Brotherly Game Daily Links: Olivier Mbaizo returns to training

Philadelphia Union News

Looking back at #PHIvNYC in 2021
Physical midfield play has been the name of the game in the three regular season matches with all three games seeing one side down a man at the final whistle.

Olivier Mbaizo returns to training for the Boys in Blue
Mbaizo has missed both of the club’s playoff matches due to Major League Soccer’s health and safety protocols.

The 11 key games in the Union’s run to the Eastern Conference Final
As the Union prepare for their first Eastern Conference final in team history, here’s a look back at the key games this year that paved the way for them to get there.

The Philadelphia Union’s youth pipeline means even when their stars leave, they keep on winning
Heading into a conference semifinal match, now is a good time to look at how the Philadelphia Union keep winning.

FC Cincinnati targeting Philadelphia Union’s Jim Curtin for head coach job
Curtin signed a multi-year contract extension with Philadelphia in June and has been at the helm of the club since 2014. That tenure overlapped with Albright, who served as Philadelphia’s technical director before being hired by Cincinnati in October to fill the vacancy left by Gerard Nijkamp’s departure.

MLS News

Who’s in, who’s out? 18 MLS clubs announce roster decisions following 2021 season
A bunch of announcements started coming out Tuesday and Wednesday, though a reminder: That deadline is to inform the league, not to necessarily announce moves. But it won’t be long before all eligible teams make their announcements.

Nashville SC’s Walker Zimmerman joins exclusive company, wins MLS Defender of the Year again
Zimmerman was named the 2021 MLS Defender of the Year by a landslide vote Wednesday, becoming the fifth MLS player to win the award multiple times and just the third since the league’s inception in 1996 to win it in consecutive years.