CHESTER, Pa. – As Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin looks around the league, he’s noticed a trend in regards to some of the newest high-profile stars: Many of them are central midfielders that can completely control the flow of the game.
It was with that in mind that Curtin and technical director Chris Albright fought hard to bring in one of their own, pulling the trigger on arguably the biggest signing in franchise history with Wednesday’s acquisition of Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta.
“Listen, we factored in the fact that a lot of teams are bringing in central players,” Curtin told MLSsoccer.com by phone on Wednesday night, shortly after the deal was announced. “Look at NYCFC with [Frank] Lampard and [Andrea] Pirlo and you see Kaká in Orlando and you see [Steven] Gerrard in LA. It’s a lot of central midfielders. [Barnetta’s] a guy that’s played against those guys at the highest level and he can do it centrally.”
The 30-year-old Barnetta certainly has an impressive pedigree, having suited up in three World Cups for Switzerland while playing many games in the UEFA Champions League and the Bundesliga. As such, the former FC Schalke player was a coveted asset this summer, drawing interest from teams in Germany’s top flight, La Liga and the English Premier League.
But Curtin and Albright targeted him as a star they thought they could lure to MLS and presented him with their vision of him being part of the long-term foundation in Philly.
It worked.
“When Chris and I met with his father and his agent a couple of weeks back, he was a guy that wanted a new challenge,” Curtin said. “We kind of hit it off with not only him, but his dad. … He chose us over some very big clubs in Europe. He was really open to a new challenge with the Union and MLS. It’s an attractive league right now and he is a guy that can come into our league and do very well.”
Barnetta trained with the Union since this past Thursday while the deal was being finalized, even traveling with the club to their game vs. D.C. United on Sunday. He returned to Switzerland on Tuesday night to get his visa situation sorted out, but Curtin expects him back in time for Saturday’s home game against the New York Red Bulls (7 pm ET, MLS LIVE) – although after so much travel, he doesn’t think he’ll start.
“We don’t want to rush it and have him getting off a plane and playing in his debut,” Curtin said. “I don’t think that’s smart. Just physically we don’t want him to break down. Debuts are special and we want to do it the right way.”
When Barnetta does get on the field, Curtin likes the idea of playing him as either the box-to-box midfielder or the attacking midfielder in his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, and he believes some kind of combination between the Swiss playmaker and Cristian Maidana could throw defenses off. But the Union coach also said Barnetta can play on either wing and could fill an immediate need on the left side of the field as Andrew Wenger works to recover from a concussion.
“One of his best qualities is how versatile he is,” Curtin said. “We thought we needed to add just a quality player. He gives us that. He’s kind of like a hybrid between a No. 8 and a No. 10, but also has the ability to play out wide.”
Curtin immediately saw Barnetta’s quality in training over the past couple of days, noting how “he’s really good around the goal and makes really hard runs in the box.” Perhaps equally exciting is how well he meshed with his future teammates.
For a Union team that doesn’t have a very good track record of big signings during the summer transfer window, Barnetta's acquisition was a very good sign for Curtin.
“He’s a laid-back guy, but on the field you can tell once he crosses the line that changes,” the Union coach said. “He trains very hard. He’s a winner. He brings a lot of intangibles to our team that will help a young group that’s learning how to win. He’s a guy that can teach our young guys, and he already started to do that without me asking in the short time he’s been training with us. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Curtin did say that there are “never guarantees” to how well an international player adapts to a new country, league or team. But he’s confident that the Union did their homework before using Targeted Allocation Money to lock Barnetta up to a deal that he said is a “significant commitment on both parties’ ends.”
“Pedigree wise, he is certainly one of the top players in the Union’s short history, for sure,” Curtin said. “He’s a guy that’s humble and wants to do his talking on the field.
“And he’s excited to get started.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
