Former Union player Amobi Okugo, left, defending
Columbus Crew's Justin Meram two weeks ago,
has carved a niche as a valued reserve for the Portland Timbers. (AP)

CHESTER >> The last time Amobi Okugo stepped on the turf at Talen Energy Stadium, both player and arena were in much different situations.

At then PPL Park, Okugo went the full 90 against Sporting Kansas City Oct. 18, 2014, an event that didn’t qualify as news. He was 23, and while the question of his best position on the soccer field remained the subject of debate, he was still a young prospect, one who might soon test the European waters.

Fast forward two and a half years to Saturday night, when Okugo logged the final eight minutes of the Union’s 3-1 loss to the Portland Timbers, and things are much different. Now a veteran in his fourth MLS city, Okugo hasn’t always found the easiest of footing in his post-Union career. But in Portland, he’s established some of the stability that’s been lacking in the intervening years.

Okugo admitted that it’s taken a while – longer than expected, for sure – for his homecoming to materialize. But that individual occurrence is quickly shifted to the team perspective.

“It was a little surreal, but it felt good to get the win,” Okugo said, from the cramped and unfamiliar confines of the visiting locker room. “These points away from home are hard to get. Especially with this group last year, we didn’t get too many points on the road. So to get two wins on the road out of three this early in the season is really big for the group.”

Okugo spent five years in Philly, three as an unquestioned starter, after being picked No. 6 overall in the club’s inaugural SuperDraft. But with his contract due to expire, the Union dealt him to expansion side Orlando City in Dec. 2014, Okugo featuring in new manager Jim Curtin’s plans as neither a defender nor a midfielder.

Okugo lasted 15 games on a lousy Orlando team before being shipped to Sporting Kansas City, where he earned just three games (though a trip to Philadelphia for the 2015 Open Cup final, where the cup-tied Okugo was merely a spectator as his team won on penalty kicks).

After drifting without a club until May of last year and a rumored dalliance with European suitors, he signed with the Timbers and played just four games. This season, though, he’s carved a niche within the squad of the Western Conference leaders. He’s not starting, though he did spell a backline hit by international departures two weeks ago. But he’s played well enough to compete for minutes at the reserve center back and center midfield spot with the likes of Roy Miller and Ben Zemanski. His cameo Saturday came as a midfielder to help ice the game.

The Timbers have as clearly defined roles as any team in MLS, and Okugo seems to fit that scheme.

“I think it’s just a testament to the coaching staff and to the players that we have,” he said. “We know our roles. We know what strengths we bring as players. We’re not trying to do so much, be out of our element. We do what we’re good at, and if you do that more often than not, you’re going to get the wins.”

Okugo reserved some warm feelings for the return to Philadelphia, exchanging hugs and handshakes with members of the Union and the team’s training staff before the game. But the 26-year-old is more concerned with the present than the past.

“Here, to be able to get minutes, to see some fans that became family and see some fans see my name when I was warming up, it felt good,” he said. “But it feels good to get the win.”

UNION (4-2-3-1) 

Blake 

Rosenberry-Onyewu-Marquez-Fabinho 

Jones-Medunjanin 

Ilsinho-Bedoya-Pontius 

Sapong 

Bench: McGuire, Gaddis, Elliott, Herbers, Epps, Alberg, Simpson

Timbers (4-2-3-1) 

Gleeson 

Powell-Olum-Miller-Farfan 

Guzman-Chara 

Blanco-Valeri-Nagbe 

Adi 

Bench: Atinella, Myers, Vytas, Okugo, Barmby, Mattocks, Ebobisse 

Preview 

- Let’s talk pyramids: Jim Curtin picks the same midfield personnel this week, but will it be the same structure? The Union succeeded last week in the second half against D.C. (albeit too little, too late in a 2-1 setback) when they left Haris Medunjanin as the lone shield for the back four with Alejandro Bedoya and Derrick Jones pushing forward (i.e., Jones further forward, Bedoya dropping further back). That formation probably suits the Union’s talent/absence of a true No. 10 better than the straight 4-2-3-1. But you’d better hope the Union have worked out the kinks, since Portland is a much better counter-attacking team than D.C.

- Richie Marquez is healthy, which means he’s back in the lineup. Jack Elliott denied his first MLS start as a result. Marquez’s health will be tested early and often with the physicality of Fanendo Adi.
- Marcus Epps on the bench? That’s, um, interesting, especially ahead of Fafa Picault.
- Few teams have as finely-crafted an identity on the field as the Timbers, so there should be no surprises for Union’s preparation. They have the hold-up play of Adi, the stellar wing skill of Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe and the ability to flip from defense to offense to rapidly with the dynamism of Diego Chara and David Guzman in the center of the park. There’s a reason why they lead MLS in goals this season, and it’s not just because they had Minnesota on the schedule already.

