Philadelphia Union interim manager Jim Curtin knows a thing or two about what new Toronto FC manager Greg Vanney is going through.
Like Vanney, Curtin used to coach his club's academy teams. Like Vanney, Curtin took over the first team after a mid-season coaching change.
While Curtin remains the interim choice and Vanney has been handed the job on a long-term basis, Curtin also knows what to expect from Vanney's charges when Philadelphia host Toronto Wednesday night at PPL Park (7 pm ET, MLS LIVE, TSN2 in Canada).
“It’s tricky,” Curtin said. “Any time you get a new coach in, there’s going to be that initial burst. We’ve talked about how the first 15 minutes of this game will dictate a lot. They’re going to come in flying, trying to impress the new coach. But we just have to get through the first 15 minutes. After that, it will settle down and the game should take care of itself.”
Toronto parted ways with head coach Ryan Nelsen over the weekend after a public spat with general manager Tim Bezbatchenko, but Curtin called Vanney a "very good coach" he knows from youth academy games.
Despite the new coach and the fact that Toronto FC are the only team the Union have yet to play this season, Curtin has a pretty good idea of the best way to stop them – especially with star striker Jermain Defoe out with a groin injury.
“I know Michael Bradley very well and what he’s all about,” the Union manager said. “He’s going to be a key guy we have to focus on. He starts their attack, so we’ll try to do our best to not have him on the ball very much.”
With the teams set to face each other again on Saturday in Toronto, the four-day stretch is also a rare opportunity for Philadelphia to gain significant ground on a team in front of them in the Eastern Conference. As it stands now, fourth-place Toronto FC (9-9-6) have three more points than the seventh-place Union (7-9-9) with a game in hand.
- Find more Union news and notes at PhiladelphiaUnion.com
“It’s certainly a unique schedule – having to play them home and away like a hockey series or something,” Curtin said. “It’s strange. But the thing we’ve been stressing all week is that it’s about us. We kind of control our own destiny with the majority of our games being at home.”
Indeed, Saturday’s visit to Toronto will be just one of three road games the Union will play in their final nine league contests. Another advantage Curtin pointed to is that the Union have gone 10 days since last playing, while Toronto travel to Philly fresh off a weekend game, an ugly 3-0 loss to New England.
“Our margin for error is zero,” Curtin added. “We can’t have three or four guys have bad games. We don’t need anyone to have a great game; we just need everyone to be good and to do their job.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
