Brotherly Game: All Posts by Greg Oldfield

2021 Season Review: Olivier Mbaizo

2022-01-06T12:37:00-05:00

Carl Gulbish

The Cameroon international took hold of the starting right back position for the Union in 2021

When Ray Gaddis retired unexpectedly days before the Philadelphia Union’s 2021 Concacaf Champions League opener against Saprissa, Olivier Mbaizo was thrust into the monumental role of replacing the nine-year MLS veteran, club leader in games and minutes played, and leader of the defending Supporters’ Shield winners on the verge of its international debut.

Mbaizo put any concerns to rest in the opening half when he picked out Kacper Przybylko at the penalty spot for a massive away goal that gave the Union a 1-0 lead heading back to Chester.

In 2021, Olivier Mbaizo proved in many ways to be a more than suitable filler for his predecessor. He played in 30 MLS games, starting 28, for 2,489 minutes. In the Champions League, he played every minute of the first two rounds but was forced to exit the first leg of the semifinals against Club América after his tooth was knocked out by Mauro Lainez’s flailing elbow. He played most of the second leg, exiting late as the Union tried to insert more attacking players after going down 3-0 on aggregate.

His four MLS assists tied for fourth on the team, his first finding Sergio Santos in the closing minutes against the Red Bulls in early July when the Union were down a goal and a man for the final 30 minutes. Mbaizo earned MLS Team of the Week for his performance in that game.

Playing more as a wingback than a traditional stay at home defender like Gaddis, Mbaizo excelled going forward, taking on players with the 1 vs 1 skill of an experienced striker. He controlled his side of the field and forced opponents to sit back and defend their left flank. As the season progressed, Mbaizo’s partnership with Alejandro Bedoya down the right side exhausted defenses with a steady wave of combinations and overlaps, and for much of the season, the duo were the Union’s most dangerous threats going forward.

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Although not as popularized, Olivier Mbaizo’s rise over the past four seasons has been just as impressive as that of recent Union homegrowns Brendan Aaronson and Mark McKenzie. Joining the Bethlehem Steel in 2018, Mbaizo started 22 games at right back, earning USL Team of the Week after a double-assist outing against Richmond. He made his Union debut in late September against Sporting Kansas City and had three more appearances for the Union in 2019 while also playing for the Steel and Cameroon’s U-20 National Team. Last season, he appeared 14 times in place of Gaddis, logging 1,057 minutes, and had two assists, improving with each game as he grew more comfortable in the system.

In addition to his breakout 2021 season with the Union, Mbaizo featured several times for Cameroon’s senior national team, starting with March’s Africa Cup Of Nations qualifier against Union teammate Jamiro Monteiro’s Cape Verde. He also appeared in five World Cup qualifiers in the fall, including the winner-take-all 1-0 win over Ivory Coast that secured Cameroon’s place in the final round where they await their opponent in a home and away series to be played in March.

Mbaizo is certain to be a key player in Cameroon’s quest for the AFCON title. The tournament hosts open play January 9 against Burkina Faso then play Ethiopia January 13 before closing out the group stage against Cape Verde January 17. With Mbaizo’s recent contributions to the national side, he’s on track to become the first Union player to appear in a World Cup while currently with the club.

Photo by PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images

Bedoya appeared in the 2014 tournament prior to his arrival in 2016, and former Union players Tranquillo Barnetta (2006, 2010), Maurice Edu (2010), Kléberson (2002, 2010), Oguchi Onyewu (2006, 2010), Rais M’Bohli (2010, 2014), Haris Medunjanin (2014), and Marco Fabian (2018) all appeared in World Cups prior to playing for the Union.

Carlos Valdes was not with the Union when he played in 2014, David (Myrie 2014) appeared after his season with the Union in 2010, and Gabriel Gomez played one season with the Union in 2012 before appearing in 2018. The CAF playoff draw will be held on January 26.

Unfortunately, for a player who logged close to 3,000 minutes last season, Mbaizo will be remembered for the last three. In the closing seconds of the Eastern Conference Final against New York City FC, it was his botched clearance that led to Gudmundur Thórarinsson finding Talles Magno for the late winner that ended the Union’s magical playoff run. It was one of a number of defensive lapses from Mbaizo last season, evidence of the inexperience that separated him from that of the reliable Gaddis. But despite this, Mbaizo proved his quality throughout the entirety of the season and with unique experiences in AFCON and potentially the World Cup, he’ll continue to improve and could be one of the league’s biggest success stories in 2022 and beyond.

Season Awards

MLS Team of the Week: Week 12
FotMob Man of the Match: New York Red Bulls, July 9

Read our other 2021 Player Reviews at brotherlygame.com/player-reviews.

Eastern Conference Final Preview: Reworked lineup means different match-ups vs NYCFC

2021-12-05T12:16:41-05:00

Philadelphia Union

The Union will have at least six starters available, but beyond that there are a lot of question marks with 11 players in Covid-19 health and safety protocols

Let’s not kid ourselves. The Philadelphia Union Covid situation is bad. Real bad.

The Union have thrived on continuity all season. Jakob Glesnes has played every minute of the 2021 season. Jack Elliott has played almost every minute. Kai Wagner was the Union’s only All-Star. Alejandro Bedoya is the people’s captain and an incredible leader. And Andre Blake (holding back tears), is poetry between the pipes.

With that being said, the Union even if all 11 players listed as out yesterday fail to clear protocols will still have at least six regular starters (Olivier Mbaizo, Jose Martinez, Leon Flach, Daniel Gazdag, Jamiro Monteiro, Kacper Przybylko) and three reserves (Paxten Aaronson, Jack McGlynn, Matt Freese) who’ve shown tremendous growth and have played in key moments this season. Stuart Findlay is a lock at center back. The former Kilmarnock and Scottish youth international is no rookie and has only played minuscule minutes because of the outstanding partnership between Elliott and Glesnes.

The only spot that will still be a toss-up prior to game time will be the second center back, depending if Union coach Jim Curtin opts for the veteran Aurélien Collin or the youthful Nathan Harriel, who did play some center back for the Union 2 last season.

Projected lineup

Freese

Mbaizo Harriel/Collin Findlay Flach

Martinez

Monteiro McGlynn

Gazdag Aaronson

Przybylko

New York City FC will be without key starters as well. Taty Castellanos is a huge change for this side, who had their dips of form throughout the season as well and were saved by Castellanos’ MVP-like season. They do have a number of adequate reserves to take his place. Héber is an established striker coming back from injury while Talles Magno and Thiago Andrade are promising and offer more of what New York will want against a shaky center back pairing. Ismael Tajouri-Shradi has scored 7 goals this season and typically plays in the wide striker position. Anton Tinnerholm is one of the better outside backs in the league and Keaton Parks was a mainstay in central midfield. Prior to the playoffs, both players had been ruled out for the season due to injury. Midfielder James Sands limped off in the game against New England and Tayvon Gray finished the game on one leg, so with a short rest, the matchups could be more even that we’d expect. Here’s a breakdown of what we could see this afternoon:

Goalkeepers

Sean Johnson is an established veteran. The U.S. National Team reserve keeper has played in 321 games over 12 MLS seasons, recording 76 clean sheets, and nearly 30,000 minutes. His counterpart, Matt Freese, a U.S. youth international, has played in 13 games over three MLS seasons, with one clean sheet, a heroic effort in the 1-0 Decision Day victory over New England last season to secure the Supporters’ Shield. Johnson’s played in too many big games to be rattled and has earned the respect as one of the best in MLS. Freese, though talented, athletic, and as promising as any young keeper in the league, had one shaky outing this season and carries a 1.33 goals against average, which can’t be ignored until he repeats a performance like last year.

Edge: NYCFC

Union backs vs New York strikers

Jesús Medina (9 goals, 4 assists) and Santiago Rordríguez (3 goals, 1 assist) are both dynamic strikers who enjoy the ball at their feet. They’re skilled, make terrific runs in the box, and create all kinds of havoc. They’re ability to counter and punish lagging outside backs means Mbaizo and/or Flach/other won’t be able to push forward as much as the Union are accustomed. And the new back pairing of Stuart Findlay (4 starts) and other (Harriel-2 starts, Collin-0 starts) will have their hands full against any of the trio of Brazilian strikers whether it’s the veteran poacher Héber, the shifty Talles, or the blazing Thiago. Age and experience vs youth does not bode well for the Union back four. If Mbazio can get forward, he will force Rodríguez to work more defensively, but that will depend on the Union’s possession in the midfield.

Edge: NYCFC

NYCFC backs vs Union strikers

Maxime Chanot and Alexander Callens are both experienced and have been New York’s preferred back pairing since 2017. Chanot, the Luxembourg international, has been as solid as Glesnes this season, with over 2,600 minutes in 29 starts. Callens has played in just over 2,000 minutes in 25 starts despite missing time while playing for Peru in the Copa América. Kacper Przybylko will be responsible for pushing the center backs and forcing disorganization.