- Today marks the return of Amobi Okugo to Talen Energy Stadium. The midfielder/defender played 117 games for the Union through the 2014 season; since, he’s found it tough sledding with 23 games with Orlando City, Sporting Kansas City and now Portland. He has one start this season.

The Union's Josh Yaro, defending against Crystal Palace in a recent friendly,
is part of a rookie class that has contributed more than any other
in franchise history. (AP)

Thursday night, Keegan Rosenberry will represent the Philadelphia Union, along with Andre Blake, in the MLS All-Star Game. It’s a tremendous honor for a rookie to be playing with the league’s best and most expensive talent against a club with the quality and history of Arsenal.

But Rosenberry in particular symbolizes another aspect of the Union’s resurgence this season: His All-Star nod epitomizes a stellar rookie season being compiled by the Union’s SuperDraft picks.

Just 21 games into the season, Rosenberry has already set the Union record for minutes in a season by a drafted rookie. Likewise, the Union’s rookie contingent has bested the club mark for most combined minutes in a season by a draft class. In the process, they’re showing that the methodology of Earnie Stewart that prizes building through youth is on solid footing.

Here are the rookie numbers, which paint a rarely rosy picture for the Union:

Rosenberry has played every minute for the Union this season in MLS play, 1890 in all. He’s tied for second in MLS in minutes played, trailing only New York City FC’s David Villa (1906). Rosenberry is also one of three field players not to have missed a single minute for their teams this season, joining D.C. United outside backs Sean Franklin and Taylor Kemp (1800 minutes each).

Rosenberry’s total supplants the previous rookie mark for a Union draft pick, held by – appropriately enough – the man he replaced as the starting right back, Ray Gaddis. The second-round pick in 2012 logged 1,475 minutes that season, narrowly edging out Danny Mwanga in 2010 (1,461) and Michael Farfan in 2011 (1,460).

Rosenberry has vaulted past that with room to spare. And he’s still got nearly 40 percent of the season to go.

“I would date it back to day I was drafted, just how thrilled I was and blessed to have the opportunity to play for the team I wanted to, close to home and in a familiar organization,” Rosenberry said this week. “Every time I’m put on the field, it continues to build confidence that the coaching staff and the team believes in you, and it breeds more confidence. That I’m continuing to play and earn starts, it means I’m doing my job right or the way it needs to be completed.”

But it’s not just Rosenberry. The four Union SuperDraft rookies on the roster – Rosenberry, Josh Yaro, Fabian Herbers and Taylor Washington – have combined for 3,277 minutes. That exceeds the total set by six draft picks who made the roster in 2010 and logged a collective 3,087 for the inaugural Union. The Union’s rookie minutes bottomed out last year at a grand total of 12, all by the readily-released Ray Lee.

MLS minutes played by Union rookies per season.

Read more »

Ray Gaddis got paid with a new deal last year.
Friday, we found out just how much.
(Times Staff/TOM KELLY IV)

The MLS Players Union at long last released its 2015 player salaries Friday, the day after announcing the formal ratification by player vote of the new collective bargaining agreement. The rest of the news week will be filled with highlights of the big numbers, but those emanating from Philadelphia Union land don’t exactly rate inclusion in those roundups.

Below is the full list of Union salaries with some explanatory notes at the end. Spots 1-20 indicate on-budget senior-roster players that count toward the salary cap, while spots 21-28 are the off-budget players, per the MLS Roster Rules and Regulations. This database, constructed by the Orlando Sentinel, is worth perusing as well for a more interactive form of the data.

(In alphabetical order, base salary listed, guaranteed compensations in parenthesis if different UPDATED)

1. Fernando Aristeguieta $350,004 (young designated player)
2. Maurice Edu $700,000 ($768,750 – designated player)
3. Fred $60,000
4. Brian Carroll $150,000
5. Conor Casey $180,000
6. Fabinho $114,000 ($118,500)
7. Ray Gaddis $130,000 ($132,500)
8. Antoine Hoppenot $60,000
9. Michael Lahoud $108,900 ($112,233)
10. Sebastien Le Toux $275,000 ($285,228)
11. Cristian Maidana $203,500 ($217,250)
12. Rais M’Bolhi $350,000
13. Vincent Nogueira $330,000
14. CJ Sapong $125,000 ($142,000)
15. Steven Vitoria $400,000
16. Andrew Wenger $180,000 ($282,000)
17. Ethan White $125,000
18. Sheanon Williams $145,000 ($150,000)
19. Richie Marquez $60,000
20. Dzenan Catic $60,000 ($75,000)

