Call what the Union organization is doing what it is: a miracle
“The individual quality in our league is at a whole new level. But I believe that this is a team," Union coach Jim Curtin said after his team beat FC Cincinnati in the MLS Eastern Conference semis.
A whistle sounded and these two soccer teams had one more little contest: Who could drop to the ground quickest. Inside Subaru Park, the carnage told a story.
“This was a really tough grind,” Union manager Jim Curtin said later, his team moving on to the MLS Eastern Conference final, a 1-0 survivor Thursday night over FC Cincinnati.
That makes two years in a row getting this deep in the playoffs for the local soccer squad. Putting together a team that fits together so well without the benefit of being in a star magnet spot such as New York or Los Angeles. … It’s something of a miracle right under the Commodore Barry Bridge.
» READ MORE: Union move on in MLS playoffs
Eagles fans who like the job general manager Howie Roseman did this past offseason finding final pieces of that puzzle … the degree of difficulty of what’s gone down in Chester lately may be harder. Soccer presents one of the hardest puzzles to put together. There have been world superstars who switch clubs and countries and just don’t fit with teammates or the style of play.
Thursday, the Union featured starters from Denmark, Argentina, Hungary, Venezuela, Germany, Cameroon, Norway, England, Jamaica, and the United States. That fact isn’t meant to suggest, Gee whiz, look at all these foreign-born stars. No, it’s about the task of assembling such a cast that fits from such a wide territory, from much of the earth.
The whole soccer world is looking for these type of players. It’s not just that the Union have hit on so many under Ernst Tanner, a native of Germany who arrived as sporting director in 2018. They’ve had few misses lately. Pretty important in a salary-capped league.
Midfielder Leon Maximilian Flach, age 21, doubled his Union career goal total with the only goal this night, in the 59th minute. A buried strike after a lot of strong ball work from a series of teammates in tight quarters landed the unlikely hero the ball just outside the box.
Flach had arrived on the team without fanfare. A German-American dual citizen, born in Texas, found playing in the German second division, which makes Flach typical of the players Tanner has brought to the Union, adding to the impressive mix of homegrown talent.
That’s not to suggest the Union some gritty group of underdogs. This team has talent, front to back, or back to front. Goalkeeper Andre Blake, a star on the world stage as a Jamaican international, proved again why he is the best keeper MLS has to offer, deflecting several serious Cincinnati chances as the Union held on.
A historically good Union defense also has three of four defenders selected by those predicting the MLS top 11 team of the season, which is crazy in itself. The Union even have a case for feeling aggrieved, however, as attacking midfielder Dániel Gazdag and his Union-record 22 regular-season goals didn’t even make it into the final list of MVP options for this year.
» READ MORE: Dániel Gazdag might not be the Union’s most valuable player, but he is the most outstanding
Jakob Glesnes, voted top MLS defender this season at age 28, arrived in Philly in 2020 from Stromsgodset, a club in the top division in his native Norway. Glesnes didn’t crawl out from under a snow drift. He’d once had a trial with Liverpool FC. But he’s more proof of Tanner’s eye for talent, and Curtin’s understanding of how to use it.
“He finds guys who have maybe been turned down by others,” Curtin said Thursday night of Tanner. “Have a chip on their shoulder for whatever reason. Have been in a lower league, but still have a desire to prove themselves. Go through our roster. Every guy is basically that, in some way, shape or form.”
Kai Wagner is a star left back in MLS, destined for bigger things. He’d been playing in the German third division. Gazdag showed up from the Hungarian League, while defensive midfield ace José Martínez arrived from Venezuela.
“I owe a ton to him,” Curtin said of Tanner. “He’s the guy who convinced me that two strikers is the way to go, and now you look out on the field and the only two teams that play with two strikers in our league, ours and now Cincinnati … And we both scored 60-plus goals this year. He has a way of getting you to see the game differently. I don’t know if people know how difficult that is, because sometimes people get stuck in their ways. He has an eye for talent that is incredible. … We have a great blend of young, old, European players, top quality, goal scorers, guys who have been cast off from other teams [and] they come here and they thrive.”
The strikers are legit, from Argentina and a final puzzle piece from Denmark. Neither Julián Carranza nor Mikael Uhre is playing for his country next month in the World Cup. Neither would embarrass his country if he was. The Union get lucky that the pair wasn’t quite in that stratosphere, which also would have already put them on the radar of the top European leagues. That’s the sweet spot the Union has found in recent years, identifying players who are good enough for higher levels, but not yet identified as such.
“Look, there’s tons of talented teams — there are so many good, talented teams in our league,” Curtin said after his team had reached the MLS Final Four. “The individual quality in our league is at a whole new level. But I believe that this is a team. That’s what I said to them before they went out. We’re a true team, and every guy has to be good for us to have a chance.”
Sometimes, with this kind of quality the Union has in the back, in the grind of the playoffs, one good chance is enough.