Union are sticking with Homegrown talent on D
PHILADELPHIA » As the topic turns to the dynamics of the Philadelphia Union locker room, captain Alejandro Bedoya got wistful Tuesday at Dunning-Cohen Champions Field at the University of Pennsylvania.
Bedoya’s corner of the locker room at the Power Training Complex has been, in his words, “refreshed.” Gone are veterans like Brian Carroll, Oguchi Onyewu, Mo Edu, Chris Pontius and Charlie Davies, a contingent whose sagacious presence often outpaced its onfield contributions last year. In its place is a movement of Homegrown teens and SuperDrafted twenty-somethings.
And nowhere is that dynamic more acutely felt than in central defense.
This time last year, a veteran center back was high on the Union’s offseason wish list, which after several near-misses led to Onyewu’s invitation to camp to train and the then 34-year-old impressing sufficiently to earn a job (and eventually 22 appearances).
When the possibility of a similar acquisition was floated to Earnie Stewart at last Friday’s MLS draft in Philadelphia, the response was a swift and decisive “no.”
“Once you choose for something and you have the engine that we have with the Academy, you have to give a pathway as well for those players to get important minutes,” Stewart said. “We’re going to have some players dive in, swim and they’re going to stay afloat.”
The die appears cast, barring injury or extenuating circumstances. The Union have five center backs on the roster — Jack Elliott, Richie Marquez, Josh Yaro, Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty — a corps long on talent but short on experience. Stewart’s mandate aims to rectify the latter.
“I think it’s great,” said Marquez, the elder statesman at 25. “I think that’s the way it should be. It’s going to be competitive for every center back. I think the coaches set that foundation from the beginning that we’ll have to fight for their spot, and that’s what it should be.”
Several similarities link the quintet. Both Marquez, entering his fifth pro season, and Elliott, headed to his second, were late-round diamonds in the SuperDraft rough. Elliott imposed himself instantly, making 29 starts after going 77th overall. Marquez didn’t play as a rookie but established himself as a starter for two-plus years, starting 33 games in 2016 before falling out of favor, thanks to Elliott’s emergence.
Yaro, in his third season, has yet to look like the second overall pick in the 2016 SuperDraft for any extended stretch thanks to a combination of injuries and uneven play (plus three red cards in 23 games).
Then there are the two Homegrowns with the highest upside — Trusty, the 19-year-old Media native signed in the 2016 season who has yet to debut but has played consistently with Bethlehem Steel, and McKenzie, 18, inked just last week.
That’s a lot of talent, and thanks to the Union’s newly enlightened stance, the opportunities could finally swell to match.
“With (Stewart) saying that, it’s the mindset, but since we’ve come to the Academy, we’ve seen and we’ve watched and aspired to be the people we are now,” Trusty said. “We’ve always dreamt about being that No. 1 person and representing Philly in a certain way, and having the opportunity to do that is outstanding. Being the future of the Philadelphia Union, that’s what we’ve dreamt of doing and that’s what we set out to be since joining the Academy.”
The change is most jarring for Marquez, promoted from upstart to veteran, a term even he brackets in air quotes. He’s grateful for the chance to transmit the leadership lessons of Carroll, Conor Casey, Edu and others to the next crop and appreciates the responsibility of fostering a professional environment.
“It is a weird transition, but it comes with a blessing because I’ve been blessed to play as many years as I have,” Marquez said. “So I’m going to take it for what it is and run with it. It’s good to be considered a so-called veteran just because it reminds me that I have been blessed to do this for so many years.”
It’s not just one player changing his stance, though. Accommodating young players requires a fresh outlook across the first team and the organization, a stumbling block that many clubs have lacked the patience and wherewithal to clear. It’s particularly pronounced in central defense, where mistakes are so often magnified and 89 minutes of solid play can be erased by one ill-timed step
For a club like the Union that lacks the monetary resources that others possess, this is an intangible it has to cultivate to fulfill its vision.
“The most important thing for young guys is getting their confidence up,” Bedoya said. “I think that’s so important, to not be timid, not be worried of making mistakes because they will happen. There’s going to be growing pains. … I think for us to be a complete, complete team, we need those young guys to step up on our backline and be able to be confident and play out of the back and not be afraid to make mistakes because they’re going to happen.”
Trusty understands that notion. He’s one of many young players who regularly stays after practices to work on discreet skills, particularly distribution on his left foot, the kind of secondary skill that winnows great center backs from good (and that earned Elliott so many plaudits last year). There’s a work ethic imbued in the Academy group that is now five-strong — Trusty, McKenzie, left back Matt Real and midfielders Derrick Jones and Anthony Fontana — by far the most coherent and promising developmental effort the Union have ever mustered.
And hearing Stewart so plainly declare that the Academy products are not just the future of the club but very much its present only stokes the fires within Trusty and his mates in shouldering the burden of expectation.
“It’s good having guys you’ve grown up with because I’m happy for them to get to this stage in their lives and this stage of their careers,” Trusty said. “We’re all rooting for each other, we’re all pushing for each other. Through us knowing each other, we know how to push each other because we’ve had some good Academy teams.”