Przybylko has scored 17 goals in all competitions this season, including a number of big-game winners. But he has a habit of cold streaks and is currently in one. Gray is a former U.S. youth international and Malte Amundsen played in the Danish Superliga before transferring to NYCFC, but both are mainly reserves and could be exposed if the Union are able to attack the flanks with their diamond overloads. The chemistry between Dániel Gazdag (4 goals, 5 assists) and Jamiro Monteiro (2 goals, 6 assists) has been getting better each game. The Union attacking midfielders bring big-game experience. Gazdag was Hungarian Player of the Year last season for Honvéd and Monteiro just led Cape Verde’s World Cup qualifying campaign to the brink after a 1-1 draw on the final day of group play. Both players will prove vital for the Union going forward if they can test the New York center backs by getting in the seams. There is a strong possibility that Paxton Aaronson could play higher up, pushing Monteiro further back to provide more stability and work rate. Aaronson has 3 goals in 14 appearances this season and also played for the U.S. U-20s in November’s Revelations Cup.

Edge: Even

Midfield

New York will play a pivot with the veteran Alfredo Morales and youngster James Sands with Maxi Moralez playing as a true 10. Morales spent over a decade in the top German divisions and has appeared for the U.S. national team over a dozen times. Sands, is one of the U.S. National Team’s more promising players. He led the academy teams to multiple championships, was a 2021 MLS All-Star, and helped the U.S. to win this summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup. Moralez is a former MLS Best XI and Italian Serie A regular and has been one of the premier playmakers in MLS since arriving in 2017. The Union will counter Moralez with José Martinez, Venezuelan international, road-grinder, and straight up badass. Martinez will play the most important role in this matchup, forcing New York to play away from Moralez by disrupting his dangerous touches and exerting a physical presence on the smaller playmaker. Monteiro could drop back into the midfield as has been done earlier in the season to exert more of his own physical presence. If so, the experience of Martinez and Monteiro should neutralize the influence of Moralez. Jack McGlynn will likely play the left side, where his passing and poise could prove vital in a matchup with Sands. McGlynn played in 19 games this season, 7 as a starter, and also recently represented the U.S. U-20s in the Revelations Cup in November. The Union could also go with Martinez, Flach, and Monteiro through the midfield, hoping to significantly outwork their counterparts.

Edge: Union

Bench

The Union bench is still largely up in the air at this moment. Losing Santos, Burke and Ilsinho would be massive blows as would the loss of Alvas Powell. Davó has played 18 minutes this season after arriving from Brazil this summer and wasn’t spotted training with the team on Saturday. Jesús Bueno could be called into action as starter. The Venzuelan international would be a suitable reserve as well to add stability through midfield if the Union go up a goal first. The Union called up keeper Greg Ranjitsingh and homegrowns Brandon Craig and Anton Sorenson. That leaves the role of Anthony Fontana and Matt Real (who didn’t train yesterday) a mystery as they’ve largely been excluded for months since logging significant minutes in preseason and the early games of the season. New York has multiple scorers off the bench as mentioned above in addition to young midfielder Andres Jasson with experienced Gedion Zelalem and Tony Rocha through the central midfield and Gudmundur Thórarinsson on the wing.

Edge: NYCFC

Intangibles

The Union have been very good at home this season (13-3-3) and have been even better against playoff teams (8-2-1). The home crowd will be as jacked up as ever with the recent news of missing players and will be a factor in reviving the Union lineup. It’s also not guaranteed that the New York players who carried knocks in Tuesday night’s game will be fully healthy after playing extra time and only having four days to rest. The Union hold an edge in set pieces as well as the benefit of playing defensively and forcing New York to outplay them on the road. Plus the game will be played on a soccer field, which should benefit the Union.

Edge: Union

Philadelphia Union vs New York City FC: Keys to the Game

2021-12-04T10:58:53-05:00

Mitchell Leff-USA TODAY Sports

Union host NYCFC in the Eastern Conference Final on Sunday, December 5th

There is plenty to be optimistic about as the Philadelphia Union prepare to host New York City FC in the Eastern Conference Final Sunday afternoon at Subaru Park. No Taty Castellanos for one, who took a second yellow on a studs up challenge against New England after scoring the go-ahead goal in extra time. Castellanos, the league’s golden boot winner and MVP candidate, had been a menace to the Union and nearly every opponent in 2021 and will be missed by New York, who are also making their first appearance in a conference final. Andre Blake proved that he is in peak form and more than capable of winning games. The Union keeper saved two penalties in the shootout against Nashville and willed two more over the bar. In 8 penalties against Blake this season, only 1 has beaten him.

The Union have also maintained home field advantage, where they are now 13-3-3 at home and 8-2-1 at home against playoff teams. They’ve received hero performances by Jakob Glesnes, Dániel Gazdag, and Andre Blake and have been the fresher team in both playoff games even in extra time. All of this projects to a favorable result against an opponent that has challenged the Union’s weaknesses in every matchup this season. Despite trading wins and a drawing on Decision Day, the Union and NYCFC have been as evenly matched as two teams could be, so a spot in the MLS Cup Final will come down to a few key areas for the Union.

Defensive Transitions
A big factor in this game will be the Union’s ability to transition from offense to defense. New York has an explosive front four, even without Castellanos, who could be replaced by Thiago Andrade, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, or Talles Magno to compliment Santiago Rodríguez, Jesús Medina, and former MLS Best XI Maxi Moralez. The Union were comfortable maintaining possession against Nashville, who often dropped and waited for opportunities to gain possession or counter. For much of the first half, the Union contained MLS MVP candidate Hany Mukhtar, but Mukhtar slowly had his looks, and his first one in the 28^th minute came from a Union turnover that started a ten-minute spell when Mukhtar influenced the game.

Mukhtar’s first clear chance started when Kai Wagner gave the ball away on the left side while the Union were stretched and pushed up the field. With Elliott on the ball and Glesnes twenty-five yards away, Mukhtar had a gap the size of I-95 to counter. José Martinez was the closest defender to Mukhtar, but he failed to track, passing him on to a central defender who would normally be there but wasn’t.

(MLS/BG Twitter)

With Glesnes in a full recovery sprint and Elliott trailing behind, Mukhtar had a clear goal scoring opportunity until he took an extra touch at the top of the box and cut his own angle, allowing Glesnes to block his shot. The play ended safely for the Union but could have been disastrous, allowing the best player on the field to run free at goal.

Defending Dynamic Attackers
Losing Mukhtar happened on more than one occasion, and another concern against New York will be how the Union handle multiple dynamic strikers inside the box while defending zonally. Mukhtar’s goal is a poor example because he didn’t do much to get open, but he certainly asked questions of the Union’s man-marking.

In the leadup to the goal, Nashville cycled the ball wide to Eric Miller, who had plenty of time to whip a dangerous cross into the box. Inside the box, Glesnes covered CJ Sapong while Alvas Powell had Mukhtar. One would expect the two strikers to cross each other or rub the others’ defender, but neither happened. Sapong broke for the near post and Mukhtar found the penalty spot, met the ball, and headed it into the far corner, leaving Blake with no chance. Plenty of blame can be given to Powell for not playing tighter, but Mukhtar was able to expose a weakness in the Union defense that will be tested repeatedly Sunday as the New York front four try to exploit the gaps between the central defenders and between the central defenders and wing backs.

The next example came in the 100^th minute when Mukhtar evaded the Union defense once again. Physical and mental fatigue could have been an issue in extra time despite the Union carrying most of the energy and the play, but this was another instance of movement causing the Union back five problems. After receiving a pass in midfield, Mukhtar turned Gazdag and broke for goal, where he was met by Martinez. Mukhtar played the ball wide to Miller then went untracked into the box where he was open again on the penalty spot. Martinez let him go, and Elliott gave him too much space. Fortunately for the Union, Miller’s cross went to the far post where Glesnes was able to challenge the header. But Mukhtar was open.

If the Union struggled with simple movements from two strikers, there’s more concern for how they’ll handle New York’s dynamic front four, who interchange positions often, creating spaces and filling those spaces all over the field. NYCFC was fourth in goals scored with 56, and Castellanos (19 goals), Medina (9 goals), and Moralez (11 assists) were among the league’s leaders.

Much like the second Mukhtar example, New York’s first goal against New England had similar qualities. Santiago Rodríguez collected the ball from a combination down the left side, turned, and switched play to Jesús Medina on the opposite side. Rodríguez drifted inside the box unmarked, finding the gap between the back line and the midfield. One of the aspects that makes New York’s attacking players so difficult to cover is their comfort with the ball at their feet, allowing the wingbacks to get around and attack isolated outside defenders on two versus ones.

