As the Union keep spiraling downward, Julián Carranza becomes an unlikely leader

After the Union’s loss to Orlando last Saturday, you read here that it was more on the players than the manager.

But while the players in any game impact the result more than their boss does, that doesn’t mean Jim Curtin is exempt. Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to New York at Subaru Park was one in which he deservedly faced some tough questions afterward.

Chief among them: In a game when the Union needed another goal to avoid their first ever four-game home losing streak, why were his substitutions a central midfielder, a defensive midfielder, and a right back?

“Could we have thrown another striker in and taken off a defender? For sure, maybe,” Curtin said. “But I thought our structure was good. We were getting chances and just didn’t finish.”

The fear is that Curtin doesn’t trust the attacking end of his bench to make an impact in big moments. Chris Donovan, whom Curtin has turned to often late in games, wasn’t summoned; and Tai Baribo and Jeremy Rafanello went back to being not heard from.

» READ MORE: Union’s disastrous losing streak continues with 2-1 defeat to New York City FC

Are any of them better players than Mikael Uhre, Julián Carranza, and Dániel Gazdag? No, but sometimes you have to make a substitution for its own sake. That has long been Curtin’s biggest weakness as a manager, and there aren’t many other weaknesses on the list.

Curtin is right that his team is not far off from getting back on the right track. Any team that records 52 shots over two games in five days — 27 against Orlando and 25 against New York — is doing something right. But he also knows that only winning games will suffice.

“We’ve become uncharacteristically fragile at home, which hurts,” Curtin said. “We have to find a way to get out of this. We’re the only people that are going to get us out of it.”

So why is the view from here more optimistic than it is from most of the Subaru Park stands?

The reason might surprise you — because it surprised Curtin when it happened. And no, it wasn’t when a raccoon ran on to the field during the first half, giving the rain-soaked crowd a rare moment of joy.

The mood in the Union’s locker room at halftime was unsurprisingly somber, with the team in a 2-0 hole. Usually, if Curtin doesn’t do the talking, longtime captain Alejandro Bedoya does.

This time, Curtin didn’t say anything. But Carranza, of all people, did.

» READ MORE: A raccoon ran on to the field during the Union-NYCFC game

“I was really impressed by what he had to say, because it was all, actually, right — accurate, the truth,” Curtin said. “And it was long. So it’s good to see from a young striker, a kid that plays with passion that wants to win everything.”

The 23-year-old Argentine didn’t want to share exactly what he said, but he said plenty about why he spoke.

“I feel like Jim already said everything in the last couple games in the halftimes,” Carranza said. “Kai [Wagner] was saying something to Nathan [Harriel], and then I started talking and started saying what I believe will take us out of this situation.”

Carranza is now in his third year with the Union, and he knows how close the team has come to the promised land. It feels far away now, but his team is still in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-4-5 record (14 points).

“In this situation, I got the role to talk because I felt like I had to,” Carranza said. “And I felt we’re losing that — like, we don’t care if we lose, we don’t care if we win. It’s just go out there and just see what happens. And it doesn’t have to be like that.”

Those are worrisome words. But he also said the locker room dynamic is still strong, and he believes that chemistry can help right the ship.

“We’re the same players as we were three years ago that got to the final,” he said. “We know what we play for, we know what we want. … I’m sure we’re going to be back on top, we’re going to be back to winning, and that’s the mentality that we need to have.”

» READ MORE: Former Union midfielder Marco Fabián looking to score the love of his life in new NBC reality show

The counterargument comes from a ghost that haunted the Union before the season. MLS history does not look fondly on teams that run back rosters for this long, and there are growing fears of that coming home to roost.

It’s not Carranza’s job to build the squad. It’s his job to put the ball in the net, and he did that with an emphatic goal early in the second half.

“Teams used to be scared to come play on this field, and I think that’s not the situation anymore,” he said. “So we need to recover that. We need to recover respect, we need to know that we’re not in that position anymore, and we need to step up — for the team, for the institution, for everyone.”

Carranza also wondered aloud if the historic 6-0 loss at Pachuca in March still is haunting the locker room, and that was quite striking to hear.

“I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I feel like everything started there,” he said.

It shouldn’t be true, because the Union went undefeated in the five games after that: two dramatic road ties and three straight wins in the middle. But if it’s in Carranza’s mind, that matters.

» READ MORE: What are the Union’s ambitions? Owner Jay Sugarman opens up about how he sees them.

He thought back to 2022, when the Union’s offense was rampant and the defense was the stingiest MLS has ever seen, and turned a great phrase: “We need to have the anger of winning.”

It was especially noteworthy that this all came from a player who might not be with the Union for much longer. Carranza’s contract is up after this year, so if the Union are to make any money from selling him abroad, Carranza’s dazzling hat trick is a reminder of what makes a big-time striker — even if he’s their top scorer.

“I’m not taking the role of a leader, I’m just saying what I think, and I want to win,” he said. “Listen, I’m not here just to go there and just see what happens. I’m here to win, I want to win, and that’s the mentality that we need — every single one, not just me.”

That may not feel like leadership to him, but it sure sounded like it from here.

» READ MORE: The Union are running it back again. Will it work this time?