CCL exit should bring pride, and work to do
CHESTER » Jim Curtin was too busy plotting subs Wednesday, needing all of his attention to drown out the legions of Club America supporters, to check scores around MLS. But the final whistle at Subaru Park delivered a double whammy for the Philadelphia Union.
Curtin’s team had battled to the end, spurning too many chances to pull an upset and falling 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate to America in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal. The result hardly dimmed the Union’s pride at being the last MLS club in the competition, but the price for that accolade was made salient by results in a busy midweek round of games.
By the end of the night, the Union found themselves eliminated from one competition and sunk to ninth in the Eastern Conference, a point adrift of the playoff spots with 11 matches to rectify it. On an evening where the Union showed themselves to be a quality side by CONCACAF standards, they had to confront a table that said something very different.
And so Curtin and his group emerged with an obvious imperative. When the Union play as they did against America, they’re one of the best teams in MLS. When they fail to match that level, as they have too often this season, it’s yet another double disappointment.
“I think tonight we showed what we’re all about,” captain Alejandro Bedoya said. “I think if we play like this in the league, there’s no doubt that we should be in the playoffs and beating most teams. I think I’m proud of the effort, but we just lacked that finishing touch in the
final third, which has been the issue.”
That duality mirrors the conflicted emotions endured all summer, of pride in their Champions League accomplishment and frustration at their MLS form.
The former was amplified Wednesday. The Union went toe-to-toe with Club America. It created the far more dangerous changes and dictated much of the first 70plus minutes. Had Jakob Glesnes’ first-half header been aimed a foot lower, had Jamiro Monteiro’s penalty kick eluded Guillermo Ochoa, had a slew of half-chances been fractionally more precise to fracture a pesky blockade of goals, the Union could’ve gotten within 2-1 and changed the terms of the tie.
But they didn’t find a way through the Liga MX leaders, and the championship-pedigree visitors made them pay with two late goals. The loss leaves that Union’s journey to the semis as the consolation for Curtin and company. But with so many firsts along the way — a win in Costa Rica, advancing twice, hosting a Mexican club and arguably the most prestigious at that, being the last MLS team standing — it’s hardly a hollow one.
“To get to this point and to win a trophy in the Supporters’ Shield and to be able to compete against a team like Club America here in Philly, a team which is probably the biggest team in our region, it’s a long, storied traditional club with a lot of history and they’ve got over a hundred years of history and this is our (12th) season as a club,” Bedoya said. “We’ve got a ways to go, but at the same time, I think we showed a lot tonight. I can be proud of the team’s effort and for the first time we’re in this competition to make it to the semifinals, to be the last team representing MLS I think is a good thing.”
The second aspect, a hangover from Champions League success, is inescapable. Of the last five MLS clubs to advance to the CCL semifinals, only one has finished above seventh place in their conference (2019 Supporters’ Shield winners New York Red Bulls). In 2018, Toronto FC melded a CCL final berth with a ninthplace result in the East. The attempt to unseat Mexican clubs, which are guaranteed to win the first 13 installments of the CCL, brings prestige and monetary benefits, but also exacts a price, particularly for a flawed Union side. The lack of a suitable replacement for Brenden Aaronson has caught up to them, particularly with Daniel Gazdag disappointing in that role. All three forwards are either injured or ice cold. Monteiro’s month on the sidelines this summer while pushing for a transfer that didn’t materialize didn’t help with continuity.
It’s easy to say that the Union should be better than most of the teams crowding around them in the Eastern standings. But whether they actually will get it done is a much thornier question.
“I can say with confidence though that if we play like this, we can play with any team certainly in our league, that’s for sure,” Curtin said. “If we bring the energy and the effort that we had tonight, we’ll be in a good spot by the end of these last 11 games. It’s all in our hands. It’s up to us. If we aren’t able to make the playoffs, that’ll be on us.”
Those ifs loom large. But so does the next-level achievement of Champions League.