Bedoya still beating back Father Time, much to Curtin’s benefit

In the years that Alejandro Bedoya has been a Union player and leader, he’s gone through plenty of firsts. Another beckons in 2022.

For what might be the first time in the captain’s tenure in Philadelphia, the midfield depth around him might mean he doesn’t have to shoulder an extra heavy workload.

It’s an intriguing balance for manager Jim Curtin to strike, knowing he doesn’t need to overuse Bedoya. Though neither player nor coach would call it that, Bedoya has been pushed hard in recent years. And as the captain turns 35 this season, Curtin has a chance to use him more judiciously than ever before.

It won’t be clear cut for Curtin, who’s reticent to ever take Bedoya off the field. Even when the midfielder is gassed toward the end of games, there are plays the wily veteran can make that younger, fresher players wouldn’t think of. But is there a way in which Curtin can use a less taxed Bedoya more often?

“He is an intelligent veteran who knows his role in the team, who knows where I stand with him and is an incredible player,” Curtin said last week. “He did play basically every minute last year; he’s a warrior that way, takes care of his body, rarely gets injured. But I think we do have to be smart and navigate things.”

Bedoya has been a warrior, as he approaches his seventh season in MLS. He’s made no fewer than 28 starts in the four 34game seasons in which he’s played. In the pandemic-shortened 2021, he started 21 of 23 matches. The 16 goals and 20 assists he’s supplied are the tip of the iceberg in terms of his hustle and box-to-box presence. He’s started 152 of his 156 appearances since joining the Union from French club Nantes in the summer of 2016.

But many of those minutes were born of necessity: Bedoya had to be pushed, to do the Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday games, to rarely enjoy a non-90-minute shift, because of a dearth of other options. Age has not dimmed his abilities, but the Union’s organizational strategy has bolstered the talent around him.

With a four-man midfield in the 4-4-2 diamond, that means that at a minimum, either Bedoya, Leon Flach, Jose Martinez, Daniel Gazdag or Jamiro Monteiro won’t start. Add to the mix Jesus Bueno, who has impressed and whom Curtin trusts, and the trio of talented Homegrown mids —

Quinn Sullivan, Jack McGlynn and Paxten Aaronson — and the Union arguably possess nine starting options for four spots.

At some point, that could shift Curtin’s calculations. The question no longer is whether Bedoya is worthy of starting, as in the past. Instead it’s something like, is Bedoya, with 270 minutes on his legs in the last 11 days, a better option to start than, say, a hungry, revvedup McGlynn?

For Curtin, those decisions are data-driven. Whatever he and his staff decide, it won’t just be a gut feeling. To that end, Bedoya remained last year one of the club’s leaders in ground covered and other physical data. Curtin has long trusted Bedoya, a veteran of more than a halfdecade of European soccer and a World Cup, to know what his limits are.

“He’s maybe old in the number, but at the same time, he continues to get better and better with age. He’s one of the rare guys that defies logic that way,” Curtin said. “He’s not going to be one of the guys that spends 10 hours in the weight room or anything like that, but he naturally has an engine and a will to lead us and get the most out of everything and contribute so much for the team.”

Curtin has shown signs of evolution on this topic. In Bedoya’s first 101 starts from his arrival through the end of 2019, he was subbed off before the 90th minute just five times. It happened six times in 2020 and 11 in 2021, both seasons that were much more congested. With more depth, and more subs at his disposal, Curtin doesn’t need to push Bedoya beyond empty quite so often.

As a leader on and off the field, Bedoya has helped set the direction of this franchise. Central to that identity is trusting youth, but Curtin always cautions that that is different than just giving minutes to players because they’re young and local. Bedoya will yield his time to others when they prove that they give the Union a better chance to win than he does.

When Bedoya’s playing days are up, it’s clear that a Ring of Honor spot awaits him in Chester. But Curtin isn’t starting the countdown for the ceremony anytime soon.

“Ale has been the lifeblood of this club,” Curtin said. “He’s been the one that’s turned this whole franchise around. I think he deserves the credit, more so than anybody at the club. He’s our captain. To his credit, he’s come in, in probably his best shape of the preseason, maybe a little of that is because there are good young players coming up, too.”