Against the Union in the first meeting in May, NYCFC found success attacking the wings, and they had the same opportunity early in this game while applying pressure to New England. Medina held the ball up, and Gray overlapped around the outside. The pace of the attack caused the New England defenders to focus on the ball and lose their marks, especially as Castellanos, Rodriguez, and Moralez drifted across the field prior to the service from Tayvon Gray. Both Moralez and Rodriguez were left open, and Gray had his choice of who pick out. He found Rodriguez at the penalty spot, and Rodriguez buried the first-time shot into the upper corner for an early lead.

New York is a team that likes to push the ball forward quickly and change the point of attack, which will challenge the Union’s defensive structure and transitions the entire game. Even though the last meeting ended in a 1-1 draw and both teams backed off after securing home field in the first round due to results in other games, New York outplayed the Union while down a man for much of the second half and should feel confident coming into the game knowing that they can cause confusion. How the Union organize and communicate when there’s an unbalanced attack with multiple options will be a test that could decide the outcome of the game.

Creating Chances on Set Pieces
If the Union need to contain New York’s dynamic attack, then the visitors will need to control the Union on set pieces. Against Nashville, the Union had their chances and should have scored before penalties, but they didn’t. And now that they’re playing elite teams with more at stake, each miss carries more weight. Here are the Union players’ Expected Goals + Expected Assists (XG+XA) vs Nashville:

Santos .97
Martinez .54
Gazdag .45
Bedoya .45
Monteiro .29
Elliott .27
Powell .1
Wagner .09
Przybylko .07
Flach .01
Glesnes .01

Sergio Santos’ number was obvious after coming on as a sub and having the best chances of the game, but the lack of chances for Przybylko and Glesnes were puzzling. The Union have improved in the attacking third since the middle of the season and created plenty of shots from open play, but some of their best chances came from set pieces. The Union have been dangerous on corners all season, and their front six targets have been nearly unstoppable. They scored 9 goals this year off corner kicks, and 5 have come from front-six targets. Dániel Gazdag’s goal against Nashville was a textbook Union front-six corner.

Gazdag with the effort to pull one back!! #DOOP pic.twitter.com/l69UbfWbSZ
— ECF - Brotherly Game (@BrotherlyGame) November 28, 2021

Before Jamiro Monteiro played the ball, he targeted the space in front of the six, mostly the corner. Flach and Przybylko jockeyed for position, establishing a seal, while Bedoya attacked the space, and Elliott and Glesnes waited at the penalty spot to crash. Monteiro’s ball was late and Bedoya’s run took him away from the target, but that allowed Elliott and Przybylko to find the ball at the corner of the six where Przybylko won the header. But the beauty of this set piece is that the header was not meant to score. It’s a diversion, allowing the lone attacker at the back post to sneak in and win the second ball. Four Nashville defenders made half-attempts to challenge Przybylko, but every Nashville defender was watching. No one was watching Gazdag, who was left alone at the back post. Gazdag’s first attempt was blocked but with a great second effort, he found the back of the net at a crucial time before the half when the Union had just gone down a goal.

The next dangerous corner came late in the game when the Union players packed the six yard box, crowding Joe Willis prior to Kai Wagner’s inswinger into the goalmouth. This play ran like a youth basketball stack on the inbounds. As the ball whipped in, intended for the mixer, Gazdag was left alone on the back post and Monteiro crept in at the top of the six. But with Wagner’s cross sailing to the back post, the Union had plenty of bodies to cut off any attempt by Willis, leaving Gazdag free to finish from close range. The play was executed to perfection until Santos was called for interference on Willis, a weak call made easier by Santos jumping into Willis instead of going straight to challenge or simply holding his ground.

Two corners resulted in goals though only one of them counted. The Union have become masters at using their size and adapting their corners to avoid monotony, which makes them an extremely difficult team to defend when the margins are slim. New York has two capable center backs in Alexander Callens and Maxime Chanot, but the Union will have the upper hand if they vary their corners and take a couple shots at the front six.

Here’s a rundown of the Union’s free kicks from within 30 yards against Nashville:

36^th minute- Monteiro into the wall.
80^th minute- Elliott over the bar.
95^th minute plus 4- Monteiro over the bar.

Monteiro deserved a look at goal on the first one. He’s demonstrated he can hit the target from close range. But he hit the wall in a miserable effort and two minutes later, Nashville went down the other end and scored. Jakob Glesnes doesn’t have to hit every free kick within range, but he wasn’t even over the ball for any. We’ve seen the way he shoots, numerous times. He’s likely the Union’s best ball striker. Even if Glesnes stepped up and tanked one, were there any negative consequences? Worst case scenario he’s hits the target and forces a save or obliterates the wall and leaves others to finish the deflection. If the Union can be creative at changing the point of attack on corners, they should be able to do the same on fee kicks. The biggest question mark for me after Sunday was how Glesnes never had one crack at any of the direct free kicks. It’d be like the Sixers down two letting Joel Embiid take the last three over Seth Curry to boost his confidence. Wouldn’t you rather have the guy who’s done it countless times before?

The Eastern Conference Final against New York City FC will be tight, and the Union’s success may come down to how well they transition defensively and contain the NYCFC front four. On the offensive side, the Union should be able to create chances during open play from counter presses and counters, but it will be their set pieces that do the most damage. And if the game stays tied late, it’s also reassuring to know that they have Andre Blake and his .88 goals against average on PKs this season.

Jakob Glesnes and Andre Blake rising to legendary status for Philadelphia Union

2021-11-24T12:13:00-05:00

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Glesnes and Blake are a big reason why the Union are still alive in the MLS playoffs

It’s the 122nd minute of a scoreless game, and the Philadelphia Union have seven players spread along the top of the New York Red Bulls’ box, defenders frantically matching bodies.

The fans rise to their feet, a synchronous Union chant gathering momentum around Subaru Park. The chill has intensified ever since the sun dropped below the west stands, but a last-ditch attempt at victory before penalties has brought warmth.

Kai Wagner curls a free kick to the far post, but Red Bull defender Andrew Gutman heads the ball away from Cory Burke. Jesús Bueno collects the ball by the sideline, touches inside to his left, preparing for an in-swinging cross but instead lays it back to José Martiniez, who whips in an out-swinger that’s short and low, evidence of legs that have covered a half dozen miles or more. Martinez’s cross fails to beat the first man, Gutman, and the ball falls to Jakob Glesnes, who seconds earlier was at the near post and dropped 35 yards as the ball recycled. Glesnes settles the ball off his chest.

The crowd’s urging him to shoot…

The Union had their chances to win the game. Sergio Santos hit Carlos Coronel in the legs from a sitter six yards from goal in the 107th minute and Cory Burke missed from the exact spot 10 minutes later, though he had more pressure from a sliding defender as he put his foot through the ball. This game had the makings of a prototypical upset, the scrappy road team defending until the end, only to steal it with one individual moment of brilliance. The Union were out of luck. And subs. No Przybylko daggers, no Ilsinho heroics, no Monteiro scrappers, no homegrown golazos. This was the final strike of the game, from a central defender far from goal with a bouncing ball in the cold.

In those final seconds as the game appears headed to penalties you ask yourself who’s going to take the kicks with Przybylko and Monteiro off the field and Bedoya subbed out with severe cramping. Gazdag? Yes. Glesnes? Maybe, though after the game he admitted he’d never taken a professional penalty. Elliott? Likely. Santos? Not after his awful miss in the MLS is Back Tournament last season. Burke limped off the field minutes earlier. Wagner? Probably. McGlynn? He does strike a clean ball. So our takers were three defenders, one DP still settling in and an 18-year-old?

You think about the goals Glesnes has scored for the Union. Each one on its own would be considered a career highlight. The top corner free kick against LAFC last year before the Covid shutdown. The underside crossbar against Atlanta United this season to earn a 2-2 draw in stoppage time, a shot that was still rising after traveling a quarter of a pitch. You think about how the ball jumps off his foot with the velocity of a cannonball, the sweetness of its movement, knuckling, dipping slightly but otherwise straight. You think about the hours upon hours it took to master his craft. It’s more than pingers, it’s bangers, with a purity rivaled by an Ibrahimović, a Beckham, or a Shevchenko.

You think about how he’s a center back. A former 25-year-old captain from the Norwegian first division, where he played six seasons before the Union scooped him up in 2020. You think about how many times he’s struck a ball in the cold then remember as you yell “shoot” this is exactly the guy you want on the ball.