21. Andre Blake $85,000 ($123,000 – Generation Adidas)
22. Jimmy McLaughlin $60,000 (Homegrown Player)
23. Zach Pfeffer $60,000 (Homegrown Player)
24. Eric Bird $60,000
25. Raymond Lee $60,000
26. Eric Ayuk $50,000
27. John McCarthy $50,000 ($56,250)
28. Brian Sylvestre $60,000

Inactive 
Austin Berry $93,519 ($108,519)
Danny Cruz $125,000 ($131,667)
Leo Fernandez $60,000
Carlos Valdes $400,000

Other
Zac MacMath $130,000 (paid by Colorado via intra-league loan mechanism)

Totals
Union salary cap (Totals for players 1-20): $3,692,650
Union base salaries (Totals for players 1-28): $4,117,650
Union total compensation (including inactive roster): $5,578,401

- The Union would appear to be slightly over the salary cap of $3.49 million, accounting for Fernando Aristeguieta’s cap hit at the young DP threshold and Maurice Edu at the DP number. I’ll double check my math on that.

- (UPDATE: Thanks to this outstanding work by Paul Tenorio at the Orlando Sentinel, we see that the Union's total player expenditure ranks 10th in MLS, sandwiched between Sporting Kansas City and Portland, though Portland's signing of Lucas Melano Thursday certainly vaults them into the top half. The big split in fortunes is between teams five and six: Seattle at $11.3 million and New England at $6.5 million.)
Read more »

The theme of the Union’s offseason thus far has been departures – via trade and via the expansion draft. Thursday, the club has its chance to add players via the second stage of the Re-Entry Draft.

This mechanism, which allows players meeting certain criteria who haven’t had their options exercised or are out of contract to be selected by other clubs, is the closest thing that MLS 2.0 (or 1.0 or whatever.0) has to adding via free agency.

Last year, the Union were silent in this phase of the draft – after plucking Corben Bone in the first stage – despite the increased flexibility picking clubs have in negotiating new deals. The Re-Entry Draft, as proven by Eastern Conference champs D.C. United last season, could be the way toward competing in MLS if you find the right pieces.

Colorado's Marvell Wynne could be an option
for the Union in Thursday's Re-Entry Draft. (AP)

First, the Union have 23 players currently on their roster. Of those, 22 (excluding Maurice Edu and the possible renewal of his loan deal) are under contract for next season. Of the 20 on-budget spots, by my reckoning, 17 are spoken for. (That’s assuming that new options for Homegrown Players Jimmy McLaughlin and Zach Pfeffer that Sporting Director Chris Albright hinted at last week move them on-budget, if they weren’t already.) That, coupled with the fact that they possess one second round SuperDraft pick and no first-rounders, gives them some flexibility.

So, let’s throw out some possibilities:

Hendry Thomas. The Union need another holding midfielder, a position where the only two definites for next season are Vincent Nogueira and Michael Lahoud, despite some reported interest in players overseas and Edu. Thomas has international experience with Honduras, will be 30 when the season starts and provides plenty of steel in the midfield, which would free up Nogueira to do more distributing. He’s an injury question mark after ACL surgery in July, but with the performance of 22-year-old Victor Ulloa, I’m not sure he has a job waiting for him in Dallas.
Read more »

For the better part of three months, the most notable date on the Philadelphia Union calendar has been the MLS Expansion Draft, the point at which the Union see if they lose anyone to the incoming MLS franchises, NYCFC and Orlando City. Full protection lists are due later today after the close of an eventful trade window, but here’s a look at who the Union should protect.

First, the Union have 24 rostered players to consider after Monday’s declining of options on five players, the announcement that Brian Carroll’s contract is up and the trade for C.J. Sapong and of Amobi Okugo. Exclude the two remaining Homegrown players (Jimmy McLaughlin and Zach Pfeffer) and Andre Blake, who is a member of Generation Adidas, and that leaves 10 players to be potentially unprotected.

Here are the players the Union likely will end up protecting, in no particular order:

1. Rais M’Bolhi
2. Sheanon Williams
3. Ethan White
4. Carlos Valdes
5. Ray Gaddis
6. Cristian Maidana
7. Vincent Nogueira
8. Sebastien Le Toux
9. Andrew Wenger
10. C.J. Sapong
11. Zac MacMath
The keepers: Read more »

It’s almost time for the most relevant season for the Philadelphia Union: The offseason calendar where hope springs eternal, everything looks good on paper and rumors can sound infinitely better than the underlying reality.

It’s time for the annual deck reshuffling of MLS’ single-entity system into brand new teams via the league’s many player-acquisition mechanisms. With MLS Cup in the rearview mirror, December is rife with drafts, windows and other miscellaneous opportunities for teams like the Union to seek the pieces they hope will prevent them from having to wait so long from the end of their season to the opening of the marketplace.

Here’s a rundown of what the next could look like (plus a reminder of the mechanisms springing to life this week):

Monday, Dec. 8: From 9 a.m.-1 p.m., the trade window is open. That’s where deals negotiated over the last month and already in place will be finalized and ratified, potentially including the rumored deal the Union have in place for the Amobi Okugo to head to Orlando City.

Sources have confirmed to me the Union have completed deal sending Amobi Okugo to Orlando City for 100K in allocation money. #DOOP #OCSC
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) December 8, 2014

Other deals that have been reported are Tally Hall to Orlando City, Nat Borchers to Portland and Michael Harrington to Colorado, while there will certainly be others. After 1 p.m., the trade window closes until the end of the Expansion Draft.

Wednesday, Dec. 10: Here’s the busy day. The Expansion draft for Orlando City and NYCFC will be held. By that time, we’ll have a list of the players the Union will have protected for the draft. Once the draft concludes, the trade window reopens, allowing expansion clubs to peddle their new players. Also Wednesday is the Waiver Draft, which usually is pretty uneventful. This year, it’s another chance to snap up former Chivas talent that went undrafted in the Dispersal Draft.
Read more »

It’s been an atypical start to the Union offseason tinged with tumult and confusion, and with the Union’s coaching situation up in the air, the season lacked the customary concluding status update between the first-team staff and the media.

Both counts were resolved Friday when Jim Curtin was named the Union’s permanent manager. As part of the festivities, Curtin was made available to discuss some of the bigger issues the Union will face this offseason, offering the transparency that he touted to the media during his introductory presser.

So let’s go down the line and get Curtin’s take on some of the key talking points of the Union’s offseason.

On the top offseason priority:

“We are looking to bring in a striker. That is something that we’re actively pursuing. Chris Albright is tireless working. He’s been overseas a couple of times already. It’s a piece that we know we need. In MLS now, you look at the type of forwards that are working, it’s the Dom Dwyer, Quincy Amarikwa, kind of pain-in-the-ass, can-run-forever, stocky and fast and just annoying to play against. Those are things we want to add. We need to get bigger, stronger and faster. I know it sounds cliché, but a lot of times when you look at the national anthem and our group is lined up against the other team, we’re a lot smaller than the other team. I think we need to get bigger, a lot faster and a little bit stronger on the ball so we’re not getting pushed around a little bit.”

On Amobi Okugo’s contract situation:

“He’s in a unique one. Amobi is a guy that I had a conversation with three years ago when I was in the academy but I would come and help out at training sessions, I said to him ‘you’ve got to give Europe a try.’ It’s something I believe in his career. I’ve seen guys that play out their contracts, they go overseas and it goes great. Carlos Bocanegra comes to mind, guys that I played with that did it the same way Amobi did: Put in his time here, did a great job here. We’re still going to make him an offer so that we can maintain his rights, but at the same time, he’s going to try overseas. It’s not a secret. And I encourage it. It’s a great opportunity for him. He’s a guy that’s good enough to play overseas.” Read more »

UNION (4-2-3-1)

M’Bolhi

Gaddis-Edu-Valdes-Williams

Okugo-Nogueira

Le Toux-Maidana-Wenger

Casey

Bench: MacMath, Fabinho, Carroll, Fred, Cruz, Brown, Ribeiro

D.C. United (4-4-1-1)

Hamid

Korb-Boswell-Birnbaum-Kemp

DeLeon-Kitchen-Arnaud-Franklin

Silva

Espindola

Bench: Willis, Inkoom, Opare, Jeffrey, Neal, Johnson, Pontius

Preview 

- Ethan White is apparently not healthy enough to go with his hamstring strain, so the Union field arguably their best 11 players today, with Maurice Edu in central defense and Amobi Okugo returning to the midfield. Okugo-for-White is the only change from last weekend’s lineup.

- Changes abound for Ben Olsen’s squad, with a first-choice lineup out after the reserves did the job midweek in the CONCACAF Champions League. Fabian Espindola leads the line, interchanging with Luis Silva. Using Sean Franklin in the midfield instead of Samuel Inkoom or Chris Pontius (the former has been used a lot lately; the latter is still rounding back into form after a long absence) is a defense posture, but with Pontius and Eddie Johnson on the bench, that can easily be changed.

- The battle to watch here is in the middle of the pitch. Perry Kitchen has emerged as one of the most tenacious holding midfielders in the league, while Davy Arnaud has proved to be a veteran box-to-box contributor. Okugo and Vincent Nogueira, respectively, will have to match those two in kind.

UNION (4-2-3-1)

M’Bolhi

Gaddis-Valdes-White-Williams

Nogueira-Edu

Wenger-Maidana-Le Toux

Casey

Bench: MacMath, Okugo, Fabinho, Fred, Cruz, Carroll, Ribeiro.

