CHESTER — Things have gone about as poorly for the Philadelphia Union through 25 games of the 2024 MLS season as possible.
They’ve lost their top striker to an outgoing transfer with no clear replacement. Their once-cornerstone center backs have regressed at an alarming rate.
They’ve got six starts in goal from a franchise pillar. They’ve seen fan protests, months between home wins and a stretch of one win in 17 games that resembled some of the darkest days for a franchise that knew no light in its first seven years.
And yet …
MLS breaks for its annual Leagues Cup tournament/jamboree/cash grab with the Union in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, one point out of a playoff spot. They may be nearer to the bottom of the table — a place they occupied just last week — than to eighth, but they have a pulse.
In a league where nine of the 15 teams in the conference make the playoffs, that’s about all that’s required.
More importantly, while the problems of the spring and early summer aren’t exactly solved, the solutions are known, which is more than most clubs can say.
Some of it is simple availability.
The Union (6-10-9, 27 points) got behind the eight ball in the spring by leaving points on the table. That meant they were chasing by June when players started departing for international duty: to Euros, to Copa America, to the Olympics. Two months without fielding a first-choice lineup will impact any team’s point totals, if not quite with the colorful aplomb as the Union’s late-game collapses.
So you had three months with one win, followed by two wins in four days with the reconstructed spine of Daniel Gazdag (Euros), Jose Martinez (Copa America) and Andre Blake (injury) all back.
“Soccer is fun again for the guys, which was good to see,” coach Jim Curtin said Saturday after a 3-0 win over Nashville. “No group has gone through a tough season like this more than our group, and it’s hurt. … The value of having your best players be your best players in this game, as simple as that sounds, is so important.”
Blake is the most obvious piece. The Union’s run of futility neatly fitted to his absence with a meniscus tear in late April. The Union allowed 30 goals in 15 games without him; he’s allowed one goal in two games back. It underscores the value of the three-time MLS goalkeeper of the year, though not in the way Curtin would’ve preferred that to be illustrated.
Saturday was less vexing depiction. Blake stoned Teal Bunbury in the 83rd minute, point blank from a sharp angle, with the game still 2-0. Gazdag completed his hat trick six minutes later. For a team that has surrendered 15 points from leading positions in the last six weeks, Curtin didn’t need to describe how big a swing that was.
“We’ll all remember three incredible goals from Dani, a good job by the team to defend and fight and get a big win here,” Curtin said. “But no one realized the difference that if that ball goes in, and it’s 2-1 with seven minutes left, you can start to have that thing creep back in again where you deal with nerves and panic. But because he makes a save, we go right down and score. These are the little moments I talk about a lot.”
The Union have been forced to answer questions posed by all the absences. In Tai Baribo, with six goals in seven starts, they’ve found someone to fill Julian Carranza’s shoes. Sam Adeniran is a low-cost gamble up top. A healthy Leon Flach can still do a tenacious job in midfield, while Jesus Bueno’s scoring touch means he won’t let himself fall down the pecking order too far.
The climb to a seventh straight MLS Cup playoff berth remains steep.
The Union have nine games left, five on the road. Seven of their opponents are in playoff position, including two against reigning MLS Cup holders Columbus.
The Union finish with Cincinnati, which might be fighting for the Supporters’ Shield, on Decision Day in Chester, and they can’t get skunked on a three-game trip through Red Bulls, Inter Miami and NYCFC in September. With Curtin always taking a gung-ho approach to any competition, they need to emerge from Leagues Cup less battered than in last year’s run to third place.
And yet …
The Union though all the struggles kept themselves in position to where a couple wins could change the entire outlook of the season. To the credible belief that the season’s most treacherous storm had passed with everything still more or less in place. To a chance to revert to the original plan that had been disrupted by injuries and international departures.
“You look right up the middle: Dani, excellent. Jose, excellent. Andre, excellent,” Curtin said. “Those guys haven’t been here for a good chunk of our year. And I’m not making an excuse, but that’s the reality. You guys see what we are when we’re clicking and we’re confident. And I would just say no one wants to play us in the playoffs if we get in. Because we’re a good team that’s won a lot of games together.”
Contact Matthew De George at mdegeorge@delcotimes.com.
Source: Berkshire mont