Glesnes takes the ball off the hop, which doesn’t bounce as high on the soft autumn Pennsylvania grass. His body’s facing the corner flag. He turns his hips, whips his leg, and catches the ball with his instep. The ball starts 10 feet over the bar, knuckles, dips, tails to the outside, and drops into the lower corner of the net.

The stadium erupts. The players chase Glesnes as he runs into the corner and stops in front of the Sons of Ben and Keystone Ultras. Curtin leads the charge from the bench. Andre Blake sprints from the other side of the field. The players are covered in yellow smoke, pounding the ad boards (we later learn it was Curtin), savoring Glesnes’ moment of brilliance that will be remembered for days, years, if not a lifetime.

Twenty-eight minutes earlier, in the 95th minute, the Union have carried the momentum over the final 10 minutes of regulation and the beginning of extra time when Red Bulls midfielder Sean Davis receives the ball 20 yards inside his own half and lofts a long floater over the top of the Union back line. Patryk Klimala, a second-half sub, sneaks in behind despite being offside, splitting Glesnes and Elliott and appears to pull away as the ball settles five yards in front of him. Klimala runs onto the ball, takes a touch, and looks up at goal. Elliott’s closing the distance but can’t catch him…

Those three seconds holding your breath feels like minutes underwater at the bottom of a murky lake chained to cinderblocks. The first reaction is this can’t be happening. Ninety-five minutes, plus three extra minutes in the first half and five in the second half, and the Red Bulls hadn’t recorded a single shot on target. The Union up until then had the better chances despite their own attacking troubles, but you’ve seen this game too often to know the conclusion—a road team against the run of play steals a goal and advances.

For three seconds, the trauma of last season’s early playoff exit re-emerges. The silence of Subaru Park that encompassed intense feelings of frustration, desolation, and grief. You envision boos, beverages thrown onto the field, chippy fouls that end in someone being sent off, probably Martinez or Bedoya, who carry the passion of a team and a city on their shoulders and would project the pain of 18,000 plus experiencing the same agony in this exact stadium, 369 days ago.

Klimala strikes the ball low, to the side of Blake’s feet. The shot is forceful. No doubt it’s on target. But Blake gets down to his left and pushes the ball aside with his left hand, his first save of the game, his only save of the game.

The TV cameras failed to capture what everyone else in the stadium already knew. Andre Blake was never going to give up a goal. We watched him as he backtracked, found his angle, then stepped forward to challenge the shot. By the time Klimala struck the ball, Blake set his feet and squared his body, weight on his toes, ready to move. A split-second passed between the ball leaving Klimala’s foot and smacking Blake’s hand. Some would call it a reactionary save. But Blake never stuck a leg out, never flung his body, or flailed his arm. How many times have we seen goalkeepers fall down, wave at the air, point at their center backs, point at the linesman? We’d have given him a pass. A one-on-one breakaway at full speed. Advantage to the shooter.

Blake had none of those reactions. He sunk down, locked in, and read Klimala’s body, the way he opened his hips prior to shooting. If anything, Blake made the miraculous—effortless.

Afterward, you wonder how many times Blake has been in this situation, the tens of thousands of times his teammates have tested him, bragging they’d buzz one by only to be denied by his superior positioning, instincts, or desire to stop anything that comes his way. This is the player the Union have invested their future in, both tactically and financially, arguably the best goalkeeper on the continent over the past five years. A three-time All-Star, two-time Goalkeeper of the Year. A regular for Jamaica’s national team. A former number one draft pick. The backbone of the franchise. A role model. A fierce competitor on the field and a gentleman off it.

Once the emotions of a last-second victory have calmed and the players disappear under the stands for the locker room, Glesnes jogs the length of the field to a hero’s applause and stops at the front row behind the opposite goal in which he’d just scored an incredible winner, the type of goal most people would retire after and be happy. He scoops up a small figure, it’s hard to tell from my vantage point, but the way he embraces the child and bounces him in his arms as they travel back across the field to another roar from the fans shows how much this means to him.

It’s not until 30 minutes later when Glesnes appears on the press conference that we meet his son, a miniature version of Jakob with parted blond hair and thick black-rimmed glasses. As Glesnes answers questions about the goal and the win, the smile never leaves his face as he revels in the present, embracing a moment his coach minutes earlier called “special.”

When Blake greets the media, he’s soft-spoken, reflective of his teammate’s heroics and of the probability that the game was headed to penalties. “I was starting to get in that frame of mind,” he says, “but I still believed we were going to get a goal.” He praises Glesnes, whom he calls “a great person and a great professional” before joking about the one banger he allowed Glesnes to score to boost his confidence.

The box score will show one save. One. To Blake, he’s only contributing his role on the team. “I’m the last line of defense,” he says, “and my job is to stop the ball from going into the net. So whenever I’m able to do that I’m happy because that’s my job and it means I’m doing something right.”

A week ago, I asked who would lead this team to playoff victory? One was guaranteed, the other unexpected, though not surprising. Maybe it shouldn’t have been. The Union players are motivated and experienced. They’re proven winners. And in knockout rounds, that’s all a team needs to advance. But to be the last team standing, they’ll need more.

After the game Curtin said, “The unique thing with our system that is different than Europe is how people play in the playoffs. It’s where great players become legends.”

Previewing the Philadelphia Union playoffs and their chances to hoist an MLS Cup

2021-11-19T12:21:43-05:00

Shivant Krishnan

The Union have a lot going for them heading into the postseason

The Philadelphia Union are not as good as last season, which is why this is the year they’ll reach the MLS Cup. Although that sounds contradictory, it’s not far-fetched considering the way the Philadelphia Union’s historical 2020 season ended abruptly at home against the New England Revolution.

Although time may have healed, a toothless 2-0 loss to an opponent they went 4-0-1 against in the regular season is still fresh on the minds of this veteran team. And now after the Revs won the 2021 Supporters’ Shield, setting an MLS record points in a season, the fuel to the dumpster fire that was the Union’s 2020 playoff dreams has only intensified.

Revenge will be sweet, but the Union still need to get to the conference final. If we’ve learned anything about the MLS playoffs, good teams make it to the finals but the best teams in the regular season usually don’t win. Over the past ten years, only two teams (Toronto 2017 and L.A. Galaxy 2011) have won both the Supporters’ Shield and the MLS Cup.

Last season, Union fans witnessed the grind it took out of a good team to secure the regular season title, only to watch it deteriorate with raised stakes and an expanding target on the back. The previous eight champions have been a second seed or higher entering the playoffs.

After securing the second seed, the Union’s 2021 playoff run has all the trends of a conference final, but in the shadows lurks a performance like last year we all fear. Here’s a rundown of why 2021 could be the year the Union reach the MLS Cup and the questions that need to be answered if they’re going to succeed.

The X factor

Morgan Tencza

Andre Blake is one of the top five players in MLS. No, I didn’t say goalkeeper, I meant PLAYER. No single player has been at the peak of his position over the past five seasons, and what’s even more impressive is that 2021 was Blake’s best season yet.

As per Tom Bogert’s tweet on November 9, Blake leads the league in goals against minus expected goals against. Here are the top three:

Andre Blake: -7.71
Matt Turner: -7.30
Maxime Crepeau: -5.30

Blake was named a finalist for Goalkeeper of the Year along with New England’s Matt Turner and Nashville’s Joe Willis and should be the frontrunner. He is second in MLS shutouts with 12, though he only played in 26 games, 7-8 fewer than the keepers above him in that category. He also had 4 more clean sheets in the CCL. His save percentage (76%) and goals against average (.92) are both better than his 2016 season in which he won GOTY (66.7% and 1.56) and are a smidge lower than last season (77.8% and .86) when also won the award for best goalkeeper and should have been considered for league MVP.

Prior to this summer’s All-Star Game, he was somehow left off the roster then added the week before. No disrespect to Turner, who’s had an incredible season and went full-out beast mode in the Concacaf Gold Cup, but Blake proved himself as the most reliable goalkeeper in the league with the way he controls the box, shuts down angles, and challenges shooters. And going back to the Atlanta first leg in the CCL among one of many examples, he can change the outcome of a game at any moment. This season, he’s stopped three out of the four penalties he faced, which equals his total from previous MLS seasons combined, evidence that he continues to get better with age.

Experience and synergy vs fatigue

Carl Gulbish

With last season’s compressed schedule, Union coach Jim Curtin managed a difficult task of winning now or preserving players’ legs. He chose the former and won the club’s first Supporters’ Shield, which may have led to fatigue down the stretch and in the playoffs. This season, the Union played more games than any MLS team and lost half their starting lineup during multiple international breaks yet still maintained continuity. Jack Elliott’s been so good that Stuart Findley, last off-season’s coveted left-footed center back, can’t even get on the field.

