Whatever you think of the Leagues Cup, the Union have a shot to win it

Union manager Jim Curtin knows the Leagues Cup has plenty of critics, including many in his own stadium’s stands. But now that his team is in the semifinals for the second year in a row, it might as well try to win the thing.

“It’s a group that is hungry to win a trophy,” Curtin said ahead of Wednesday’s visit to the Columbus Crew (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). “However you want to put the importance [of] MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield, Leagues Cup, [U.S.] Open Cup, wherever they all fall, I think everyone has a different opinion. But certainly, this is a trophy that we’ve taken seriously in the two years of the short existence of this cup, and we’re going to make a run at it again.”

Veteran centerback Jack Elliott said it pretty well, too, and he’d know in particular. Two years after coming so close to being the MLS Cup hero, he can help the Union reach a Leagues Cup final that they’d host if they get there.

“I think it’s something that a lot of people didn’t expect to see from us, by how the season had gone for the early part of the year, but I think we’ve started to find ourselves again,” he said. “This tournament helped us to reignite the flame that we have, and showed us that we’ve got a bit of confidence and we’re back in and playing well again.”

» READ MORE: Union advance to Leagues Cup semifinals with penalty kick shootout win over Mexico’s Mazatlán

The Union are ranked higher in the tournament’s seeding system than Los Angeles FC and the Colorado Rapids, the finalists on the western side of the bracket. They’ll meet in L.A. after the Union-Columbus game, at 10 p.m. (Apple TV).

On paper, playing the Crew isn’t as sexy of a matchup as last year’s semifinal against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami at Subaru Park. But it will be just as difficult. Columbus isn’t just the reigning MLS champion, it’s the team that plays the best soccer in the league: pretty passing, strong defense, and a great attacking trio of Christian Ramirez, Diego Rossi, and Juan “Cucho” Hernández.

“If you go through our opportunities in semifinals, if you fairly and objectively look at them, I know which ones we should be a favorite [in], and which ones we’re not the favorite, and which ones we’re the underdog,” Curtin said. “This will be another instance where we are the underdog. We’ll need to punch above our weight and find a way to survive and advance.”

It will make for a clash of styles with the Union’s high-pressing game that doesn’t prioritize keeping the ball — and that’s news on its own. One of the unappealing side effects of Major League Soccer’s endlessly complex roster rule book is that it makes too many teams look the same, because there are only so many ways to build a team amid the salary and roster limits.

“The style part is real,” Curtin said. “The team that is efficient in that red zone, in the boxes offensively and defensively, is the team that’s going to come away with the win — so the game still is the same in that regard. Wilfred [Nancy, Columbus’ manager] maybe has a different approach than I do on how we get there, and how quickly we get there, but that’s also what makes the game great.”

» READ MORE: José Andrés Martínez’s departure from the Union is the first of what could be a wave to come

The Union will be shorthanded, missing forward Tai Baribo due to suspension and midfielder José Andrés Martínez as he departs for Brazil’s Corinthians. (He was reportedly in Brazil on Tuesday to finish the deal.)

But Olivier Mbaizo will be back after missing the quarterfinal win over Mexico’s Mazatlán with a minor hamstring tweak, and Curtin said new midfielder Danley Jean Jacques is fit enough to play a half or so. Jean Jacques hasn’t played an official game since suiting up for Haiti’s national team on June 9, because his last club season with France’s Metz finished a few days before then.

“You see all the attributes that we brought him here for: his ball winning, closing the ground, playing forward,” Curtin said. “He’s getting acclimated to a new club and his new team. … I think he could certainly play a role in this game, especially when you think about how good Columbus is with the ball and how sound we’ll have to be defensively.”

» READ MORE: The Union will soon sell José Andrés Martínez to Brazil's Corinthians for $2 million