Though sharp, Union taking time with Fabian
The Philadelphia Union are in no hurry to get Marco Fabian onto the field, and coach Jim Curtin is happy with where his team and new star player are at.
Fabian, the Mexican international who was signed to a club-record contract last week, didn’t take part in Tuesday’s friendly with Orlando City, which the Union won, 4-1. Curtin preferred to have Fabian acclimate to the team first, though he’s been sharp enough in practice that keeping up wasn’t a concern.
“I think he could’ve played yesterday against Orlando,” Curtin said Wednesday in a conference call. “We had a discussion. He came off pretty long travel (from Germany) and then travel from Philadelphia to Orlando after kind of a whirlwind of a weekend and a lot going on. We decided it was best for him not to play minutes, both mutually decided that. I think it was important too for him to sit and watch us play and see what we demand from certain positions, get used to his teammates a little bit rather than throw him into a match.”
Fabian arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer. He’s played only eight league matches in a year and a half primarily due to a lower back injury, but he declared himself 100 percent fit. Curtin concurs, and Fabian has been a full practice participant. In addition to blending in off the field, Curtin is satisfied enough with the sharpness shown by Fabian to not rush him toward game minutes.
“If this is him rusty, I’m happy, I’ll put it that way,” Curtin said. “He’s special. You can tell that in five minutes.”
Curtin also posted strong reviews on last week’s other signing, German left back Kai Wagner. The 21-yearold is tasked with learning how the Union want to adapt their outside backs under Ernst Tanner’s highpressure system, one in which the fullbacks shoulder greater responsibility on the offensive and defensive ends in overlapping narrower wingers.
Wagner suited up against Orlando City, and Curtin was pleased with the performance.
“I think Kai has stepped in and done a really good job for us,” Curtin said. “He’s been really steady, which is what you want from an outside back. I think now with the group, you’ll see him be more aggressive and releasing and getting forward like I talked about. Right now, I think he’s playing it very disciplined and safe. For a 21-year-old, very impressive in that regard. You can see he has the engine to do it end to end.”
Curtin is sorting through several positional battles. He’s happy with early returns from the forward pairings, which have yielded 10 goals in four matches. He highlighted Derrick Jones as adapting to the challenge of playing as a No. 6 or 8, and highlighted Brenden Aaronson and Anthony Fontana for their play toggling between the 8 and 10 spots.
In the battle for outside back, Ray Gaddis has been “excellent,” per Curtin, while injuries have limited training time for Olivier Mbaizo on the right. Fabinho also picked up a knock, which gave Matt Real a chance to showcase his ability vs. Orlando City.
The Union still have 21-year-old Yomi Scintu in camp, though the German forward is rehabbing an injury picked up when the Union trained in Philadelphia in January. In his stead, Bethlehem Steel forward Michee Ngalina is getting first-team reps.