Cole Missimo made his Union debut
Wednesday night against Crystal Palace.

The roar went up at Talen Energy Stadium just as Connor Wickham’s shoulders slumped.

Away scampered Cole Missimo, like a culprit from the scene of the crime, ball in his possession, along with a moment he won’t forget.

That nutmeg, Missimo slipping the ball through the legs of the Crystal Palace forward and recollecting it, presented one of the highlights for the rookie in his Philadelphia Union debut, a 0-0 draw in a friendly with the English Premier League side Wednesday night.

Missimo was one of three members of the Union to make debuts, joining fellow 2016 SuperDraft pick Taylor Washington and Union Academy product/Bethlehem Steel short-term loanee Derrick Jones. In a game generally bereft of memorable instances, Missimo provided one.

“I was a little worried because I thought it was Ray (Gaddis) who played it down the line to me and I don’t know what else I could’ve done with it because I don’t think I could’ve gone backwards with it,” Missimo said. “So I was just hoping I’d just put it around him, and I guess I got kind of lucky that I got by him. Pretty cool moment."

Oh my... cheeky from @cole_missimo. pic.twitter.com/qhAFkyS4X9

— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) July 14, 2016

That passage of play was one of several that will stick with Missimo. The 64th pick in January’s SuperDraft from Northwestern played the second half with the reserves. He’s logged 12 games for Bethlehem Steel and twice been named as an unused sub by manager Jim Curtin.

Missimo has been among a group of reserves that Curtin has touted for their aid preparing first-teamers weekly in training, keeping regulars sharp and healthily fearing for their jobs under the pressure applied from the fringes. For whatever drawbacks posed by a midweek international date inserted between MLS dates with Eastern Conference foes, the chance to reward players like Missimo for their toils feels worthwhile.

“This is probably the biggest moment of my career, to be honest,” Missimo said. “It’s a dream come true. It’s what I’ve been working towards my whole life. So whether it’s an MLS game or an exhibition game, it doesn’t matter. It’s truly a special moment.”
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As Brendan Burke addressed the media two days before Bethlehem Steel FC plays its first USL game, the coach made abundantly clear one fact: In just four months on the job, Burke has managed to establish a more cogent ideology around his team than its seven-year-old parent club has yet uncovered.

Burke’s expectations and methodologies seem clear-cut when Steel FC debuts Friday evening at FC Montreal (7 p.m., live stream below).



Burke’s roster is sparse, comprising just 13 players after the addition of Fred as player/coach Thursday. (That’s even less populous than I surmised last fall.) There may be one or two bodies forthcoming to swell the ranks on a permanent basis. But Burke is assured in Steel’s place within the Union’s hierarchy. Instead of stuffing the roster with players just to meet quotas and artificial expectations, the guiding philosophy has been only adding players with legitimate chances of breaking into the Union’s MLS squad.

“I think we’re in great shape,” Burke said. “We’re a small but focused group. … We’ve had a number of trialists through, but I think what we found is that we’re happy keeping a smaller number of players who we really trust and who we really think have an opportunity to move through to the first team at some stage in their developments.”

Most of Steel’s roster fits that bill. Captain Ryan Richter has MLS and NASL experience. Irish midfielder James Chambers adds a wealthy of European games. Young players like Nigerian-born Bolu Akinyode, Canadian midfielder Josh Heard, Jamaican forwards Amoy Brown and Cory Burke and Liberians Gabe Gisse and Seku Conneh have been identified by Union brass for large upsides. Academy product Derrick Jones is the first Homegrown to land in Bethlehem, and he’ll surely be joined by more in the near future.

The roster includes USL stalwarts like goalie Samir Badr, defender Michael Daly and Ardmore native Nick Bibbs, who’ll mentor younger players and contribute to what Burke hopes is a winning side, though that’s not the primary goal.

More important is that the Union’s affiliate reflects a similar playing style as what has finally emerged from the MLS side, all the better to facilitate promotion of high achievers from USL to MLS.

“I think part of our goal is to tactically mirror what the first team does and to reinforce some of the things that the younger first-team players are being taught and what our players would need to know to step into that environment,” Burke said. “So I think if we get it right, we should look very similar to the first team on the field.”

