Philadelphia Union
| Philadelphia Union | |||
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| Basic data | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Surname | Philadelphia Union | ||
| Seat | Chester , Pennsylvania , USA | ||
| founding | 2008 | ||
| Colours | blue-gold | ||
| Owner | Keystone Sports & Entertainment, LLC | ||
| president | Jay Sugarman | ||
| Website | philadelphiaunion.com | ||
| First soccer team | |||
| Head coach | Jim Curtin | ||
| Venue | Talen Energy Stadium | ||
| Places | 18,500 | ||
| league | Major League Soccer | ||
| 2019 | Eastern Conference: 3rd place Overall table: 5th place Play-offs: Conference semifinals |
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Philadelphia Union is a franchise of professional football - League Major League Soccer (MLS) from Chester , Pennsylvania , in the Greater Philadelphia . The franchise was founded in 2008 and started playing in the 2010 season .
The home games will be played in the Talen Energy Stadium, which was completed in 2010 .
history
The way to the MLS
For several years now, Major League Soccer has been very interested in establishing a franchise in Philadelphia. Several local sponsors are committed to this project. Over the years several discussions have been held about the location of a stadium for a possible team. In 2006 the city of Chester was selected as the stadium location.
On February 28, 2008, Don Carber, executive director of Major League Soccer, announced that Philadelphia had won a new franchise in the MLS. The foundation for the funding of the association creates a 47 million US dollar budget, which was approved by politicians of the Delaware Counties and the governor of Pennsylvania, Edward Rendell . This covered the costs for the new stadium and a renovation of the surrounding urban area.
On December 21, 2009, the Union announced that it had partnered with the Reading Rage youth soccer organization. With Reading United AC, the MLS franchise has a minor league team in the USL Premier Development League . In March 2010, another partner was found with the Harrisburg City Islanders .
First season 2010
Before the start of the first season, Union had various test matches. The first took place against the University of North Carolina soccer team at Chapel Hill .
The first MLS game took place on March 25, 2010. Union lost 2-0 to the Seattle Sounders . On April 10, 2010, Sébastien Le Toux scored the first goal for the Philadelphia Union. The team won 3-2 against DC United on Matchday 2. This was followed by a series of four defeats. The team achieved the highest victory on June 27, 2010 with a 3-1 win against Seattle Sounders FC. The biggest defeat brought Union the Colorado Rapids with 4-1. At the end of the regular season, the Union took 7th place in the Eastern Conference and could not qualify for a play-off place. In the overall table, the team was 14th ahead of CD Chivas USA and DC United.
In the qualifying game for participation in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup 2010 Union lost to the New York Red Bulls 2-1.
Towards the end of 2010, the players Chris Seitz , Fred , Shea Salinas and Alejandro Moreno switched to other teams. To compensate for this, the Colombian national goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón , who was previously under contract with 1. FC Cologne , and the captain of the Colombian first division club Santa Fe CD , Carlos Valdés, were signed. With Brian Carroll an experienced MLS player could be brought. With the 16-year-old Zach Pfeffer, the first so-called "home-grown" player was signed.
Development since 2011
Union was able to reach the play-offs for the first time in its second season, but had to admit defeat there in the conference semifinals. Zac MacMath became the team's new goalkeeper following an injury to Mondragón.
In the following years you could not qualify again for the play-offs. However, the team reached the semifinals of the US Open Cup in 2012. In 2014 you even reached the final. The team was able to repeat this in 2015, but also had to admit defeat here. The 2015 MLS season ended Philadelphia in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, the worst result in an MLS regular season since the franchise was founded.
Name, coat of arms and colors
On May 11, 2009, the name, crest, and colors of the new MLS franchise were officially announced at Philadelphia City Hall . The name "Union" is intended to recall the Thirteen Colonies of which Philadelphia was the capital. The name was chosen through a poll conducted between January 19, 2009 and February 6, 2009. The other options were AC Philadelphia, SC Philadelphia, and Philadelphia City. Before the team name was officially announced, Philadelphia was nicknamed "Zolos" by the Sons of Ben fan group. This goes back to a "Meet-the-Owners" event held two days before the press conference where Philadelphia was named as the expansion team . Handwritten numbers were put up on slips of paper for a big 2010. Nick Sakiewicz misinterpreted this as ZOLO. This sparked some insider jokes among the Sons of Ben.
The colors of the Philadelphia Union are navy blue and gold, and symbolize the uniforms of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . The coat of arms has thirteen stars that refer to the thirteen colonies. The queue in the middle goes back to a political cartoon by Benjamin Franklin that he published in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. At the time of the American struggle for independence, the snake's head became a symbol of the danger of disunity among the American people. It was also part of the Gadsden flag . The shield goes back to the city arms of Philadelphia. The light blue in the middle is a tribute to the Sons of Ben and at the same time a further reference to the city's coat of arms or flag.
Stadion
- Talen Energy Stadium ; Chester, Pennsylvania (since 2010)
- Lincoln Financial Field ; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2010, sporadic games since)
The Talen Energy Stadium was opened in 2010 and seats 18,500 spectators. Even before the MLS gave its approval, Delaware County gave its approval for the construction of the stadium in October 2007. The foundation stone was laid on December 1, 2008.
