Brotherly Game Daily Links: The Union have no true MVP candidate they have too many

Philadelphia Union News

The Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey will be a celebrity guest at Saturday’s Union game
It will be a Sixers-Union crossover, thanks to Maxey’s recent appearance on a Phillies game broadcast.

Philadelphia Union’s Andre Blake for MVP? Jim Curtin makes his case
“What he does here leading our group is incredible and it’s almost like a shift in mindset that needs to happen,” Curtin said. “I get it, the same reason why defenders don’t win the Heismann Trophy [in college football]. It’s not what sells. But the goalkeeping position in this league and around the world is so important. It’s very down right now, so to have someone as good as Andre is really, really valuable.”

Breaking Down the Philadelphia Union’s MLS MVP Candidates
The Union do not have a clear-cut MVP favorite because there are too many on the roster, but is there a way to determine which player is the most valuable of them all?

MLS News

MLS Preview: Austin FC-LAFC, Timbers-Sounders headline top matches in Week 27
Rivalry matches take center stage this week, too, with FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew renewing a hotly competitive series. The Seattle Sounders fell to a demoralizing loss last time out to the Portland Timbers, but Brian Schmetzer’s side gets a shot at revenge at Providence Park.

Austin FC routs league-leading LAFC behind two goals from Maxi Urruti
Diego Fagundez’s clinical free kick, two goals from Maxi Urruti and Sebastián Driussi’s brilliant individual effort against LAFC defender Jesús Murillo and tough-angled goal marked Austin FC’s scoring, while the team in general played exceptional soccer.

Cascadia collapse: Sounders squander road-game advantage, fall to Timbers
For the first time in a long time the home team has won a game between the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers. It seemed like this game might be the moment that the Sounders start to turn things around when Yeimar gave the team an early lead, but Portland claimed a 2-1 win with goals on either side of halftime.

LAFC sign Spanish attacker Cristian Tello
LAFC continue to make moves outside of the MLS transfer window, announcing the signing of free agent attacker Cristian Tello on a contract through 2022, with club options for 2023 as well as 2024.

FC Dallas transfer Szabolcs Schon to Hungarian club
Schon, 21, originally joined Dallas in April 2021 from Hungary’s ​​MTK Budapest and signed a long-term deal that could’ve seen him stay in MLS through 2025 (pending option decisions). Schon notched six assists in 24 games (nine starts) a season ago, but didn’t appear in 2022 under head coach Nico Estevez. He’s been capped eight times by Hungary.

Rest of the World News

Europa League draw: Man United face tricky task; Arsenal to reunite with Van Nistelrooy, PSV
The group stages of this season’s Europa League will take place from Sept. 8 to Nov. 3, finishing weeks before the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The knockout stages will begin on Feb. 16, 2023, with the final scheduled to be held at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on May 31, 2023.