Taylor Twellman discussed the Revolution’s playoff chances and the ongoing Everett stadium bid

For the Revolution, Saturday’s home clash with St. Louis City SC represents the latest test in a pivotal nine-game stretch as Caleb Porter’s squad tries to make a playoff push.

For New England legend and St. Louis native Taylor Twellman, the game represents much more. In what will be the inaugural matchup in the two teams’ history, Twellman will fittingly call the game on Apple TV+’s broadcast. It has already been informally dubbed the “Taylor Twellman Derby.”

Twellman, now 44, grew up in St. Louis long before it was an MLS city (the team began league play in 2023). He played his entire MLS career for the Revolution, earning MLS Golden Boot honors twice, and being named league MVP in 2005. He totaled a remarkable scoring rate, firing in 101 goals for New England in 174 career games.

Yet his time on the field was notably cut short due to the effects of multiple concussions. It’s become a central subject of his post-playing career, most prominently in the form of his ThinkTaylor foundation, which has helped to raise awareness and increase preventative measures around head injuries at both a youth and professional level of the sport.

Saturday’s game, given Twellman’s ties, will mark the annual Concussion Awareness Night at Gillette Stadium, the latest effort made by the former forward to address an issue that he has continued to speak up on.

“Are we making better decisions as a whole? I would say yes,” Twellman said in a recent interview about the overall advancement of the conversation around concussions in sports. “Are we still making bad ones? Sure, absolutely. I don’t know if we’re going to completely abolish that, particularly at the professional level, but the point being is that I wanted to change the conversation.”

Taking the long view of the situation, Twellman noted that the world he navigated in the 2000s was vastly different than now regarding head injury safety.

“At that point, if I couldn’t get the right education, awareness, knowledge, data — whatever word you want to use there — as MVP of the league, well then how is anyone else going to do that? And in arguably the medical capital of the United States,” he added, referencing Boston.

Still, Twellman sees plenty of room for continued development in dealing with concussions, particularly at soccer’s highest levels. He highlighted the fact that while MLS now has rules around the usage of up to two “concussion substitutes” — allowing teams to make medical-related subs even if they’ve already used up their regular allotment — FIFA has yet to adopt any such measure.

“That’s where my frustration lies,” he admitted.

Saturday’s game will be close to a must-win for New England, currently six points adrift of the Eastern Conference playoff line. St. Louis currently sits near the bottom of the Western Conference, providing ample opportunity for the Revolution to collect all three points at home.

Porter’s team has struggled throughout the year with injuries, and is only now beginning to integrate some of the midseason signings. Twellman sees the need to win five of the final nine games New England has on its schedule in order to make the postseason.

“There are a few holes in this roster still that I would say they need to address this winter or even next summer,” he said. “But I’m not going to sit here and tell you that they can’t win five of their last nine games. Absolutely they can.”

While newly-signed midfielder Alhassan Yusuf — a 24-year-old Nigerian central midfielder acquired in August from Royal Antwerp FC — will have to wait until after the current slate of international games to make his Revolution debut, Twellman sees potential.

“Great signing,” he said of Yusuf, who featured for Antwerp in the UEFA Champions League and helped the Belgian side win the league title in 2023.

“The fact that they got him not in a Designated Player spot is remarkable to me,” said Twellman, alluding to the special roster slot in MLS that allows teams to circumvent the salary cap. Yusuf was signed using the league’s “Targeted Allocation Money” (TAM) on a deal through 2027 that also includes a 2028 option.

“I just think he’s going to give them something that they don’t have — a very rangy midfielder — which is something that really works in Caleb Porter’s system.”

Twellman took the long view on Yusuf, explaining that players from abroad sometimes take “a little bit longer to acclimate.”

And on another subject important to Revolution fans, Twellman is also keeping his patience.

The seemingly never-ending effort to try and build a stadium in the Boston area saw its latest bid hit a snag on Beacon Hill at the end of July when legislators failed to pass an expansive economic development bill that (among many other items) includes language that would help the Revolution move closer to the construction of a soccer-specific stadium in Everett.

Yet the bill could still pass, thanks to the likelihood of the local legislature reconvening in a special session this fall. As someone who championed St. Louis for years despite multiple failed efforts, Twellman knows it can take time. He spoke in defense of Kraft Group president Jonathan Kraft’s efforts to get a stadium deal done.

“I just think it’s important that people understand that Jonathan’s a huge [advocate],” Twellman explained. “He’s been there from the beginning in MLS.”

Citing Kraft’s influence in helping grow the league (including a specific role in aiding St. Louis’ bid several years ago), the former New England goalscorer has a positive outlook.

“He desperately wants his St. Louis moment with the stadium in downtown Boston,” Twellman said of Kraft’s intention to build a Revolution home. “He wants that as much as anyone. And so he’s going to have to jump through a few more hoops to get that thing done.”

Looking down the line, Twellman also remains optimistic about his old club someday returning to the biggest of league stages: an MLS Cup Final. The only issue would be if it was against St. Louis.

“I’ll be very torn when St. Louis play the Revs in MLS Cup. I may actually fly to Alaska and not watch that game.”