“We will attack” Marko Mitrović introduced as Revolution’s new Head Coach

FOXBOROUGH, MA– Marko Mitrović was introduced as the tenth Head Coach in New England Revolution history on Wednesday, laying out his vision for the club’s future.

The Marko Mitrović era officially got underway on Wednesday, as the New England Revolution held their introductory press conference to formally introduce their team’s new Head Coach.

Mitrović, 47, arrives in Foxborough after a four-year stint with the U.S. Soccer Federation, leading their U17, U20, & U23 teams in various competitions, including the 2024 Summer Olympics & 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup.

The press conference opened with Mitrović being welcomed by New England Revolution Sporting Director Curt Onalfo. He stated, “Marko is exceptional in every way, the perfect blend of old school championship level coaching with a modern tactical brilliance. e is very demanding yet deeply compassionate. He knows exactly what today’s players need to thrive while using modern winning strategies that define elite coaching, he is a strong, humble leader with relentless energy and fearless bravery, humble enough to listen, caring enough to connect and an absolute killer when it matters most.

In his opening remarks, Mitrović noted that he felt like he was in the right place after seeing a lot of people at his press conference that care and support the club. He thanked Robert and Jonathan Kraft, Curt [Onalfo] & Brian [Bilello] and everyone else that had been a part of process of hiring him, including Remi Roy & Chris Tierney.

When asked about whether hiring Marko is a risk, Sporting Director Curt Onalfo believes he is the right choice to lead this franchise.

“He’s exceptional, as I said, in every way, incredible person you start there, incredible integrity, life experiences that help him to be the leader that he is. Super confident. He’s a modern coach, exceptional tactically. Really has a clear identity of how he wants to play and how that will look on the field. He’s able to express those in very simple ways. It’s easier to confuse players than make them understand. So, he’s an incredible communicator, like I said, he’s got what the old school coaches have, to win championships, yet you need to be a modern coach to deal with the players of today. And he knows how to connect with people. He knows how to treat people, and he knows how to get the most out of players. So, for me, there’s no doubt he’s confident, ready, and he’s got his opportunity, and he’s been waiting for it.”

Mitrović re-iterated the need of his fighting spirit inside this locker room. “For me, it’s non-negotiable”, stated Mitrović. He noted that this Revolution team will attack. “We will attack with the ball & we will attack without the ball & we will be very aggressive with that attack.”

Marko was then asked about to comment further on how his ambitions are aligned with the club’s academy and development program as well as Curt Onalfo to comment on how Marko’s experience in developing young talent make his resume appeal to the club.

Mitrović stated that in his last four years with the U.S. Soccer Federation, he has had a close relationship with the club & has assisted the club in recruiting players to their pro pathway program. Onalfo noted that Esmir Bajraktarević was one of the players that was credit to Mitrović.

When asked about the current state of the roster, Mitrović stated that he felt positive.

“I can say that watching the games, watching the games. I’m quite familiar with the roster. I actually say that I’m very familiar with the roster that we have. Obviously working with the players, you will learn the context much better than looking from outside. And what are demands? What are their ceilings? Any given opportunity that we can improve our team, I’m quite positive that the club will take steps, and we have departments that work on that, but current roster, we’re in a good spot.

I then asked Mitrović to comment on how he will construct his staff & whether he’ll have any implications on the open Revolution II job. Marko noted that for continuity reasons, there will be some members of the previous staff that will remain with the club. Curt Onalfo then mentioned that at least two assistants will be joining the first team & that an individual has been earmarked for the Revolution II job that is “currently on staff” & it’ll be announced some point in the near future.

Mitrović then noted that in having various conversations with staff members from U.S. Soccer, many of them stated that Boston was their favorite city to visit & live in. He stated that he is looking forward to learning more about the city & finding a place to live.

When asked about why this was the right time for Mitrović to enter the MLS soccer sphere, Mitrović noted that this was his goal all along.

“My objective was [before Olympic Games & U20s World Cup]to get to this position. When I came to the United States, for the first time, in 2016 and after four years with Chicago Fire, when I moved to England to work, my family stayed here [in the United States]. That was the first time they didn’t move into me, and I felt a strong decision from the family, that this is our place and home, and connected with my love for the league that I got during the four seasons with Chicago Fire. It was kind organic decision for me. ”Okay, this is my objective down the road”, and I got that opportunity with US Soccer, which I believed in that moment, will help me to grow as a coach and as a person, and will help me to get the opportunity with New England that I have right now.”

He did mention as well that after finishing two cycles with US Soccer, that he “wasn’t open, to be honest, before the Olympics and U20s for anything like this, I was waiting for those cycles to be done, because I also had commitment, not just to the Federation, but for the players that I work with. And I think it’s an organic timing in my life”

Curt Onalfo then took time to mention that this was a long process. “It took eight weeks. He was the last person to come in the market. So, you want to basically that cream rises to the top in these situations, and it becomes very clear who the person is you want to hire. So, it turns out he’s not somebody that has coached before in the league, and there ends up being, you know, the word sometimes is used as re-tread, but you could just see from the beginning, like he talked about, it was easy. It wasn’t onboarding. You know, I gave him a lot of homework to do throughout the process, because I wanted to make sure that he understood our team, because we are we’re a team that we have a lot of players coming back, as other people have alluded to, so it’s important that he understands the players that we have and the quality that’s on the field, and at least going to be able to work with those and during the process, it just was crystal clear that there was just a great chemistry and just a strength of character and confidence that he’s going to step In and just do an incredible job. We’re very fortunate to have him as the Head Coach of our team. He’s super talented, and he’s ready for this opportunity.”

Onalfo then noted that once Marko came into market that one of his first calls was to U.S. Soccer for permission to speak to him. He was initially told to wait until after the U20 World Cup to “avoid distractions”. Onalfo said that Marko was highly touted and that other teams were upset in New England making such a swift decision on making him their Head Coach.

When asked whether or not Marko has had any communication with any of his new players, Marko had said not yet.

“Starting next week, we have so many onboarding things [to do], and I want to be sure that when I start to talk to the players, that my head is clear and I’m going to send the right message. I don’t want to take those calls just to check the box. They have meaningful talks with the players, and Carles Gil is one of the most talented players in the league. I’m really looking forward to work with him. He’s extremely important for our team, and actually he’s extremely important for the model of the game that I would like our team to play.”\

Marko Mitrović & the New England Revolution are off for the remainder of the 2025 campaign. They will look to improve this offseason and begin preparations for the 2026 MLS season.

For All MLS content, you can find it on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.

(Editor’s Note: For more of Burt Granofsky’s photos, click on the link)

Follow me on Twitter

Follow me on BlueSky

Follow PROST on Bluesky

Follow PROST on Twitter