For the players of the Philadelphia Union, it has been a bumpy ride. Forming a team from scratch is never easy and squad members have only had a few weeks to get to know one another and each player’s tendencies on the field.
One of the Union’s more seasoned players, Fred, realizes the difficulties encountered in forming a new team, but he lauds his teammates for their ability to gel quickly.
“I’m doing good,” said Fred following Monday’s training session. “I think the players are doing well and we have adapted fast. It has been a busy time and we’re all going to enjoy this game.”
The game he’s speaking of is obviously the Union’s first-ever match which, thanks to some determined negotiations between the the League and Players Union, will go ahead as scheduled this Thursday night in Seattle. Given what Seattle was able to do last season with their incredible fan support and audacious attendance figures, it’s not too much of a stretch to assume things will be pretty crazy at Qwest Field when the Union take the field for the first time.
Union midfielder Nick Zimmerman is excited to play in the atmosphere created at Qwest Field.
“When you walk into a stadium and the people are cheering and going crazy, you can’t help but feel it,” said Zimmerman of what he expects the stadium to be like on Thursday. “You want to play in an environment like that.”
Despite being a freshly-forged team, there aren’t anymore pre-season matches or closed-doors training sessions to hide behind. It’s go time.
“Come Thursday, we’ll be ready to fire on all cylinders,” Zimmerman said. ‘We’ll be ready to play.”
