Przybylko figures to be a marked man this season
WILMINGTON, DEL. » Finishing in a tie for fifth in MLS in goals scored last year doesn’t prevent Kacper Przybylko from attempting selfdeprecation.
In assessing the array of Philadelphia Union strikers for 2020, Przybylko last week expressed appreciation for the variety of options up top.
“We have three good strikers — two, and with me, three,” the big German-born Polish striker joked Friday at the 76ers Fieldhouse.
Laughs aside, Przybylko’s ascent to the upper echelon of MLS goal-scorers was no accident. Just like it won’t be an accident that the 6-4 striker with soft feet won’t sneak up on unsuspecting defenders in 2020 like he might have last year.
But Przybylko is ready for the challenge. He’s put last year, including a foot injury that caused him to miss the regular-season finale and both playoff games, squarely in the past. And he’s ready to look forward to his second full season in MLS.
“I think this year, the difference will be that everyone is prepared,” Przybylko said. “We played a good season. I don’t think they’ll underestimate us this year. But for us, it’s just important to validate the season we played before.”
Przybylko missed team exercises in the first week due to back tightness. While it’s not related to his history of foot injuries, the club was cognizant nonetheless to keep him off the indoor turf as much as possible. But Przybylko worked to the side in Delaware, including an intensive running set Friday, and is ready to go once the Union’s preseason hits its Florida phase this week in Clearwater.
A full preseason worked wonders for Przybylko last year. He was signed late in the 2018 season, despite still shaking the lingering effects of foot fractures that cost him the better part of two seasons in Germany. But the time that the 26-year-old spent training and acclimating to the group allowed him to start the preseason at full speed, which led to him quickly shedding his Bethlehem Steel assignment and never leaving the Union’s starting lineup, health permitting.
The Union were better off for it, achieving team-bests in wins and points with Przybylko’s help. The evidence lies in the splits with and without the striker: 137-6 with him in the regular season; 4-5-1 without him – and the gaping hole he left at the end of the season. The Union got results in 12 of the 14 games in which Przybylko scored (8-2-4).
He’s hoping that a full preseason will similarly aid his strike mates, Sergio
Santos and Andrew Wooten, both of whom struggled last season. Santos, who signed in Dec. 2018 from Chilean club Audax Italiano, suffered four separate injuries and made only seven starts. He accounted for four goals and two assists — one in the first playoff win in Union history over the Red Bulls — across just 811 minutes. Wooten, a midseason acquisition from German club SV Sandhausen, never settled in and went without a goal in nine appearances (including playoffs).
Przybylko sees the trio as having complementary skillsets. The unique aspect that Przybylko brings, in addition to his obvious aerial ability, is deceptive speed for his size and deft feet, to the point that manager Jim Curtin has toyed with the idea of him as a No. 10 in certain situations.
That distribution could be vital as Przybylko figures out how to zig while MLS defenses around him zag.
“I think it will be different for me also, like a different job,” he said. “Instead of having a lot of space, I think I will have a lot of defensive players around me so I can open gaps for my teammates and that will be another role for me this year. But I will also do my best to get the ball and to score the goals.”
Przybylko’s attitude is both upbeat and a little puzzling. He both embraces the responsibility to score for his team while being perfectly happy not to, provided someone else does. He wants to help his teammates score, unless they aren’t in a position to, in which case he’ll gladly handle it himself. He rarely is interested in talking about his accolades, especially if they’re separate from team success.
The resulting mix of responsibility and modesty worked last year, and it’s his default this season.
“I’m the striker, I have to score goals, I’m always hungry for goals,” he said. “But sometimes I’m happy if we win the games and if I open the space for others and they score the goal and I just give the assists. In the end, I don’t care how we win and who’s scoring the goal, but I think that will be my role maybe for this year because they know I scored 15 goals and I was the best striker last year, so I just try to do my best in a different role.”