MLSsoccer.com continue our look back at the 2014 season that was for all 19 clubs in Major League Soccer, starting with the Montreal Impact and ending with the MLS Cup-winning LA Galaxy. We'll also take a peek at the two new clubs coming in and pour one out for departed friends Chivas USA. You can find the 2014 Year in Review HERE, and the club-by-club history of MLS HERE.
2014 record: 10-12-12 (42 points); 51 GF / 51 GA (0 GD)
After just missing out on the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2013, the Philadelphia Union had a busy offseason, reloading the midfield with the acquisitions of Maurice Edu, Vincent Nogueira and Cristian Maidana.
They said it...
Majority owner Jay Sugarman:
“Everybody involved wants to win. Everybody involved hates losing. And we’re very focused on taking positives steps to create a clear path of success for this team. And that path forward for us is really based on achieving two key goals. One, we need our first team to consistently play to its full potential, week in and week out. And two, we need to continue to develop one of the top academy systems in the United States.”
Head coach Jim Curtin:
“Playoffs are the goal. That’s all we’re going to talk about moving forward with me. It’s not about championships or MLS Cups yet. We have to get in the playoffs and be a team that’s in the playoffs every year, and that will be something that I’ll be responsible for as head coach.”
Winger Andrew Wenger:
“I don’t think we’re really interested in being pretty close. It’s a zero-sum game. Either we’re going to make [the playoffs] next year or we’re not. I think the point is that we have to make it.”
But despite those marquee additions, the Union struggled defensively to replace the leadership of Jeff Parke (who was traded in the offseason) and offensively to replace the scoring of Jack McInerney (who was traded in early April), winning just three times in their first 16 games. That led to the firing of manager John Hackworth – the architect of the roster – on June 10 and the ascension of assistant coach Jim Curtin to the role of interim head coach.
Making a few savvy moves and restoring confidence in some of his players, Curtin guided the Union back into playoff contention and to the US Open Cup final. But a couple of late collapses doomed the club’s postseason hopes as the Union finished in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a 10-12-12 overall record.
Still, Curtin’s 10-6-7 mark in all competitions was enough to land him the permanent head-coaching job. And with the addition of former Manchester United assistant Rene Meulensteen as a consultant and a new sporting director on the horizon, Curtin will have some experienced help as he looks to make key upgrades and end the team’s playoff drought at three years in 2015.
Best Moment of the Year
The Union had never before beaten FC Dallas when they headed to Toyota Stadium for a US Open Cup semifinal matchup on Aug. 12. Perhaps even more daunting: The game was the first of a two-game road trip in Texas during a brutal heat wave. But with a trip to the franchise’s first-ever final on the line, the Union battled Dallas to a 1-1 tie through regulation and stoppage time, before goalkeeper Zac MacMath came up with two huge saves in the shootout to lift Philly to the thrilling win. That led to not only a wild celebration in the visitors locker room in Dallas but the chance for the party to continue at PPL Park, where the Union hosted the Seattle Sounders in a charged-up atmosphere for the US Open Cup championship – a well-fought game that the Union lost in extra time.
How do you pick between two horrible collapses at equally horrible times? The first happened on Oct. 2 when midseason acquisition Rais Mbolhi shanked a clearance to let the Chicago Fire tie the game in stoppage time and steal two vital points from the Union at PPL Park. The second happened nine days later in the same building when the Union jumped out to a 2-0 second-half lead over the Columbus Crew – a team they were trying to pass for one of the final playoff spots – before allowing three goals in a six-minute span to lose and effectively fall out of postseason contention. Curtin has said he doesn’t think he’ll ever experience two results as brutal as that for the rest of his coaching career, and Union fans certainly hope he’s right.
Best Goal
The finish was beautiful, but the buildup was even better. Early in the first half of Philly’s 4-2 win over San Jose on Aug. 24, the Union broke all the way down the field on a counter attack with a pretty give-and-go from Sebastien Le Toux and Conor Casey, setting up Andrew Wenger in the box. Off the feed from Le Toux, Wenger took a heavy first touch to cut down his angle but made amends with an absolute rocket to the far post that beat Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch and delighted the PPL Park crowd.
Team MVP
Although an injury slowed him late in the season, Le Toux broke out in a big way after Curtin allowed him to play as more of a forward next to Casey (rather than a more conventional winger under Hackworth). Le Toux finished the season with 12 goals and seven assists – one of the league’s highest combined totals – but his numbers don’t tell the whole story. As always, Le Toux used his endless endurance to cover far more ground than anyone else on the team and re-emerge as one of Philly’s most dangerous attacking players after a less-productive 2013 campaign. We’d also be remiss not to mention his big performances during Philly’s US Open Cup run, as the Frenchman became the tournament’s modern day scoring leader.
Best Move
You could also make a strong case for Le Toux’s fellow Frenchman, Nogueira, as being the team’s MVP – which is why the Union acquiring him from Ligue 1 side Sochaux was probably their most prudent offseason move. Nogueira was brilliant in his first season in MLS, using his composure on the ball and sublime vision to control the midfield and join the league’s leaders in total touches and successful passes. He also had a couple of rockets for goals and enjoyed what Curtin called “one of the best games I’ve ever seen anyone play in a final” in the US Open Cup title game.
Quotable
“We’re professional athletes. It’s what we live for. We live to win championships, to win games. We don’t take this lightly. I don’t. I feel awful. I feel like we let down the club. I feel like we let down the fans, more importantly.” – midfielder Danny Cruz, following the Union’s 3-2 loss to the Columbus Crew on Oct. 11
Three Offseason Needs
- A premier striker:
The addition of
C.J. Sapong
from Sporting Kansas City will certainly help a team that lacked speed up top last season. But with veteran forward
Conor Casey
possibly gone, the team is still in the market for a big-time goalscorer – and is scouring the world marketplace to find one.
2. Defensive midfield help: Ironically, the Union probably had too many defensive midfielders last season, which led to the controversial benching of Amobi Okugo in the U.S. Open Cup final. But with Okugo now in Orlando, Brian Carroll out of contract, and Edu probably returning as a center back (if the Union can successfully purchase his contract from Stoke City), the team suddenly needs a traditional No. 6 to complement playmakers Nogueira and Maidana in the central midfield.
3. Figure out the goalkeeping logjam: Despite not protecting any of their goalkeepers in the Expansion Draft, the Union still have all of them on their roster: Mbolhi, MacMath and Andre Blake. All three have the ability to be a starting 'keeper in MLS (and MacMath has been for most of the past three seasons), which is why it's silly to keep them all on the team. The Union would be wise to settle on a starter and trade or loan at least one of them.
