It may be on mark

Gillette Stadium officials hope to surpass the local record for a soccer crowd when Brazil meets Mexico in an exhibition match Sept. 12.

"Obviously, the buzz has been good initially," Revolution general manager Craig Tornberg said yesterday. "It will rival the crowd we had for the MLS Cup in 2002. We could do 60,000-plus, and if you get to that, it's very, very possible to have a sellout."

The '02 MLS Cup drew 61,316, the largest crowd for a soccer match at Gillette Stadium. The Foxboro Stadium record was 57,407 for a US-Mexico World Cup qualifier April 20, 1997. The 1994 World Cup produced six sellouts in a 19-day span, but capacity was capped at 54,456.

The Revolution made their first MLS Cup appearance in '02, following a late-season rally that has become the team's signature.

"We captured the marketplace in '02," Tornberg said. "That was an explosion. There was the buildup for the whole season, then the team came out of nowhere and made a great run. [Coach Steve Nicol] had them playing on all cylinders, and once they qualified, there was a lot of anticipation in the week before the game."

The Brazil-Mexico match is midweek, coinciding with dates on the international calendar set by FIFA and allowing top European clubs to release players for national team duty.

"This type of event, we have sprung it on people, so there is no real buildup," Tornberg said. "But it's a whole other dynamic. Brazil has been building up who they are for the last 50 years and Mexico has been building up for the last two decades that they have a really premier league and one of the best national teams in the world.

"You hope for a weekend, but we also want to be assured teams will have their players, the stars people want to see."

Brazil has called in Kaka' (Milan) and Ronaldinho (Barcelona) for a match against Algeria in Montpellier, France, Aug. 22.

This will be Brazil's first appearance in the Boston area and third game in New England, following wins over Italy (4-1) before 36,096 May 23, 1976, and the United States (2-0) before 44,579 June 6, 1993, at Yale Bowl in New Haven. Brazil won the 1994 World Cup in Pasadena, Calif., and has not performed in the country since a 2-1 win over the United States at the Rose Bowl before 45,387 March 3, 2001.

The Revolution drew 38,633 for the final game of the 1996 season, a number that ranks as the highest total for a stand-alone, regular-season soccer match in New England. The Revolution lost that game, 1-0, to the Columbus Crew with a playoff berth at stake. The Revolution-Los Angeles Galaxy game Sunday might have challenged that mark, but capacity has been limited to the lower bowl and East club suites, a total of 32,000 . . . Nicol gave the starters two days off following a 3-0 loss to D.C. United last Sunday and did the same after a 2-1 win over the Harrisburg City Islanders in a US Open Cup quarterfinal match Wednesday. "A couple days' rest is good for the soul, as much as anything," Nicol said.

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.