Houston Dynamo (4-4-2)

Deric

Beasley-Horst-Cochran-Sarkodie

Davis-Garrido-Clark-Driver

Barnes-Cummings

Bench: Lisch, Brunner, Arena, Johnson, Ownby, Carrasco, Lopez.

Preview

-  With the Union returning to MLS play, Rais M’Bolhi is restored to his starting place between the posts. The consensus from within the organization is that Zac MacMath’s work to advance the Union to the U.S. Open Cup final earned him the start last Tuesday against Seattle, but M’Bolhi is back to the No. 1 status. It’s his second start in a Union jersey.

- The Union make no changes in the field from the side that logged 120 minutes at the midweek. That’s an interesting decision. We’ll see how long until fresh legs are summoned on in this one, whether it’s Danny Cruz, Pedro Ribeiro or Amobi Okugo.
- In shape and in personnel, it’s largely the same starting XI that the Union have gone with regularly of late. The defense is untouched, as is the front four. It’s imperative that the Union get a goal early and prevent the Dynamo from sitting in and counterattacking.

- Injuries have taken a toll on the Dynamo this season, and that’s why they’re in position to miss the playoffs for just the second time in nine years, a remarkable run of consistency. Missing tonight is forward Will Bruin (foot), midfielder Oscar Boniek Garcia (concussion) and defenders Corey Ashe (knee) and Jermaine Taylor (concussion). That’s in addition to the long-term injury absence of goalkeeper Tally Hall (ACL tear). It’s an injury-riddled side that the Union can and must exploit.

- Given the absences, this isn’t your typical Dynamo side. Yes, they’ll still be dangerous on set pieces as long as the aerial ability of Ricardo Clark and the deadly left foot of Brad Davis are out there. But with the speed of Omar Cummings and Giles Barnes (and absent the hold-up play of a traditional No. 9 like Bruin), expect the Dynamo to try to hit the Union on the counterattack more, though I'd question the Dynamo's ability to sit in for 90 scoreless minutes.

Union (4-2-3-1)

What they're playing for: The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
(Times Staff/Julia Wilkinson)

MacMath

Gaddis -Valdes-White-Williams

Edu-Nogueira

Wenger-Maidana-Le Toux

Casey

Bench: M’Bolhi, Lahoud, Okugo, Carroll, Fred, Cruz, Ribeiro

Seattle Sounders (4-4-2)

Frei

Yedlin-Marshall-Scott-Gonzalez

Evans-Rose-Alonso-Neagle

Barrett-Dempsey

Bench: Hahnemann, Anibaba, Ariza, Pineda, Cooper, Martins, Pappa

Preview 

- The first name on the team sheet is the most telling: Jim Curtin is sticking with his man, putting his faith in Zac MacMath in what could very well be the last time he plays in front of the Union faithful. His shootout heroics are why the Union got to the final, and the hope from Curtin is that he’ll lead them to the organization’s first trophy.

- Curtin also gets his dream midfield scenario for the first time, pairing a dynamic holding midfielder (Maurice Edu) with his preferred deep-lying playmaker (Vincent Nogueira) and his preferred central attacking midfielder (Cristian Maidana). Injuries and international absences had long prevented this from happening, but this is the chance for the Union to put out its strongest team at just the right moment.

- With everyone available, someone had to make way to the bench. That turns out to be Amobi Okugo, despite playing very well of late. Objectively, Okugo might be a little better at his position than Ethan White, so the decision for Curtin was to field your best 11 players or your best starting XI.Seeing Okugo relegated to the bench is a nod to Curtin’s stated desire to have central defenders (like White) play as central defenders and midfielders (like Edu) play as midfielders.

- Seattle named unchanged lineups that are essentially their best XIs the last two games in MLS, including a 3-2 win against Real Salt Lake last Friday. They make just one change today, with Obafemi Martins rested for Chad Barrett. Along with Martins, the bench includes Kenny Cooper, the second-leading scorer in the modern era of the U.S. Open Cup with 13 goals. That includes a goal in each game this season, six in total, plus five goals in seven MLS games against the Union.

- If you’re looking for a key for the Union tonight, it might just be taking care of Andy Rose, who has three goals in his last two games. He could really shift the balance making those runs off the attention given to Clint Dempsey.

Philadelphia Union (4-2-3-1)

MacMath

Williams-Edu-White-Gaddis
Okugo-Carroll

Le Toux-Maidana-Wenger

Casey

Bench: Blake, Fabinho, Berry, Fernandes, Ribeiro, Brown, Wheeler, Cruz

Toronto FC (4-4-2)  

Bendik

Bloom-Hagglund-Henry-Morgan

Lovitz-Warner-Bradley-Osorio

Moore-Oduro

Bench: Konopka, Orr, Richter, Hall, Dike, Gilberto, Wiedeman

- Vincent Nogueira picked up a small groin knock that rules him out tonight, meaning the question of how Jim Curtin flows together all his midfield pieces will have to wait for yet another week. Cristian Maidana slots into the central attacking role, and Maurice Edu slides back into defense temporarily to pair with Ethan White in the absence of Carlos Valdes (international duty). Andrew Wenger, fresh off his brace against San Jose last time out, gets another deserving start at right wing.

- Look for the Union to try to exploit a battered Toronto backline missing Steven Caldwell and Justin Morrow. This is a team that has surrendered 11 goals in its last four matches, so expect the Union to get at them, perhaps targeting Nick Hagglund and Mark Bloom on the same side of the field with runs by Sebastien Le Toux and Amobi Okugo bombing in from deep in midfield.

- New manager Greg Vanney shakes a few things up for Toronto. In comes Daniel Lovitz, while it appears as though Dominic Oduro will be up front instead of on the wing. Gilberto apparently picked up a calf injury that will allow him to be on the bench, but his absence along with Jermain Defoe’s ongoing injury drastically hurts the Reds’ firepower.

- The key battle today, it would seem, is in the center of midfield. Michael Bradley can tip a game on its quickly, especially when he has a speedy forward like Oduro ahead of him. That puts the onus on Okugo and Brian Carroll to limit his touches and close down his time and space on the ball.

Lost in the hysteria of Tuesday night’s thrilling win over FC Dallas in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup – a win that earns the Union a chance to play for their first trophy in club history on home soil in September – was the crucial realization of what it means to compete on two fronts.

Less than 70 hours after the celebrations died down at Toyota Park, the Union will have to figure out a way to field a team to take on Houston in a meeting of playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference.

That’s for the third game in seven days, barely three days removed from 120 grueling minutes in the Texas summer heat, to turn around another effort in the sweltering conditions of Houston.

It’s a task that will test the newfound depth that Union manager Jim Curtin boasted about this week, for sure. But there’s a twofold installment of good news for the Union.

1) All things considered, they’ve got some fresh legs;
2) Whoever gets named, it won’t be worse than the last squad to represent the Union in Houston.

Let’s address the latter point first: Here’s what the team that faced Houston last July 6 looked like.

The predicament for the Union was so dire that John Hackworth actually opened the door to the doghouse to let Roger Torres out for 19 minutes, trying to bring some shape to what might have been a 4-2-4. He was joined among the illustrious subs by a 30-minute runout for Don Anding, his only MLS appearance, and a late cameo by Matt Kassel. The unused subs? Jimmy McLaughlin, Cristhian Hernandez (whose name MLS spells wrong) and Chris Albright. Yet despite all that, the team still almost scratched out a result, only separated from a draw by a soft goal by Ricardo Clark on a defensive breakdown.

That game was on the back end of a two-game Western swing, the Union having snatched a draw from the jaws of victory against Real Salt Lake July 3. They were missing Michael Farfan and Danny Cruz due to injuries picked up vs. RSL, Michael Lahoud and Kleberson were on long-term injury absences, and Keon Daniel and Jack McInerney were away at the Gold Cup.

This trip Friday is hardly that desperate. In addition to Curtin divulging Tuesday that “we had planned on calling some guys back from Philly anyway”, he has some fresh legs at his disposal.
Read more »

(Design by Leslie Small)

It isn't often I use this medium for the purpose of promoting links, but I did want to put the back page that we colleagues fashioned today out there. That art was connected to this feature on Amobi Okugo, the last connection to the original Union squad, and a player who has been one of the club's most integral over the last few seasons.

I had an in-depth conversation with Okugo, discussing how close he was to leaving the Union, what it's taken to survive when so many of his colleagues have gone elsewhere and what he sees next for him, with his contract up at the end of the year. The fact that he's pictured scoring against Dallas last year, then scored Tuesday night against Dallas in the Union's penalty-kick advancement from the U.S. Open Cup semifinals ... well that's a coincidence.

Philadelphia Union (4-2-3-1)

MacMath

Gaddis-Valdes-White-Williams

Carroll-Edu

Le Toux-Nogueira-Cruz

Casey

Bench: Blake, Fabinho, Okugo, Lahoud, Fred, Brown, Wenger.

Montreal Impact (4-2-3-1)

Perkins

Krol-Ferrari-Lefevre-Miller

Larrea-Bernier

Romero-Felipe-Mapp

McInerney

Bench: Bush, Ouimette, Jackson-Hammel, Duka, Tissot, Nakajima-Farran, Mallace.

Preview

 - The Union waste no time inserting Carlos Valdes back into the lineup after inking him to a new deal Monday. The Colombian’s return to fitness was relatively simple, as he mentioned Monday that he’d been training for 10 days after a two-week post-World Cup hiatus. Who he’d be paired with seemed the bigger mystery as the week progressed, but Ethan White gets the nod with Austin Berry not making the 18. He's pretty far down the depth chart.