Leon Flach has been the biggest surprise, another grinder in the midfield diamond, protecting the backline and instilling the counter press that makes the Union midfield so tough to play against. In two seasons, the regular starting XI has remained largely intact, with the only changes being Dániel Gazdag and company for Brenden Aaronson and Elliott for Mark McKenzie.

What about the kids? Remember way back in the beginning of the season when Anthony Fontana had the keys to the 10 and Matt Real was going to play right back after the unexpected retirement of Ray Gaddis? The rest of the bench included a crop of teenagers whose professional experience was a healthy thrashing in the USL. Credit to Ernst Tanner and Chris Albright for acquiring Gazdag and veterans Alvas Powell and José Bueno. With the anticipated number of games for José Martinez, Olivier Mbaizo, and Jamiro Monteiro, the Union staff knew their squad couldn’t be 100% the entire season. Though we’ve yet to see Davó in meaningful action, at least the Union have an experienced bench that provides tactical flexibility. And with that experience and sustained success, Curtin has been able to slowly introduce the kids, and week by week they’ve been more impressive. Paxten Aaronson is molding into an explosive attacking midfielder, Jack McGlynn has shown his fine passing ability in midfield, and Quinn Sullivan has contributed big moments when the Union needed a boost.

Granted, the kids won’t be asked to play 90 minutes, but they may be called upon fo important roles and potentially win games. And because they’ve outgrown their firsts, they should be ready contribute.

Home record vs playoff teams and performance down the stretch

Morgan Tencza

Home field has its advantages—waking up in your own bed, resuming daily patterns, engaging with family and friends, training in a familiar environment, playing in front of a supporting crowd. The Union are 11-3-3 at Subaru Park in 2021 and against playoff teams, they are 6-2-1, with the only losses coming against New York City FC in May and New England in September with six regulars out.

The most important trend for the Union heading into the playoffs is performance down the stretch. They are 5-1-4 in their last 10 games with statement wins against Nashville and Atlanta (Orlando City was their 11th game) and a positive showing at Minnesota despite the loss. If the seedings hold, the Union’s playoff hopes will come down to a potential conference final at New England, which had the upper hand in every matchup this season.

Though the Union are 0-2-1 against the Revs in 2021, the Union will have an intense desire to enact revenge for last year’s playoff defeat. There’s also the possibility that New England gets knocked out early, allowing us to revel in Bruce-face memes for weeks while we pack Subaru Park for our first conference final.

Playing ahead vs playing from behind

We know the Union are built from the back and excel when scoring first, where they can utilize their defensive organization and counter attack. Last year’s knock on the Union was their inability to come from behind. They rarely had to until the playoff loss to NE. This season, they’ve come from behind nine times, however, every game ended in a tie, which means they’ll be confident playing down and pushing for extra time.

So if the Union are capable of reaching the MLS Cup, why am I not heading to the sports book to back it up? There have been a number of questions asked throughout the season that still have not been answered, which reminds me of the Dennis Green quote of “they are who we thought they were.” And that fact alone causes hesitation when discussing finals.

Can the Union win on the road?

Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Road performances have troubled the Union all season. With conservative play, slow starts, and a lack of energy against good teams, the Union are 3-5-9 on the road this season and 0-4-4 on the road against playoff teams, which doesn’t factor into the first two rounds but could be a major hurdle if they have to travel to New England. In some of their away games, notably New England, Nashville, and Orlando City, the Union were outclassed and looked like a different team.

We saw a breakout performance by Dániel Gazdag against Minnesota, but the Union squandered the lead in the second half and allowed a lesser team to dictate the game.

Will the Union correct their attacking third woes?

This is where the eye test comes into play. The Union have found the most success down the right side with Alejandro Bedoya and Olivier Mbaizo, who over the past two months have been the Union’s best combination going forward. The counter attack has cooled off as opponents have become more prepared, and the injuries to Sergio Santos has affected the Union’s ability to attack with pace. The high press and counter press still present the most dangerous Union offensive threats, like the Legion of Doom dumping the puck deep and pressuring defensemen into turnovers. I don’t know, it seems kind of—boring?

As of late, the Union have shifted to a single striker and two attacking midfielders. Whether it’s Gazdag, Monteiro or Aaronson, they’ve played with more creativity and fluidity, attacking through the middle and down the flanks than when playing with two out of sync strikers, but the questions remains if that will be enough.

Who is the game-winner on offense?

Shivant Krishnan

Let’s get this out of the way. Kacper Przybylko has scored some huge goals for the Union this season. He’s singlehandedly saved the Union multiple times. Przybylko passed C.J. Sapong for second on the Union’s all-time scoring list with 40 goals and is a season away from breaking Sebastian Le Toux’s record of 53. But he could be the Union’s most frustrating player when he disappears for large stretches, which contributes to the lack of offensive synergy in the final third. Outside the box, he’s a 6’4” target striker who loses duels and doesn’t support the midfielders in link up play. Inside the box, however, he’s a clinical finisher when given the opportunity. It’s really a matter of which player shows up.

With Ilsinho injured for most of the season and inconsistent play from Santos and Cory Burke, who at various points of the season had been the Union’s best players on the field, the Union lack a player that will take over a game late. Unless we’re hoping for hero by committee, there’s no single attacking Union player we can expect to change a game.

Will fatigue catch up?

I meant to use this as a strength and a question. The consistency vs fatigue gamble paid off again as the Union secured the second seed and home field advantage late in the season. But at what cost? The performance staff has done an incredible job keeping the players in peak condition with very few injuries throughout the season, especially 34-year-old Bedoya, who’s played three or four years below his age and in a number of games logged the most distance covered of any Union player. Here are the Union leaders in minutes played this MLS season:

Glesnes: 3,060 (3rd in MLS, 2nd among outfield players)
Elliott: 2,970 (7th in MLS, 5th among outfield players)
Wagner: 2,830 (18th in MLS, 13th among outfield players)
Bedoya: 2,659
Przybylko: 2,654
Flach: 2,645
Mbaizo: 2,489

If you include 6 CCL games, the Union players’ minutes increased significantly, plus Mbazio, Monteiro, Gazdag, and Blake have been regular starters during the most recent international breaks and have endured the travel, Covid protocols, and recovery trainings as a result of knocks and injuries. In the latest window, McGlynn, Aaronson, and Sullivan played for the U.S. youth national teams, an honor to their growth but another adjustment ahead of the playoffs.

So despite a two-week recovery for some, a majority of the Union’s core will enter the playoffs without a break, and although many of the MLS playoff teams have lost players to internationals, Monteiro and Mbaizo played in must-win games Tuesday, leaving them with one travel day and two days of recovery before the early Saturday afternoon game against the Red Bulls. The big question Saturday will be how fresh the team looks. Are we going to see an energized lineup or the survive-and-advance mode? We’ll have to wait and see. I have a positive feeling heading into this weekend’s playoff game, a home playoff game against an opponent the Union have outplayed all season. They’ve beaten all their potential opponents, except the Revs, who are the Union’s only major obstacle from the MLS Cup final.

Perhaps the biggest sign of optimism heading into the playoffs is that the Union haven’t played their best yet. We’ve seen stretches of dominance at home against a depleted Portland and a disastrous Toronto but also against quality teams like Nashville, New York City FC, Orlando City and Atlanta. And the Union fought back in the semifinal second leg against Club América, the best team they’ve played all year. Experience and a top defense are two defining qualities for a championship team, so despite an up-and-down season, this could be the year the Union make a deep run in the playoffs and play for another trophy.

Union draw 1-1 with New York City FC, secure second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs

2021-11-07T18:24:25-05:00

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Union settled for their ninth road draw of the season after going up a man in the 21st minute on the final day of the regular season

It wasn’t easy, but the Philadelphia Union locked up the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a 1-1 draw against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

MLS Decision Day featured six teams jockeying for the final three playoff spots in the Eastern Conference while the Philadelphia Union and New York City FC sought a finish anywhere between second and fourth. But the biggest decision of the day came when referee Guido Gonzales Jr. handed New York’s Gideon Zelalem a red card in the 21st minute, leaving Kacper Przybylko to play the role of hero once again when he scored five minutes later to give the Union a 1-0 lead. Taty Castellanos’ equalizer eight minutes into the second half brought New York City back into the game and secured their first-round home playoff berth as well.

The Union came out in a 4-3-2-1 formation with Jamiro Monteiro and Dániel Gazdag playing behind Przybylko while their reliable central defense pairing of Jakob Glesnes and Jack Elliott kept Castellanos and company in check except for a fifteen-minute spurt in the second half when Castellanos, whose 19 goals tied Ola Kamara for the league’s Golden Boot prior to the late-day kickoffs, found the chemistry with Jesus Medina and Maxi Moralez only after falling to 10-men.