On the personnel side, this week is unique, the FIFA international window giving the Union a bye. More players than usual will be shuttled to Bethlehem, with the Union sending Eric Ayuk, Leo Fernandes, Fabian Herbers, John McCarthy, Walter Restrepo, Taylor Washington and Josh Yaro. Steel will also use Academy players as opportunities arise, though many of those prospects are away with various U.S. age-group squads this week.

Burke didn’t make any promises on a lineup, but it’s a safe bet that playing loaned Union players is a priority. Guys that have made the Union’s gameday 18 in the first three weeks like Herbers, Fernandes and McCarthy aren’t going to Canada to sit the bench. The same goes for Yaro, who’ll likely pair with Daly in a backline that’ll feature Richter and possibly Washington. Burke heralded Jones’s work this preseason, so he’ll likely start as the holding midfielder.

The second real installment of the Philadelphia Union’s preseason comes Thursday when they meet the Chicago Fire at 4 p.m. in Clearwater, Fla. (Livestream below and available on Union’s YouTube channel.)

As manager Jim Curtin mentioned in a conference call Wednesday, the preseason opener in the rain against Jacksonville Armada last Saturday, a 1-0 loss, turned out to be a glorified training exercise. With trialists new to camp and Roland Alberg having just touched down in the States, the performance was understandably disjointed, not helped by 30-minute shifts of players that prevented anyone getting much of a rhythm.



With a thinner roster this time around, the Union should deploy more cohesive units. So what to look for? Here are five things:

- What does midfield look like sans Alberg? Curtin confirmed that Alberg is unavailable, having returned to the Netherlands to sort out paperwork. Against the Armada, he started in central midfield next to Tranquillo Barnetta in front of Vincent Nogueira. What will that look like today? Does Nogueira slide up with Warren Creavalle or Brian Carroll holding? Or does Leo Fernandes get a chance?

- Another dose of Ilsinho. Even in limited time, the Brazilian proved he can do special things with a soccer ball. An extended runout with the first team or something closer to regulars should bolster the amount of info the club can collect to arrive at a decision.

- In the defense. Curtin Wednesday declared that the battle involves four guys. Having either Anderson Conceicao or Josh Yaro take steps toward developing a rapport with Richie Marquez would be beneficial, but seeing either play alongside Ken Tribbett isn’t damning.

- Separation on the wings. Curtin spoke highly of Chris Pontius Wednesday. We all know what Sebastien Le Toux can do, and then there’s sorting out the contributions of Walter Restrepo and Eric Ayuk before determining if Alberg or Fernandes would be required on the wing.

- A goal against grown-ups. A 5-0 training win over the United States Under-17s was nice this week (and symbolic for spanking the team coached by John Hackwor…I should stop there). But a goal against adults would be nice, and that focuses not just on CJ Sapong but the other attackers. Presuming Curtin rotates in 45-minute shifts (as he progressed in last year’s preseason), the onus is on whomever starts as a forward in the second half, probably Fabian Herbers, unless another trialist emerges.

The Philadelphia Union’s first international acquisition of January was sealed Wednesday.

The club acquired 26-year-old Brazilian defender Anderson Conceicao on loan from Brazilian third-division club Tombense FC for the 2016 season.

Conceicao is a left-footer who can play left back and center back with good size at 6-foot-2. The native of Caravelas has spent most of his career in Brazil, primarily in the second division, Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B. He also spent a season on loan with Spanish club Mallorca, appearing 16 times in La Liga and 19 times in all competitions in a season where Los Bermellones were relegated.

Last season, Conceicao helped America Mineiro achieve promotion to Serie A, playing 30 matches for the club as it finished fourth in Serie B. Looks like he also played for 2014 champions Joinville.

“Anderson’s natural athletic ability and winning pedigree was really something we zeroed in on during our offseason assessment,” Union Sporting Director Earnie Stewart said in a team statement. “He’s the type of defender who really addresses some of our technical needs and we strongly believe we’re getting someone who is committed to helping build the next chapter of our club.”

Conceicao is only the fourth defender under contract for the Union in 2015, joining Maurice Edu, Ray Gaddis and Richie Marquez. He’s the 16th player on the Union roster overall, joining Tuesday’s acquisition, winger Walter Restrepo.
Below are a few videos of his highlights. First from Mallorca:



The others are older. He spent 2012 at Figueirense:



And then 2011-12 at Criciuma: