The Union’s Jim Curtin wins Major League Soccer’s coach of the year award

Union manager Jim Curtin won Major League Soccer’s coach of the year award for the second time in three seasons on Tuesday.

Curtin narrowly edged CF Montreal’s Wilfried Nancy, who took a starless team in an often-overlooked market to second place in the Eastern Conference and third in the leaguewide standings. Had the Union not won their regular-season finale, Montreal would have jumped over them into first.

The voting margin was even tighter: Curtin won by just 0.1% of the total vote. Nancy won the media vote in a landslide, while Curtin won the votes of players and front-office staff. Supporters’ Shield-winning Los Angeles FC manager Steve Cherundolo finished third by a clear distance, though he finished second in the player vote.

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin knew the Union could be good this year. He didn’t think they’d be this good.

Voting was conducted at the end of the regular season. The Union were informed a few days ago and kept it under wraps until Tuesday’s announcement.

Curtin found out by way of his alma mater, Villanova. Famed former Wildcats men’s basketball coach Jay Wright recorded a video message congratulating Curtin from the floor of the Finneran Pavilion.

“Jim, you’ve done an incredible job with your team,” Wright said. “You’ve made all of us Villanovans proud. … Philadelphia loves you, and we’re all proud of you.”

(Wright has become quite the soccer fan this year. He banged the Union’s pregame drum in May and recorded a hype video for the team’s playoff run that won praise from fans leaguewide.)

After the presentation, Curtin’s wife and children walked onto the field at Subaru Park to give him a commemorative framed jersey.

» READ MORE: The Union’s Andre Blake and Jakob Glesnes win big MLS awards

Curtin is the fifth two-time coach of the year in MLS’s 27 seasons, and he joins some famous company. Bruce Arena has won the award four times (1997, 2009, ‘11, and ‘21). Bob Bradley, Curtin’s mentor and coach in his playing days, has won it three times (1998, 2006, and ‘19). The late Sigi Schmid — for whom the award is officially named — won it twice (1999 and 2008), and so did Frank Yallop (2001 and ‘12).

Curtin, 43, also is the youngest two-time coach of the year in league history. And MLS’s announcement pointed out that no Eagles, Phillies, 76ers, or Flyers coach has won his league’s coach of the year prize multiple times.

In baseball, the only Phillies manager to win the National League’s manager of the year award (at least so far) is Larry Bowa in 2001. In basketball, the Sixers’ Dolph Schayes (1966) and Larry Brown (2001) won it once each. In hockey, four Flyers coaches have won the Jack Adams Award, but only once each: Fred Shero (1974), Pat Quinn (1980), Mike Keenan (1985), and Bill Barber (2001).

The NFL doesn’t have an official coach of the year award, so the top honor given to the league’s coaches comes from the Associated Press. Buck Shaw (1960), Ray Rhodes (1995), and Andy Reid (2002) have won it once each.

The feat was achieved once before on the local soccer scene. Former Philadelphia Independence manager Paul Riley won Women’s Professional Soccer’s coach of the year prize in 2010 and 2011, a decade before being disgraced by allegations of sexual coercion dating back to that time.

» READ MORE: Joanna Lohman ‘was fooled by Paul Riley’ in Philadelphia, where he allegedly coerced her teammates

The Charge’s Mark Krikorian won the Women’s United Soccer Association’s coach of the year award once, in 2002.

The Union’s next game is the Eastern Conference final against New York City FC on Sunday night at Subaru Park (8:25 p.m., FS1 and Fox Deportes). Only a small number of tickets remain through the Union’s website and the team’s official reseller, StubHub.