Copyright MassLive
FOXBORO - Raising his son in Belgrade, Serbia, Marko Mitrović’s father wanted him to go to Massachusetts, specifically to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Though a career playing professional soccer got in the way of that plan, a few years ago Mitrović finally got an opportunity to be on the campus. “Always when I would come to Boston, I was coming here, to Foxboro, I’ve never been in the city,” Mitrović said. “Then we had two games, one in New York and one here and we stayed somewhere in the city. I took an Uber, went to MIT and called my Dad.” “It was not the way he wanted me to go to MIT but now that I’m here and in Boston, there is something in the universe.” Mitrović, who was named the 10th head coach of the New England Revolution last week, is seen as a perfect fit beyond just his family’s views of the region. After spending the last four years coaching the Under-20s and U-23s for the United States, and coaching as an assistant for Reading and the Chicago Fire before that, the 47-year-old is taking on his first head role at a club. “Marko is an established coach,” Revs Sporting Director Curt Onalfo said. “Our academy is developmental, we don’t look at him as a developmental coach. He’s a proven coach that knows what he’s doing. “He’s 47-year-old and he just needs his opportunity. What I loved in the interview process is that he specifically said he’s on the world stage because he wants to be an MLS head coach. And we acted quickly once he came into the market.” Onalfo admitted that in the eight-week process to hire a new coach, Mitrović was the last he talked to, mostly because of his coaching duties with the United States. Once the two got to talking about the club, and the roster and the future of the organization, both saw the conversations more as “onboarding” rather than a formal interview. “The process of hiring me was actually a very organic and easy process,” Mitrović said. “I thought from the very beginning it was more onboarding than hiring and from the very beginning I felt it was the right decision for me.” What benefitted the two in those conversations was the relationship they’ve forged over the past four years, and their perspectives on the roles youth players have in clubs. “I used to pick his brain on certain players when we were recruiting players into our pro pathway,” Onalfo said. “You can tell right from the beginning there was a big relationship. Obviously his time with U.S. soccer also helped. “But he came through the Red Star Belgrade system and they know what it’s all about. So he just gets it innately where there are times where a Sporting Director really needed to push coaches into seeing the value with the players who can come through our system.” At his previous stop with U.S. soccer, Mitrović got to see some of the young talent that New England possessed and attracted like current fullback Peyton Miller and former forward Esmir Bajraktarević. Mitrović coached both players internationally and had great success on the international stage, coaching the U-23s to the Olympic quarterfinals in 2024 and the U-20s to the quarterfinals of the World Cup this year. After four years with the federation however, Mitrović knew it was time to make a change, and his eyes were set on the MLS. “I came to the U.S. for the first time in 2016, and after four years with the Chicago Fire, when I moved to England to work, my family stayed here, which was the first time they didn’t move with me,” Mitrović said. “I felt that this is our place and our home and connected with my love for the league that I got during my four seasons with Chicago Fire. “I got that opportunity with U.S. soccer which I believed in that moment would help me to grow as a coach and as a person and will help me to get the opportunity that I have right now.” Mitrović however did not jump into the interview process as soon as it began for the Revs. He knew he had a job to complete with the U-20s at the World Cup and would honor that. “I was waiting for those cycles to be done because I also had a commitment not just to the Federation but to the players I work with, and I think it’s just organic timing in my life,” Mitrović said. What Mitrović brings to his new squad is a strong belief in his tactical identity. “Tactically let’s simplify this, I will use one word, attack,” Mitrović said. “We will attack withe the ball and we will attack the ball when we don’t have the ball and we will be very aggressive.” One player currently on the roster that Mitrović thinks will be a huge benefit to his system is captain Carles Gil. Though the new head coach has not yet talked to the 32-year-old midfielder, he understands the importance he has to not just the team’s culture but also its success on the field. “Charles Gil is one of the most talented players in the league and I’m really looking forward to work with him,” Mitrović said. “He’s extremely important for our game and actually he’s extremely important for the model of the game that I would like our team to play.” What comes next for Mitrović and Onalfo is a continued examination of the current roster and development of plans for next season. Though he hasn’t yet met many of his new players face to face, Mitrović made sure to do plenty of homework before accepting his new position. “I can say that by watching the game I am very familiar with the roster that we have,” Mitrović said. “Obviously working with the players, you learn the context much better than looking from the outside and what are the limits, what are there ceilings. I feel very positive with the roster we have right now. “The selection process in every sport never stops and any given opportunity that we can to build our team, I’m very positive the club will take steps. And we have departments that will work on that and with the current roster we are in a very, very good spot.” In terms of where Mitrović will live while he’s coaching the Revs, that is still up in the air. He just knows that he’ll be spending plenty of time in Foxboro and exploring Boston when he can. “I haven’t had too much opportunity to be in the city as I was at the stadium,” Mitrović said. “I’m looking forward to learn more about the city. The place where we are going to live, to be honest, my wife is in charge of that. “I’ve designated that time to her to find that. I know where my time is going to be, it’s close to here, so where they are happy, I’ll be happy.”
