Few questions as Union open delayed season
An unprecedented 2020 season begat an unusual offseason for the Philadelphia Union. Manager Jim Curtin hopes that the traits that served his team so well on the way to the Supporters’ Shield in 2020 will continue to pay dividends as the delayed 2021 campaign inches closer.
The Union had one of the quieter offseasons, in club history and in MLS. But the continuity, of personnel and ideology, from last year is intact, leaving few needs to fill. And the manager, starting his seventh full season, hopes that lessens his team’s learning curve on the highly unpredictable road ahead.
“People talk a lot about the word ‘culture’ and they think it’s just about when the 11 step
on the field and how they do in that game,” Curtin said Wednesday, at his first media availability of the season. “Culture really, for me, is when you’re not together, what are you doing? When things are going bad, how does the group respond?
“Fortunately for us, the culture is strong enough that these guys have been having voluntary workouts in here and playing together for the better part of the last four or five weeks. So they’re a little bit more fit than I actually anticipated, which is a good thing. That’s when you talk about real culture, when guys are holding each other accountable and want to replicate last season and maybe even do better.”
The Union have an edge on most MLS peers by simply knowing their first opponent: A two-leg tie against Costa Rica’s Deportivo Saprissa in CONCACAF Champions League April 7 and 14. They open the MLS season against an opponent to be determined on the weekend of April 17-18.
Curtin has geared the first week of team workouts, which began Monday at Chase Fieldhouse in Wilmington, toward the “singular goal” of Saprissa. The rest will come into focus eventually.
So will the squad. The only external signing of the offseason has been Scottish
defender Stuart Findlay, signed last week from Kilmarnock. Findlay remains in Scotland, awaiting visa clearance to travel.
The continuity from last year means the Union have few holes to plug, and the ones that exist aren’t of immediate concern. Findlay slots into the left center back role vacated by Mark McKenzie’s transfer to Belgian club Genk, bringing with him a natural left foot. Brenden Aaronson’s contributions will be covered by committee, with Homegrown Anthony Fontana one of those tasked with stepping up.
Sporting director Ernst Tanner last week indicated that additions may wait until the summer. Indeed, spending around the league has been depressed somewhat by mismatched transfer windows (caused by COVID-19-related schedule alterations) and clubs facing a second straight year of diminished revenue.
Curtin, in furthering the theme of continuity, offered a sizeable vote of confidence in the group present. It includes five new Homegrowns — Paxten Aaronson, Nathan Harriel, Brandan Craig, Quinn Sullivan and Jack McGlynn – that Curtin said are progressing well. And it fits with the recent theme of giving young players a chance to earn minutes.
“I can say with confidence that I believe in and I really love the group we have now and believe we can compete for trophies,” Curtin said. “But at the same time, we’re always looking to upgrade, and I’m sure there’ll be a piece that joins this group moving into 2021. The group you see right now is not the final product that wants to still be playing in December.”
The questions are, compared to other clubs, relatively minor. For instance, do the Union need a fourth striker to replace what they thought they would get from Andrew Wooten last year? Or will the health of Sergio Santos, Kacper Przybylko and Cory Burke hold out with reinforcement from ageless Ilsinho and Homegrown Jack de Vries? (That particular query is getting some attention, with Santos out with a toe injury and Przybylko away from the team this week after the birth of his first child.)
There’s also the matter of goalkeeping depth, with both Andre Blake (Jamaica) and Matt Freese (U.S. Under-23 team for the Olympics) potentially missing significant time this summer. Curtin said both are “questions where there’s moving parts,” in which internal and external solutions are being weighed.
On the big picture themes, Curtin sounded happy Wednesday.
“It looks like the players have come in in really good shape,” Curtin said. “Happy with where the young guys are at. They’ve been coming to voluntary workouts for the better part of a month. I think we’re a little bit ahead of where we were at this point last season.”