaugural season for the New England Revolution both as a club and in Major League Soccer (MLS). The team finished last out of five teams in the Eastern Conference, missing the MLS Cup Playoffs. Following the team's last game of the season, head coach Frank Stapleton resigned on September 26, 1996. He was replaced by Thomas Rongen on November 5, 1996.
Revolution forward Joe-Max Moore was named MLS Player of the Week for Week 18, and Alexi Lalas and Wélton were both named All-Stars for the 1996 MLS All-Star Game.
Pre-season
Initial player allocations
As part of Major League Soccer's first season, teams were each allocated four marquee players before the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft. On October 17, 1995, MLS allocated defender Alexi Lalas and defender Mike Burns to the Revolution. Lalas was a United States national team regular who had played in the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1994 FIFA World Cup and was under contract with Padova in Italy's Serie A, while Burns had played alongside Lalas for the United States in the 1992 Olympics and was playing for Viborg FF in Denmark's Superliga at the time.
On February 5, 1996, MLS allocated American goalkeeper Jim St. Andre of the A-League's New York Centaurs and Italian forward Giuseppe Galderisi, Lalas' teammate at Padova, to the Revolution.
First head coach
On January 4, 1996, the team named Frank Stapleton the first head coach of the New England Revolution. Stapleton was an Irish international who had played for Arsenal, Manchester United, Ajax, Blackburn Rovers, and Bradford City among others.
Draft results
Inaugural player draft
On February 6 and 7, 1996, New England selected 16 players in the Inaugural Player Draft.
New England Revolution – 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft Round Overall Name Position Previous club 1 5 Iain Fraser D Sacramento Knights 2 15 Peter Woodring M Hawaii Tsunami 3 25 Bojan Vučković F Tampa Bay Terror 4 35 Marquis White F Club Destroyers 5 45 Ted Chronopoulos D Panionios 6 55 Yari Allnutt F Irapuato 7 65 Rob Ukrop F Richmond Kickers 8 75 Darren Sawatzky M Oregon Surge 9 85 Tom Lips D New York Fever 10 95 Richard Weiszmann D North Bay Breakers 11 105 John DeBrito M New York Fever 12 115 Jim Adams GK Cleveland Crunch 13 125 Geoff Aunger M Vancouver 86ers 14 135 Antonio Superbia M Jersey Dragons 15 145 Derk Droze F San Marcos 16 155 Jorge Olamendi M Los Angeles Salsa
College draft
On March 4, 1996, the Revolution selected Paul Keegan, Imad Baba, and Paulo Dos Santos in the College Draft.
New England Revolution – 1996 MLS College Draft Round Overall Name Position Previous club 1 6 Paul Keegan F Boston College Eagles 2 16 Imad Baba M Clemson Tigers 3 26 Paulo Dos Santos M Rhode Island Rams
Supplemental draft
Following the College Draft, the Revolution selected Beto Naveda, Wélton, and Zak Ibsen in the Supplemental Draft.
New England Revolution – 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft Round Overall Name Position Previous club 1 6 Beto Naveda M Boca Juniors 2 16 Wélton F America (RJ) 3 26 Zak Ibsen D Tampa Bay Terror
Competitions
Major League Soccer
Conference standings
Overall standings
Matches
Honors
New England Revolution – 1996 League and Team Awards Honor Name Winner / Nominee Team Most Valuable Player Joe-Max Moore Winner Team Scoring Champion Joe-Max Moore (23 pts, 11 G, 1 A) Winner Team Defender of the Year Francis Okaroh Winner MLS All-Star Game Selections Alexi Lalas, Wélton WinnerMLS Player of the Week Joe-Max Moore (Week 18) Winner
New England Revolution – 1996 Statistical Leaders Games played Geoff Aunger 29 Games Started Geoff Aunger 26 Minutes played Alexi Lalas 2,218 Goals Joe-Max Moore 11 Assists Alberto Naveda 7 Shots Alberto Naveda 65 Shots on Goal Alberto Naveda 35 Fouls Committed Geoff Aunger 66 Fouls Suffered Welton 62 Cautions Geoff Aunger 10 Ejections Lalas, Okaroh, Heaney, St. Andre, Watson 1
References