On a sloppy field with multiple players losing their footing throughout the game, New York took control from the start with Malte Amundsen pushing forward often, causing problems down the Union’s right side. Despite neutralizing NYCFC’s attack, the Union still couldn’t hold the ball up high with Przybylko committing multiple turnovers.

The game’s first suspect challenge came in the 12th minute when Castellanos dove in with two feet on Jose Martinez. Though Castellanos missed Martinez, the challenge was dangerous enough that it warranted at least a card for intent but only resulted in a verbal warning. But there was no question about recklessness in the 21st minute when Zelalem was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Leon Flach, handing the Union a man advantage for the remaining 70 minutes. Zelalem was originally given a yellow, but referee Gonzales Jr. changed the card after video review.

The Union wasted little time punishing the shorthanded New York side when Przybylko scored the opener minutes after going up a man. As the Union gained some rare possession going forward, Olivier Mbaizo’s cross curled behind the back line, putting the NYCFC defenders on their heels. Przybylko missed the initial attempt from the doorstep, but Flach put the ball back across and Przybylko tapped it home into the empty net. The goal was Przybylko’s 12th of the season and seventeenth in all competitions.

The Union gained more possession with the man advantage, and the match resembled the two teams’ first encounter when New York played a majority of the game with an extra player. NYCFC spent much of the first half trying to convince the referee to even up the sides but did little to change the game in their favor until after the break. New York pushed the game again from the start of the second half and showed a sense of urgency while the Union let down as they’ve done at times throughout the season up a goal.

Alfredo Morales almost flicked a Moralez corner on goal in the forty-ninth minute, but Blake was able to catch it with a sprawling save. New York finally equalized in the fifty-third minute when Castellanos got on the end of a Moralez cross, beating Glesnes and Mbaizo for the ball to head it into the far corner.

With the game even in score, play opened up more but New York still created more of the dangerous chances despite being down a man. Medina nearly nicked the go-ahead goal in the 60th minute after Castellanos headed down a Moralez free kick in front of goal, but Blake again made an outstanding save on Medina to preserve the tie.

Union coach Jim Curtin attempted to inject some energy as he brought on Jack McGlynn for Flach and Paxton Aaronson for Gazdag with 25 minutes to play, but the Union still mounted few attacks going forward, and Monteiro had the Union’s only shot of the second half as they played content with the draw. As the final minutes ticked away, the Union accomplished their goal of securing a top seed though leaving questions about whether this effort on the road will be enough to make an impact in the playoffs.

The Union are 5-6-5 against playoff teams (Minnesota included) and will benefit from having home field advantage until the Eastern Conference finals where a potential revenge meeting with New England could erase last season’s shocking defeat. However, the Union are 0-4-4 on the road this season against playoff teams and will need to reverse their fortunes to reach the MLS Cup for the first time in franchise history.

The Union will host the New York Red Bulls at Subaru Park in the first round between November 18-20.

Goals:
PHI: Przybylko 26’
NYCFC: Castellanos 53’

Red Cards:
NYCFC: Zelalem 21’

Yellow Cards:
PHI: Glesnes 25’
PHI: Wagner 31’
PHI: Martinez 50’
NYCFC: Medina 82’

Lineups:
Union: Blake, Mbaizo, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner, Martinez, Bedoya, Flach (McGlynn 66’), Gazdag (Aaronson 66’), Monteiro (Bueno 90’ + 3), Przybylko (Burke 81’)

Unused subs: Bendik, Powell, Harriel, Findlay, Bueno, Sullivan

NYCFC: Johnson, Sands, Chanot, Callens, Amundsen, Morales, Zelalem, Medina, Moralez, Rodríguez (Gray 89’), Castellanos

Unused subs: Barraza, Gloster, Latinovich, Thórarinsson, Jasson, Rocha, Thiago, Talles

Philadelphia Union defeat FC Cincinnati in easy 2-0 win

2021-10-31T22:19:22-04:00

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The boys in blue head into decision day in second place.

Dániel Gazdag scored a goal and assisted on the other to lead the Philadelphia Union to a commanding 2-0 win over FC Cincinnati on a Halloween night matchup that lacked the thrills and chills but was a treat of attacking Union soccer. The Union moved back into second place with 53 points, leading Nashville on the wins tie-breaker 14-12. The Union finished their home campaign with five straight wins, the last four shutouts, and an 11-3-3 record at Subaru Park.

The Union came out with their most recent 4-3-2-1 lineup with Paxton Aaronson replacing Jamiro Monteiro, who was ruled out with a minor knee injury. Jack McGlynn earned a start in midfield in place of Leon Flach, whose 2,500 minutes this season ranks fourth on the team. Andre Blake returned to the lineup after missing the trip to Toronto due to a death in his family. FC Cincinnati’s front pairing of Brenner and Brandon Vázquez had been playing well in recent games but were held in check by the formidable central back pairing of Jakob Glesnes and Jack Elliott. Brenner, the young Brazilian star from São Paulo, scored his eighth goal of the season Wednesday and is one shy of the club single-season record while Vázquez had scored in three straight games, but only Vázquez recorded one of Cincinnati’s two shots on goal.

The Union opened the scoring in the eleventh minute when Gazdag’s redirected header beat Cincinnati keeper Kenneth Vermeer. The Union had been applying pressure on the Cincinnati backline from the opening whistle and found success down the right side following a corner. Alejandro Bedoya gained possession on the end line and cut the ball back at the top of the box to Olivier Mbaizo, who side-footed it on target while Gazdag screened Vermeer in front of the net. The goal was Gazdag’s fourth of the season.

The Union played with a free-flowing attack in the final third and controlled the entire game. Aaronson and Gazdag had more freedom to float and McGlynn and Bedoya found plenty of space in support to create multiple opportunities. Gazdag missed the post by inches with a header in the twenty-first minute, Gazdag and McGlynn combined for another Gazdag shot minutes later, and Bedoya’s heel flick in the twenty-ninth minute was stopped by Vermeer. McGlynn also missed the far post by an inch in the thirty-eighth minute, almost bagging his first career goal.

After a half of dominance, the Union went into the break up a goal and came out in the second half looking to finish off the MLS bottom feeders. Aaronson provided the second Union goal eight minutes into the half from another combination between Gazdag and McGlynn. After forcing a turnover, Gazdag played a pass into McGlynn and continued his run, creating a lane for Aaronson to dribble into before unleashing a low left-footed strike that found the bottom corner.

The Union kept the pressure on with a comfortable run in the second half, creating more chances, but they were unable to find the net again. Kacper Przybylko missed a sitter over the bar in the fifty-seventh minute and Gazdag had a shot from close range in the sixtieth. José Martinez’s shot from distance in the sixty-eighth found the target but was not enough to reach the back of the net. In a subdued final twenty minutes, the Union welcomed Cory Burke back into the lineup after missing the past several weeks due to injury.

The Union will finish the regular season next Sunday against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium with the second seed and a first round playoff home game at stake. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30.

Goals:
PHI: Gazdag 11’
PHI: Aaronson 53’

Lineups:
Union: Blake, Mbazio (Harriel 76’), Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner, Martinez, Bedoya (Bueno 90’), McGlynn (Flach 80’), Aaronson, Gazdag (Sullivan 90’), Przybylko (Burke 80’)
Unused subs: Freese, Findlay, Fontana, Davo

FC Cincinnati:
Vermeer, Bailey, Cameron, Blackett, Barreal (Harris 71’), Kubo (Scott 84’), Stanko, Medunjanin, Gyau (Duvall 46’), Vázquez, Brenner (Atanga 71’)
Unused subs: Tyton, Cruz, Mokotjo, Valot, Ordonez

Union Face Montréal FC Ahead of Playoff Push

2021-10-15T18:40:42-04:00

Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Just 8 points that separate the 2nd and 8th place eastern conference teams

The Philadelphia Union have been rolling as of late. Winners of four of their last five games, the boys in blue have moved up to third in the packed Eastern Conference where eight points separate second-place Nashville from eighth-place Atlanta with six games remaining in the regular season. However, the Union will be fighting several variables ahead of Saturday’s game against Montréal FC, among them key injuries, players returning from a busy international break, and visa complications.

“Both teams are dealing with the repercussions of having a strong roster, which is players being away on international duty,” Union coach Jim Curtin told the media this week. “So, we’ll both have fatigue in players’ legs, and it will be a race to get everyone back as quickly as possible.”

The Union are unbeaten against Montréal in the last three games, but the two teams tied 1-1 at Subaru Park in late August with Quinn Sullivan providing the equalizer in the eighty-seventh minute to salvage what had been a lackluster Union performance during a period where the team’s form had dipped for several weeks. Sullivan’s goal was the only Union shot to hit the target that game.

