Five subs? Justin Rennicks wants to start.
A tournament that allows five substitutions per game seems like it’s made for Justin Rennicks, but he’s hungry for more.
So far, the most defining moment of Justin Rennicks’ still-nascent career came last June at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland when he scored the U.S. men’s national team’s game-winning goal against France in the Round of 16. Rennicks, whose previous appearances in the tournament consisted of two forgettable late-game outings off the bench, entered play as a 63rd minute substitute with the match tied 2–2. Twenty minutes later, French goalkeeper Alban Lafont parried Sergino Dest’s 25-yard blast directly into the path of Rennicks, who pummeled the fat rebound into the roof of the net to secure the Americans’ passage to the quarterfinals.
Just over one year removed from that experience, Rennicks is now gearing up for another tournament that could be just as memorable, if for drastically different reasons. This time he’s representing the New England Revolution at the MLS Is Back Tournament, which starts July 8 in Orlando and represents the first competitive men’s professional soccer being played in the U.S. since Major League Soccer suspended its 25th season in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. While soccer leagues across Europe have managed relatively seamless restarts, a cloud of public health concerns hangs over the MLS Is Back Tournament. On July 6, FC Dallas withdrew from the event after as many as seven players tested positive for COVID-19, while the league’s reigning MVP, Carlos Vela of Los Angeles FC, also announced he’d sit out citing health risks and to be with his son and pregnant wife. Numerous players across the league, including one unnamed Revolution player two weeks ago, have tested positive as well, while travel schedules and the MLS Is Back Tournament match calendar have had to be shuffled to accommodate teams with positive cases.
The day before New England left by charter flight for Orlando, Rennicks said he was optimistic about the efforts to stage the tournament despite the current public health challenges.
“I understand the risks,” he said. “The whole team does. I’m not super worried about it, for myself I’m just going down there to play soccer. But it’s in back of my head. It’s a topic of conversation with the team. The last thing I want is to be quarantined there. Once one gets it, we know there’s a big risk to the entire team.”
How much players can detach from those anxieties remains to be seen, but current plans ultimately culminate with the Revolution playing the Montreal Impact in their tournament opener July 9.
Once the ball starts rolling, Rennicks could be a player to watch. The tournament allows five substitutions and a player like Rennicks — who has spent the majority of his professional career entering games off the bench — could thrive in such a setting.
Since the start of the 2019 season, his first on New England’s senior team, the 21-year-old has made just four appearances and started only once. But in limited time, Rennicks looks like he’s got it. What it is has yet to be fully conceived, but the hype has been there since before his blockbuster goal against France. For years, he’s been touted as a top prospect in American soccer and reportedly got suspended from the Revolution Academy for training with Bundesliga’s Frankfurt as a teenager. The Revolution’s subsequent signing of Rennicks to a homegrown contract thus took longer than anyone would have liked (“I’ll say!” Rennicks adds).
At present, when asked about the impact having five substitutions could have on someone in his position, Rennicks acknowledges he’s in line to see more action.
Then, he pivots.
The kid who’s seemingly only played off the bench wants to start.
“If I’m asked to come in and make a difference, I’ll do that too, but I want to be a starter in every game,” he said. “I always want to start. It’s not easy coming off the bench in a game when players are going at full speed and you’re making your way in.
“Five subs is a lot. It gives you hope of more minutes, especially as a forward. Forwards are out there doing a lot of running, attacking, and off-the-ball defending and it’s super tiring, so there are always chances to get late minutes. But I’m hoping to get minutes even at the start of games.”
Rennicks’ performance at the U-20 World Cup isn’t expected to be the pinnacle of his career and he says he’s grown a lot since his banner outing in the Round of 16. He credits the team around him, which he says can reach the final at the MLS Is Back Tournament, and speaks highly of Revolution head coach/sporting director Bruce Arena, who Rennicks also states has been a positive influence on his game.
In the four appearances Rennicks has made for the Revolution across all competitions, there are glimpses of the type of player he might develop into: a swift, dynamic striker comfortable in all areas of the field with a nose for the goal.
“I’m different today than I was a a year ago, with my physicality and how I take my touches, but being a pro, both on and off the field, changes a person,” Rennicks said. “I can’t really explain it. I’ll always be the poacher, there at the right place and the right time, but like said, I’ve changed. It’s my second year with the team and I’ve learned a lot.”
And now that MLS is back, he can show it.