One of the other big decisions was whether Maurice Edu, after 45 minutes in Wednesday’s All-Star Game followed by a cross country flight, would get the nod. Perhaps that's why he's in a more attacking position, with Brian Carroll to do the dirty work of holding. I suspect Carroll is preferred to Michael Lahoud given the latter's lengthy international ordeal this week.

- Interestingly, the odd-man out, even with Cristian Maidana still nursing a hamstring injury that rules him out completely, is Amobi Okugo. The last time Okugo didn't start an MLS game when not suspended, Peter Nowak was the Union's manager.

- The debut of Rais M’Bolhi will have to wait another week as he’s not in the 18. Chalk up another start for Zac MacMath as he nears 100 league games.

- Expect Brian Brown to play a role in this one. Danny Cruz has been less than convincing than late, and if the Union are up after 60 minutes, Jim Curtin may want to get a break for Conor Casey with the Dallas U.S. Open Cup semi looming just 72 hours away.

- Frank Klopas has vacillated between using one striker or two in his preferred formation. This week, he’s settled on one away from home, making the decision between fired-up former Union player Jack McInerney and Union killer Marco Di Vaio. Di Vaio got the nod in the midweek CONCCAF Champions League game going 90, so McInerney gets his homecoming start. While the McInerney nod isn’t a shock, no Di Vaio in the 18 is a bit.

- All things considered, that’s a fairly attack-minded midfield from Klopas with Andres Romero, Felipe and Justin Mapp marauding forward.

While the American soccer world ponders the fate of Team USA as it embarks on the next World Cup cycle, a member of the Philadelphia Union took one of the first concrete steps toward U.S. Soccer’s march into the future.

Zach Pfeffer scored a goal and added an assist in a tidy, productive 28 minutes as a substitute, leading the U-20s to a 2-1 win over Chile Monday night in the NTC Invitational in Carson, Calif. (Writeups by Top Drawer, Yanks Abroad and SoccerAmerica.)



The four-team tournament this week isn’t exactly the headliner for the program this summer, but it’s a good chance for Pfeffer to get some matches and prove his worth outside of the club setting.

The Union forward and Dresher native set up the first goal just three minutes after entering (video above) by delivering an inch-perfect free kick to the head of fellow sub Andrija Novakovich, who plays for Reading in England.

In the 73rd minute, Pfeffer provided the winner by turning in a pass from Paul Arriola, sealing a win for the U.S. in the first game of three.

“I always tell the guys that if you get the opportunity to play two minutes or five or 90, you have to try to make an impact,” U.S. U-20 coach Tab Ramos said in a video by U.S. Soccer. “And I think those guys did a good job. They took advantage of their opportunities and lifted the team to a win. I’m very happy for them, and happy for the team.”
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Given the quick turnaround for the Union this week ahead of Wednesday’s visit from New York, there’s was a bit more going on at training Tuesday that can fit in print. So let’s summarize a few of the odds and ends from the day.

- On the injury front, both Vincent Nogueira and Austin Berry trained fully. The last half hour of training was small-field seven-on-seven, which featured Berry along with most of the guys who won’t play Wednesday (the suspended Amobi Okugo and Michael Lahoud, plus squad guys like Andre Blake, Fred, Antoine Hoppenot, etc.) Nogueira didn’t take part, off with the regulars doing some light passing drills. There’s nothing to read into that, as the difference is likely down to the reasons for their absences: Berry, recovering from an illness, needs to get his legs under him, while Nogueira doesn’t want to put extra strain on his groin. Both said after Saturday’s 3-3 draw with the Rapids that they were fit to play some part, though not for the 90 minutes.

- Though he’s sporting a slightly-mangled leg and a bit of a limp, Danny Cruz seems to be fine after picking up a knock Saturday courtesy of Shane O’Neill’s bruising (dirty?) tackle. Cruz has battled all manner of lower-body injuries this year (ankle, foot, heel, shin, you name it), so that’s nothing new, and manager Jim Curtin didn’t list him among the Union’s injuries.

- One injury Curtin didn’t list was Leo Fernandes, who didn’t take part in the last half hour of training. He was walking around in an ankle sleeve with what he termed “a minor” injury.

- Among the only non-Union faces on the training pitch were Michael Farfan and a few academy fill-ins. No one else of note.
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Philadelphia Union (4-2-3-1)

MacMath

Gaddis-Williams-White-Fabinho

Okugo-Lahoud

Le Toux-Maidana-Cruz

Casey

Bench: Blake, Carroll, Berry, Nogueira, Wheeler, Wenger, Brown.

