Barnetta’s exit reinforces his value

CHESTER >> In one form or another, Jim Curtin has been involved with MLS for about three-quarters of its existence. He’s approaching the same proportion with his hometown club.

The former defender doesn’t toss out plaudits lightly, so his praise of Tranquillo Barnetta isn’t to be dismissed as hollow flattery.

“Pedigree-wise, what he brought to the locker room, what he brings to young players, his talent on the field, (he’s) the best player that every wore a Philadelphia Union jersey, in my opinion,” Curtin was saying Wednesday.

It’s an unusual declaration for a team in the heat of a playoff race, but then this has been an out-of-the-ordinary week involving a player transaction that has few parallels in the American landscape. Curtin acknowledged the oddity of praising Barnetta, whom the club announced Tuesday had signed a deal with the club of his boyhood in Switzerland for a January return, in the past tense while he has up to two-plus months left with the Union.

Curtin’s praise goes a long way, but it can be taken further. Barnetta’s time in MLS, a scant 37 games, precludes his entry to the pantheon of best MLS signings. But the profile the Swiss midfielder has cut is precisely the type clubs should target to maximize on-field and box-office bumps and dispel the increasingly unwarranted “retirement league” perception.

When Barnetta signed with the Union in August 2015, his parameters were clear. He accepted an 18-month deal at a cut-rate salary of around $700,000, far less than his value to, say, a mid-table European club. He left, per Curtin, guaranteed money on the table by rejecting the Union’s three-year offer. Barnetta stipulated that he someday wanted to return FC St. Gallen, the club that vaulted him to international prominence, with enough left in his

oft-operated-upon knees to contribute.

Those bounds set, Barnetta has become one of MLS’s most influential No. 10s, espousing a style perfectly tailored to the Union’s ethos, serving as captain and consummate ambassador for a young club.

This week, Barnetta formally kept his word to St. Gallen. He was upfront with teammates about the decision, addressing them personally so that they heard from him first, readying for his departure with the forthrightness that characterized his tenure in Philly.

Barnetta, who missed last week’s trip to Toronto with inflammation in his chronically hurt knees, weighed another season with the Union. Though just 31, his age doesn’t encapsulate the wear and tear on the legs of a player who debuted for St. Gallen at 17 and played regular soccer in the Bundesliga as a teenager. The risk of bankrupting his physical equity in MLS was too great.

“That was the big decision because my thoughts were if I play one more year here, if I’m still able to play on a high level back home,” Barnetta. “And I was thinking, ok if I don’t do it now and maybe I have some problems — because I know that I have a couple of injuries and sometimes I have to take some breaks — then it was just like, I think I would regret if I stayed one more year and I’m not able to play back home.”

Curtin grasps the homecoming impulse. Had timing and circumstances differed, Curtin may have played for the Union. He’s realized his dream as a coach instead, and he’s one result away from meeting the objective of a

postseason return.

Curtin’s grateful for the role Barnetta has played in that pursuit, and Barnetta reciprocates that appreciation.

“People are going to say, ‘how do you replace him?’ and you can’t, to be honest,” Curtin said. “That’s the reality. We’ll do our best to, but there’s not many people that have the total package like he had.”

“I can say that when I made this decision (to come to the Union), it was one of the best ones I did, because I’ve had a great year so far and I hope we can continue like this and not just on the field but also off the field,” Barnetta said. “It’s good to see the new culture, meet some new friends from different countries and it was really great. I’m really thankful for everything.”

Barnetta, in many ways, is the antithesis of so many disastrous foreign

signings that have paraded through MLS. He didn’t cross the Atlantic for the money, or a part-time soccer coda that traded in on long-ago European success, or the post-playing business connections. And, crucially to that reviled sobriquet of MLS, he didn’t come here to retire.

He journeyed to the U.S. for a novel soccer experience. By any metric, he exceeded the Union’s expectations, and he’s penned a unique departure.

“He embodies everything that we want this club to be,” Curtin said.

Barnetta’s Union journey isn’t done, however valedictory Wednesday felt. Curtin will transduce Barnetta’s situation into a rallying cry, the “win one for ’Quillo” endeavor to extract as many games from the playoff schedule as possible, a run Curtin

hopes to end with Barnetta’s first ever club trophy. “It’s something we want to kind of celebrate rather than pity or feel bad,” Curtin said. “We’re happy for the time we’ve had him here, and now we’re going to make it last as long as we possibly can.”

“Maybe it’s even stronger when you know that in the playoffs that every game can be the last game,” Barnetta said. “I would be even more motivated to give everything I have, to continue this great season with this team and to have a successful final.”

To the end, whenever it may be, that’s the message of a leader.

To contact Matthew De George, email mdegeorge@21stcenturymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ sportsdoctormd.

Matt DeGeorge Columnist