Joseph has been a bull in the midfield for Revolution
FOXBOROUGH - Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph will attract a strong following when the team visits the New York Red Bulls tomorrow night.
Several dozen friends and former teammates from Brooklyn and St. John's University will be in the stands at Giants Stadium, supporting Joseph.
Fortunately for the Revolution, those followers did not have a say in where Joseph would begin his professional career. Though it seems difficult to understand now, Joseph was bypassed by the then-MetroStars after trying out as an amateur. That might not have happened if current Red Bulls coach Bruce Arena was in charge, since Arena had hoped to recruit Joseph when he was coach of the United States national team.
Only through farsightedness on the Revolution's part and other teams' oversights did Joseph become available to the Revolution. They selected Joseph in the second round of the 2002 MLS draft, willing to wait for him if he could not earn a contract with a European club. Joseph returned for the 2003 MLS season and has established himself as probably the most dominating midfield force in the league.
"He has become the player everyone looked at three years ago," Revolution coach Steve Nicol said yesterday.
"He has the respect of other people. They know he is not about kicking people. He challenges hard, but he uses his brain and does things right."
Joseph has set a standard for midfielders in a 3-5-2 alignment. He defends against opponents' playmakers and dictates the Revolution's transition game, takes penalty kicks, and drops back to become the team's most effective defender in the air.
And Joseph appears to have kicked his game up a notch this season, avoiding the problems of his first seasons in the league. In 2004, Joseph's nose was broken. In '05, Joseph sustained a foot injury in practice, then aggravated it in the playoff opener against the MetroStars, and concluded the playoffs with his nose again broken and several other injuries. Last year, Joseph's right hand was cut in a nightclub incident and he finished the season with a protective cast on his arm.
"It's good to have the whole team healthy and playing well in the latter part of the year," Joseph said. "We've had a couple of injuries and things have not always gone our way, but we are playing well now.
"The pressure will build up in these last few games and we just have to do what we do best and take care of ourselves."
Nicol was fined $1,000 for "public criticism of officiating," following a 4-2 loss at D.C. United Sept. 9, the league announced yesterday. Nicol was ejected from that game and already has served the one-game suspension that goes along with it. The ejection also cost him a $500 fine.