Colorado Rapids (4-2-3-1)

Irwin

Wynne-O’Neill-Moor-Burch

LaBrocca-Watts

Hill-Powers-Serna

Brown

Bench: Berner, Klute, Hairston, Torres, Piermayr, Alvarez, Mwanga

- At long last, the Union have something to show in return for the trade for Jeff Parke: Ethan White gets his debut with Maurice Edu (red card) suspended and Austin Berry healthy enough only for the bench.. After a handful of injuries early in the season, White has a chance to prove his worth, and it’s a stiff test against Deshorn Brown. I suspect that White’s ability to contend with Brown’s speed (along with Jim Curtin’s preference not to move Amobi Okugo back to defense and disrupt the midfield’s burgeoning chemistry) is what makes him the choice here.

- Speaking of the midfield, Vincent Nogueira is healthy enough to make the bench, but the club has expressed a desire this week to be cautious with a groin injury that is the first of that type for Nogueira. As a result, he’s been deemed fit for the last several weeks … without actually playing. And given the job Cristian Maidana is doing in that central attacking role, there’s no need to push him.

- The loan capture of Brian Brown was confirmed around 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon. By 7, he’s on the bench in the Union 18. Seems like another body for Antoine Hoppenot, who’s 0-for-3 in making Curtin’s MLS squads, to climb over. Let’s see what the 21-year-old has got.

- The Rapids are losing two of their leading creative forces in midfielder Jose Mari (ankle) and forward Vicente Sanchez (suspended). That accentuates their dependence on the creativity of Brown up top. With the defensive abilities of Nick LaBrocca and the solidity of this backline, expect the Rapids to sit in plenty and absorb pressure, then try to launch counter attacks with Dillon Powers and long balls played into Brown. And then there's former Union No. 1 overall draft pick Danny Mwanga sitting on the bench. Interesting to see what reaction he would get.

Apologies if this sounds familiar, but until things significantly change at PPL Park, the tenor of the questions and answers is likely to be the same for a while. A few wrinkles are in there today, but otherwise, more of the same.

On the challenge of a West Coast swing:
We take this as an opportunity. You’ve got two games on the West Coast. When you’re planning these things out, it’s much easier to have two flights rather than four. You’d lose two days of travel if you came back and forth. So it makes sense to stay out there during this time, especially playing on a Sunday then the following Saturday. I think it’s good that our guys are going to be together full-time. That’s important because I think when you’re in these moments where things are not going your way, you’ve got to stick together and you’ve got to fight through it, so we’ll try to do that. But we still are playing the LA Galaxy on Sunday, which is a huge challenge and a game that we feel like we need to get a result in.

On righting the ship:
I think we have to look at the positives from our Kansas City game. I think we also have to look at all the positives from the games early in the year where we played really good soccer and had mistakes here or there. We continue to think that we are a good soccer team. The results are not showing that right now, so we have to go out there and make sure we do everything possible, maybe adjust some things tactically to give ourselves a better chance to be successful in those games. Saturday, for me, was not a really good indication because I think that game could’ve been much different. You have to give New England credit. We did not play very well in some moments, but I think that game could’ve been different in a lot of ways. We’ve just got to go back to it, believe in ourselves and see if we can get results. Honestly, this two-game road swing on the West Coast is not an ideal time to say that you have to get results, but that’s in fact where we are. We have to do that.
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Philadelphia Union (4-3-3)

MacMath

Gaddis-Wheeler-Berry-Williams

Fernandes-Okugo-Nogueira

Maidana-Wenger-Cruz

Bench: Blake, Hoppenot, White, Fred, Pfeffer, Casey, Le Toux

New England (4-4-2)

Knighton

Soares-Barnes-Tierney-Farrell

Fagundez-Kobayashi-Dorman-Nguyen

Bunbury-Mullins

Bench: Jackson, McCarthy, Woodbine, Caldwell, Neumann, Rowe, Davies 

- Well, there’s a new defensive pairing in Austin Berry and Aaron Wheeler, which could be severely tested by the speed of the New England backline. There will be a significant onus on Amobi Okugo to help cover runners with his speed as he fills in for Brian Carroll for the second straight game. The fullbacks will also be called upon heavily to corral Diego Fagundez, while it’ll be a physical battle between Patrick Mullins and Teal Bunbury with the two big Union center backs.

- John Hackworth goes with the safe option in midfield. He had little choice but to deploy Okugo there without Carroll, Maurice Edu and Michael Lahoud, and he pairs Leo Fernandes (after a less-than-stellar performance against Kansas City) with Vincent Nogueira. It’s a possession-oriented approach, but it has to be done well.

- Look to the bench for a couple of rare sights. Zach Pfeffer makes his second sub appearance of the year, while Fred is back with the Union in a kit. They aren’t just there to be there. They could very well get a look today with the paucity of options.

- The Union get a break with Bobby Shuttleworth out due to a concussion sustained in training. That means original Union member Brad Knighton will start for the Revs.