Since the Club América second leg, the Union have found their defensive balance and have outscored their opponents 10-3, with several goals coming from the run of play, including both goals against FC Cincinnati last Saturday. “We didn’t have our best start,” Curtin said about last game, “maybe could have been down a goal or two but really showed a lot of character, regrouped, got the big goal from Kacper, who makes an incredible play, and we’re able to build momentum into the second half.”

Faced with a number of squad changes due to multiple starters being out for World Cup qualifiers, Curtin had to tweak his regular lineup and call on some of his less experienced players, who responded well in the win. “I’m really proud of the all-hands-on-deck mentality of everybody,” he said, “guys asked to play out of position, young guys stepping up and playing big minutes, Paxton scoring a great goal, Nathan stepping in and doing a great job as an outside back.”

Kacper Przybylko has returned to scoring goals in bunches as he did in the beginning of the season and has four goals in the last five games. He scored his tenth goal of the MLS season against FC Cincinnati and his fifteenth overall in 2021. His 33 MLS goals puts him three behind C.J. Sapong for second among Union all-time scorers, and the two strikers are now tied with 38 goals in all competitions.

Montréal FC should be a stark contrast from FC Cincinnati, who were the first team eliminated from playoff contention. Montréal holds the final playoff spot in the East by one point and will attempt to continue their strong home record since returning to the Stade Saputo in July after a season and a half playing home games in the U.S. Montréal has won five of eight at home, and their only losses came against New England and Nashville. Romell Quioto leads the team with eight goals and scored a brace in Montréal’s win over Atlanta before the international break, but the Honduras international also suffered an injury during World Cup qualifying and could be a game-time decision. Djordje Mihailovic leads the team with 13 assists and scored Montréal’s goal against the Union in August. Montréal will likely roll out an experienced midfield with Joaquín Torres, Samuel Piette, and Victor Wanyama, who gave the Union troubles in the last matchup.

The Union will likely be without Sergio Santos, who picked up a minor hamstring strain in the opening minutes against FC Cincinnati. Cory Burke is still recovering from a stress fracture and could be out at least another week, and Ilsinho’s return to action is unknown as he continues to rehab from groin surgery in May. Jamiro Monteiro was back in training after two games for Cape Verde and should be available. Olivier Mbaizo was pulled from warmups in Cameroon’s game against Mozambique on Monday due to a minor knock but is expected to play. Alvas Powell strained a hamstring while with Jamaica and will likely be out, but Curtin said both Dániel Gazdag and Andre Blake should be fine.

Curtin called José Martinez’s status tricky due to Venezuela’s late game in Chile Thursday night. “For the South American players,” he said, “it’s more complicated getting their visas and getting them over the border then say the Jamaican players.”

Despite the congested schedule, Curtin is confident with his squad’s fitness as he balances the playing load of his experienced internationals ahead of the next five games in two weeks that includes three road trips, two of them to Canada. “The good thing is everybody’s fit right now,” he said. “Whether second team games or intra-squad games, everybody’s fit for 90 minutes. Our guys that have logged 2,000 plus minutes already don’t need a ton during the week.”

And with the growing contributions of the younger players, Curtin may finally have the depth needed to keep his squad fresh over the remaining games with another international break looming in early November at the conclusion of the MLS regular season. “You are weighing now as guys come back the risk of the load. If they’ve played ninety minutes three games in a row and Paxton is in the form that he’s in or McGlynn’s playing as well as he is or Sullivan, you have more belief in throwing them out there for the first 75 minutes of a game.”

The Union will be back on the road Wednesday night at Minnesota FC before returning home next Saturday against Nashville, who led the Union by two points, in what could be the defining game for determining home-field advantage in the second round of the playoffs.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the Stade Saputo. The game will be aired on PHIL 17, ESPN+, and philadelphiaunion.com. Fans can also listen to the action on Fox The Gambler via 102.5 FM, 104.5 HD2, or 1480AM.

Philadelphia soccer community mourns the loss of Alex Ely

2021-10-10T10:17:00-04:00

Photo by PAOLA MAFLA/AFP via Getty Images

Ely was a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and a local legend of the game

Philadelphia soccer legend Alex Ely passed away in late September at the age of 83. Ely, a native of São Paulo, Brazil, was a key member of the Ukrainian Nationals from the late 1950s to early 1960s and promoted the game in various playing and coaching capacities for a majority of his life.

Ely was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1997.

Born to German immigrants, Ely grew up in the streets of São Paulo during a period of anti-German sentiment, where he learned to use his feet and his fists to escape the harshness of discrimination and poverty while also embracing the samba culture and the Brazilian style of the game. He came to America in 1956 and lived with his aunt and uncle determined to join the Navy. Hardly speaking any English, he failed the entrance exams and soon signed with Vereinigung Erzgebirge as a way to play soccer in a familiar environment while attending night school to achieve his high school equivalency.

Years later, he joined the Ukrainian Nationals, an emerging amateur club in the city that won the National Amateur Cup in 1957. During one of the brightest periods of the local game, the Ukrainian Nationals achieved tremendous success in the American Soccer League, a professional league created from the ethnic amateur clubs throughout the Northeastern United States. Led by stars like Walt Bahr, Walt Chyzowych, and Andy Racz, the Ukes won the league from 1961-1964 and won six titles from 1957-1970. In 1960, the Ukes beat the Los Angeles Kickers 5-3 in extra time to secure the club’s first U.S. Open Cup title. Ely assisted on both of Mike Noha’s extra time goals.

The Ukes played in the U.S. Open Cup final five times in seven years, winning in 1960, 61, 63, and 66. Ely lifted the trophy in 1960 and 1963 and was on the losing side in 1964. He missed the 1961 final after suffering a broken ankle in a match against Glasgow’s Third Lanark prior to the final. During the glory years of the Ukrainian Nationals, many touring professional clubs came to the U.S. in search of quality opponents, and the Ukes were on top of that list. In 1959, the Ukes tied Manchester United and Manchester City, and in 1961 they lost to VFB Stuttgart 3-1. In 1962, Ely played on an All-Star team against the England National team, which included Bobby and Jackie Charlton and many of the stars who’d win the World Cup four years later.

Ely also played for the New York Americans in the International Soccer League, Toronto Roma, Philadelphia Spartans, Delaware Wings, and the United German Hungarians. Capped three times, Ely first represented the U.S. in the 1959 Pan-Am Games, winning a bronze medal in a competition that saw the Americans beat Mexico and Brazil. He achieved notoriety for his play back home and was offered a contract with Flamengo, which he declined to pursue his studies in America. In 1960, he played in a World Cup qualifier against Mexico in Los Angeles, which the Americans lost, and he played for the U.S. in 1965, twice against Mexico as the U.S. again failed to qualify for the World Cup.

After graduating from the University of Maryland in 1964 with a degree in Foreign Language Education, Ely returned to Brazil during his prime and taught English for eight years while playing for Santos. But he found the life of a teacher more sustainable than the life of a footballer, so while he taught he played for various lower-level pro and amateur clubs. At Santos, he became friendly with Pelé and later spent a number of years coaching Pelé’s camps when he returned to the United States. Ely earned his Master’s Degree in English Education from Temple before a teaching and coaching career that took him to Cardinal Dougherty, Archbishop Prendergast, and Monsignor Bonner. He also published a number of popular English textbooks in Brazil as well as a novel Destiny at Dawn.

His memoir From Hell to the Hall of Fame details his life in Brazil and America as well his soccer career. One of the prominent figures in maintaining the traditions of the United Soccer League, Ely’s coaching stops included the Ukrainian Nationals, Philadelphia Spartans, Monsigner Bonner, Spring Garden College, Archbishop Carroll, UGH and Swarthmore College. In 1975, Ely founded the Kolping Soccer Club and coached for twenty years.

Alex Ely’s influence on the modern game can best be described by some of his former players. Blaise Santangelo, head coach of West Chester United Predators, one of the best amateur teams in the region over the past decade, played for Ely at Archbishop Carroll.

“Alex came in my sophomore year in 1982,” Santangelo told the Brotherly Game. “We knew he was somebody special.”

In Ely’s first season at Carroll, the team finished first in the PCL South, beat St. Joe’s Prep, and lost to Archbishop Ryan in the final.

“He was a great guy,” Santangelo said about Ely, who also coached Santangelo’s younger brother Michael. “He knew the game and let players play.”

Even though he was years removed from his playing days, Ely never shied away from joining in. “He wasn’t as fit obviously,” Santangelo said, “but you could never get the ball off his feet.” After Santangelo’s college career at Elizabethtown, he played for Ely at the Ukrainians and reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup in 1987. “I didn’t realize how great he was until I played for the Ukes. He was one of the top players in the country for three to four years.”

Santangelo credits Ely’s passion for the game as his greatest contribution. “He had a personality you could never forget,” he said. “He loved the game and made it easy to love the game. Alex had a tremendous effect on me as a player and coach.”

