Inter Miami’s Shanyder Borgelin is a Union academy success, even though he plays for a rival

When Union manager Jim Curtin looks across the field at Inter Miami’s much-improved squad on Saturday (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, free of charge), he’ll see a familiar face.

Herons striker Shanyder Borgelin grew up in the Union’s academy after moving to the Philadelphia area in his mid-teens, but didn’t make the cut to turn pro here. So last year, the South Florida native moved back south to play for his hometown team. He excelled with Inter’s reserve squad, scoring 14 goals in 23 games, and earned a promotion to the big leagues this year.

When expected starter Leo Campana suffered a calf injury in practice last week, Borgelin was thrown into the fray. He was subbed in during the second half of last Saturday’s season opener against CF Montréal, and scored the goal that sealed a 2-0 win.

“Not only was I able to play at the highest level, something I’ve always dreamed of, but I was also able to play for my hometown team in front of my family and friends, and the Miami fans,” Borgelin told The Inquirer this week. “So to be able to just get on, that was just a dream come true. And then to see the ball hit the back of the net, I had a lot of feelings going through my head at that moment — I kind of just broke down in tears.”

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The TV cameras captured the emotions on the field in Fort Lauderdale, just a handful of miles from his family’s home.

“It’s something that I dreamed of ever since I was a little kid, you know, playing in the backyard,” Borgelin said. “So to be able to have that moment now, it was amazing, man.”

The Union were happy to see it, too.

“Shanyder’s a kid that [had] come in here and worked his tail off when he was with the Union,” Curtin said. “You saw the amount of goals he scored last year for Miami’s second team … It’s no coincidence now he gets rewarded and scores a big goal in week one in MLS. Couldn’t be a nicer kid, happy for him.”

Inter’s director of scouting Mark Prizant was the Union academy’s head of scouting from late 2013 to mid-2016, and knew of Borgelin from back then. He didn’t have to make much of a sale, given Borgelin’s roots. But the player left the Union on good terms, and praised sporting director Ernst Tanner for how it happened.

“He took a chance on me when I was 17,” Borgelin said, and stood by the player when he missed a stretch of 2020 due to injury. “He was like, ‘Hey, yeah, obviously it’s not working out, but wherever you go, you have my full support and I wish you the best.’ … I knew wherever I went, they would always have my back, and I would be able to do good.”

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At the same time that Borgelin earned his move up to MLS, the Union had an eye on Inter centerback Damion Lowe. Miami had just made another signing, an opening for a deal was there, and the teams got it done. The Union gave up $225,000 and next year’s first-round draft pick along with Borgelin’s rights, a solid but not excessive price for starting-caliber defensive depth.

Borgelin admitted it will be “a crazy experience” to face old friends including Jack McGlynn, Matt Real, and fellow Florida products Nathan Harriel and Alejandro Bedoya.

From the Union’s side, it will be a testament to their willingness to work with other MLS teams when they know a prospect won’t make it to their own pro ranks.

“There’s a lot of kids in the league playing professionally here in this country, in MLS, but also in Europe that have ties to the Union academy,” Curtin said. “We don’t block or prevent other teams from signing players, like some other teams do.”

Indeed, Curtin wasn’t just talking about Brenden Aaronson, Zack Steffen, and other big names abroad. Cherry Hill native Tomas Romero watched last year’s MLS Cup final from Los Angeles FC’s bench as its No. 3 goalkeeper, to pick one prominent example. Borgelin’s Miami teammates include Nyk Sessock, a Philadelphia native who went to college instead of turning pro as a teen and was drafted by Inter last December.

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While Curtin’s first sentence above was a compliment, the second was a shot. For years, MLS’s phone book-sized roster rules have allowed teams to keep the rights to players who leave town as teenagers to join other MLS academies.

The Union have run into this a few times, including when Harriel turned pro a few years ago. His rights required a payment to Orlando City.

Some teams are reasonable. Others are not, and have demanded major sums from the Union. No one in Chester will put those teams on the record, but behind the scenes they know — and so does MLS headquarters. The Union have long led the charge to loosen the rules. They finally have been this year, though restrictions persist.

“Here in Philadelphia, maybe unlike others, we want kids to reach their maximum and reach their full potential,” Curtin said. “Sometimes that’ll be with us, sometimes we see it as a better opportunity with other clubs, and we won’t be a club that blocks those chances.”

With that in mind, the Union were able to enjoy Borgelin’s goal. Though they might not enjoy any Saturday night quite as much.

“He’ll probably score against the first team at the weekend and we’ll all be regretting letting him go,” Union academy director Tommy Wilson said with a laugh. “But I think you need to be prepared to put your name to a player, and back your judgment. That’s the way I’ve always lived, that’s the way I was brought up. And some you’ll get right, and some you won’t.”

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