Paul Donaghy, who played in the USASA Open Cup final in 2002 with VE after a career at Cabrini, played for Ely at Cardinal Dougherty in 1994 when Ely was the Spanish teacher.

“He would cut holes in a newspaper,” Donaghy told the Brotherly Game about his teacher, “then he’d read the paper during a test and look through the holes to catch people cheating.”

Donaghy was a senior captain during Ely’s lone season at Dougherty and remembers his coach’s impact on a team that was holding onto its winning traditions. “Mr. Ely was an excellent coach and an interesting character,” he said, “I remember one practice where he set up cones like a boxing ring and we got in and slap-boxed each other.”

Donaghy, who had aspirations for playing the next level, admired Ely’s professional-style practices, his stories about Pelé, and the manner in which he coached barefoot. “He never wore shoes,” he said. “He’d walk across the parking lot with broken glass to get to the field. It didn’t bother him.” Even then, like he did at Carroll with Santangelo’s teams, Ely still participated in trainings. “He would play in scrimmages,” Donaghy said, “For a guy in his sixties, we couldn’t get the ball off him. We’d kick him but it was like kicking a steel beam.”

Donaghy, an All-Catholic League player, recalls goalie Dan Devery punting balls to Ely at midfield. “He’d catch the ball on the top of his foot, and the ball would drop dead.”

Philadelphia Union coach Jim Curtin offered his thoughts on Ely’s passing during a media session shortly after Ely’s death. “We briefly met at UGH a while back, back in the days when UGH was the special place to play your high school games,” Curtin said. “We crossed paths and met there, a legend of the game, won trophies basically everywhere he went.”

Curtin, who played at Bishop McDevitt in the PCL, where Ely coached for decades, reflected on the influence of pioneers like Ely on the local game. “With all these older guys that pass away, I think they are proud of the way the game has grown in this country and in the city of Philadelphia.”

The Philadelphia soccer community will miss another integral member responsible for the game’s sustainability over the past half-century. As a coach and educator, Ely spread the joys of soccer in and around the city at the professional, amateur, and school levels, influencing thousands of men and women. Ely’s leadership and commitment helped take soccer from a recreational activity to a profession, and his passion enabled many young players to embrace the game and pass it along to the next generation.

Carli Lloyd’s final hometown game a bittersweet send-off for a legend during a trying time for the game

2021-10-08T10:39:13-04:00

Carl Gulbish

My daughter and the thousands of other girls in attendance experienced more than a legend playing for the last time

It’s not every day my daughter, Haley, gets to go watch role models play soccer. And it’s even sweeter when I can take her to Subaru Park to see an icon.

I made Haley watch the 2015 Women’s World Cup final. She was six years old, just getting into soccer, the age where she could blast the light rubber ball from the supermarket toy aisle around the living room and laugh as I’d scramble to catch the falling lamp or make a fake-horrid face as it bounced off the TV. She also found joy in rooting for the opposition. Whenever Manchester United played, she’d cheer for City or Liverpool, then giggle as I threw the remote across the room when United were beaten.

If the Philadelphia Union were playing New York Red Bulls or New England Revolution, Haley would scamper in front of the TV with a doll in her arms and ask, “Who’s winning?” “D.C.,” I’d say, and she pumped a fist, grinned, watched for a few seconds, and left. It was cute.

Before the 2015 final, Haley wanted Japan to win. For minutes before kickoff, I explained national pride, how rare it is for the national team to reach a final, and why the U.S. were a great team. But she wanted Japan. So I stopped talking and let Carli’s Lloyd’s hat-trick in the first fifteen minutes change her mind.

As a parent and coach, I’ve found myself talking less and showing more. It’s why I took my family to the 2019 World Cup. Haley saw the U.S. team gut out a quarterfinal win against France at the Parc de Princes, then days later watch them do the same to England in front of a pro-American crowd in Lyon. There are moments on a soccer field that leave lasting impressions off of it, and the World Cup was learning experience on what it’s like to stand together, defy odds and achieve common goals.

Wednesday night’s game between Gotham FC and Washington Spirit had similar vibes. Nearly ten thousand fans at Subaru Park witnessed more than an attractive 0-0 draw. Carli Lloyd making her last professional appearance in the Philadelphia area grabbed the headlines. The Delran, New Jersey, native and Rutgers All-American has been one of the top international players over the past fifteen years, and every time she touched the ball she was cheered on by youth girls’ teams holding colorful Thank You signs and teens yielding phones with cameras ready to capture her brilliance. Even as she enters the final month of her pro career, Lloyd still possesses the quality that enabled her to be capped over three hundred times for the USWNT and become a cornerstone of the National Women’s Soccer League.

But my daughter and the thousands of other girls in attendance experienced more than a legend playing for the last time. At the sixth minute, the game stopped, and players from both teams joined together in the center circle to show solidarity for the recent events highlighted a story last week by The Athletic’s Meg Linehan that detailed a number of previously reported incidents of abuse toward players that had gone unchecked by executives and owners and eventually led to the firing of NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird.

What’s even more shocking is this latest story came on the heels of similar incidents that led to the removal of other figures of authority who had threatened the integrity of the women’s game. The stoppage provided another example of how American women soccer players continue to inspire through awareness and action, something that certainly captured the young minds watching. And if many households are like mine, the gesture sparked a parental conversation this morning about why the sixth-minute display was so meaningful. I can’t think of a better teachable moment for impressionable young girls.

The game itself had plenty to offer and was filled with matchups of the highest quality. Washington’s Andi Sullivan did the work of two as she tried to contain Lloyd and McCall Zerboni, who had the best chance in the game’s early stages when her twenty-first-minute shot off a dangerous Gotham corner appeared headed for the back of the net until it hit teammate Paige Monaghan and bounced away. Gotham had another great chance in the twenty-ninth minute when Lloyd nicked a clearance from Spirit keeper Aubrey Bledsoe that fell to Midge Purce, but Bledsoe recovered in time to stop Purce’s shot.

Sullivan and midfield partner Ashley Sanchez controlled possession for much of the first half and often found teammate Trinity Rodman out wide. Rodman, the second pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, battled Gotham’s Imani Dorsey all night in the game’s most enticing physical battle. Rodman had the advantage in the first half, beating Dorsey several times down the sideline, but Dorsey won the second half and earned Player of the Match honors for shutting down the nineteen-year-old sensation.

Despite being outplayed, Gotham’s defense held firm in large part due to Dorsay, Estelle Johnson, and Gina Lewandowski, who grew up in Bethlehem, starred at Lafayette, and won multiple Bundesliga titles and a European Champions League with Bayern Munich. Last night, Lewandowski looked every bit of a poised veteran and locked down the left side of the Washington attack for much of the game, especially striker Dorian Bailey and the occasional rush of World Cup star Kelly O’Hara.

In the second half, Gotham applied more pressure and found Purce out wide in isolation in the fifty-third minute. Purce beat her defender and cut inside but sailed her shot high. Minutes later, USWNT midfield Allie Long won the ball off a counter press and played it forward to Lloyd, who attacked the space and slipped a pass to Ifeoma Onumonu, whose shot hit the outside of the post. Many fans thought the shining moment had arrived in the eighty-third minute when Lloyd received the ball at the top of the box and dribbled past her defender. But her left-footed shot missed the frame, and many shared her anguish as she picked herself up off the turf.

Following the match, Gotham’s General Manager, Yael Averbuch West, introduced Lloyd to the home crowd, and Lloyd gave an emotional speech, recognizing her family, teammates, fans, and fellow players for their endurance and support over recent weeks and throughout her career. In many ways it was difficult to hear—another U.S. Soccer legend succumbing to time— but I believe Lloyd has found peace in her heart and satisfaction with a career that’s been more than spectacular.

As Haley and I walked out of Subaru Park and into the night, the experience left me dreaming of taking her to women’s games more often. It’s been too long since the World Cup Victory Tour against Portugal at the Linc in September 2019, and it feels like an eternity since the last pro game by the Independence in 2011, who went to the WPS final before the league dissolved.

The experience left me with many questions, most of which can only be answered by people involved in soccer’s higher levels. I felt a sense of sadness for my daughter because I know what it’s like to watch heroes play then have to wait years before seeing them again. It was reminiscent of when I was the same age as Haley, watching the USMNT play Dnepr at Franklin Field, Sheffield Wednesday at the Vet, or the United German Hungarians in Oakford. It would be cruel if the young girls in attendance had to wait another ten years to see a live women’s professional game in Philadelphia. But I’m hopeful that Wednesday’s reception proved that women’s soccer deserves to be back in Philly, so our young players can become the next generation of leaders inspired by Carli Lloyd.