From 2010 the stadium will be the home of both the MLS professional team and the new women's professional team Philadelphia Independence , which will also take part in the newly founded women's professional league WPS from the 2010 season .
Until the completion of the Chester stadium, the Philadelphia Union played its home games at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. On June 27, 2010, the Union's first home game against Seattle Sounders FC took place in the stadium. It could be won with 3: 1. The Lincoln can still be used by Philadelphia, e.g. B. for games with a high number of viewers.
In the first season, the average attendance was 19,254.
Fans, rivalries and sponsors
Fans
The support of the fans was one reason why Philadelphia got the encouragement to form an MLS team. The biggest fan club are the Sons of Ben, which were founded on January 17th, 2007. The 5,200-member club is based in Philadelphia and also supports Reading United and Harrisburg City Islanders. The name goes back to Benjamin Franklin.
Rivalries
There have been rivalries with DC United and the New York Red Bulls from the very beginning. These are due to the geographic proximity and traditional rejection between the cities of Philadelphia, Washington DC and New York in other sports leagues. Philadelphia does not participate in any MLS Rivalry Cup.
Sponsors
On January 11th 2011 it was announced that the future shirt sponsor would be Bimbo Bakeries USA. The company is the US subsidiary of the Mexican food producer Grupo Bimbo and is based in Horsham, Pennsylvania. The company also sponsors Major League Soccer from the 2011 season.
Other sponsors include the stadium namesake PPL Corporation , the companies Crozer Keystone Health System, Premier Ortho, Panasonic , WPVI-TV (6ABC), Horizon Services and Toyota .
Adidas acts as the supplier .
organization
owner
The franchise is owned by Keystone Sports & Entertainment, LLC, a multi-person interest group.
Members of this group are Jay Sugarman, board member of iStar Financial and 1st chairman of the Keystone Sports & Entertainment group; Christopher and Robert Buccini, co-founders of the Buccini / Pollin Group; David B. Pollin, co-founder of the Buccini / Pollin Group and head of several companies; Joseph J. Greco, businessman; David Seltzer, director and co-founder of Mercator Advisors, a Philadelphia financial company. In addition, the two companies Weston Solutions and YSC Graham Investments are involved in the franchise.
Nick Sakiewicz, past president of Tampa Bay Mutiny and soccer player with u. a. FC Nantes and Belenenses Lisbon . Sakiewicz is also the CEO and operational partner.
Kevin Durant , professional basketball player in the NBA , acquired five percent of the shares in the franchise in June 2020.
youth
On September 3, 2013, the franchise established its own private school in Wayne, Pennsylvania . The YSC Academy is specifically aimed at training young football players. The 33 students play in the various youth teams of Union.
Partnerships
Reading United AC
A partnership with Reading United AC has existed since December 21, 2009. The team from the USL Premier Development League acts as a so-called minor league team for the Philadelphia Union. Young players can be trained there to gain initial experience. In addition, players from colleges can recommend themselves for the Philadelphia Union, as they are allowed to play for teams of the USL PDL during the respective season breaks of the college leagues.
Harrisburg City Islanders
Since the 2014 season, the Harrisburg City Islanders have been the official partner of Philadelphia as part of the MLS-USL partnership. After the loss of the MLS Reserve League, the MLS franchise can loan players to the USL partner for several or individual games during a season so that they can collect game practice.
Philadelphia Union II
Bethlehem Steel FC was founded in 2015 and, like the Philadelphia Union, belongs to the Keystone S&E group of owners. The team will play in the United Soccer League from the 2016 season . Since the 2020 season, the team has been called Philadelphia Union II .
media
All Philadelphia Union games are broadcast by local broadcaster Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, which is part of NBC Sports Group , and The Comcast Network, also an NBC subsidiary. The station WPVI-TV, which is affiliated with the American Broadcasting Company , transmits selected games.
Selected Philadelphia Union games are broadcast nationwide on ESPN 2, NBC Sports Network and UniMás.
The US sports presenter JP Dellacamera will host all games. Former soccer player Heather Mitts reports from the sidelines and conducts interviews.
Players and staff
Current professional squad
As of July 15, 2020
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Players currently on loan
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Michael Lahoud (New York Cosmos)
Previous players
→ see main article: List of Philadelphia Union players
Coaching staff
As of July 15, 2020
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Jim Curtin (trainer) -
Oka Nikolov (assistant coach) -
Pat Noonan (assistant coach)
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Phil Wheddon (goalkeeping coach)
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Paul Rushing (Head Athletic Trainer)
management
As of January 11, 2018
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Tim McDermott (Chief Business Officer)
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Ernst Tanner (Sporting Director) -
Chris Albright (Technical Director)
Previous trainers
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Piotr Nowak (May 28, 2009 - June 13, 2012) -
John Hackworth (Interim) (June 13, 2012 - August 30, 2012)
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John Hackworth (August 30, 2012 - June 10, 2014)
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Jim Curtin (Interim) (June 10, 2014 - November 7, 2014)
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Jim Curtin ( Nov 7, 2014 -)
successes
- Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
- More Achievements
- MLS Fair Play Award: 2014
statistics
Seasonal balance
| season | Regular season | Play-offs |
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup |
CONCACAF Champions League |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 7th place (east) | not qualified | not qualified | not qualified |
| 2011 | 3rd place (east) | Conference semifinals | not qualified | not qualified |
| 2012 | 8th place (east) | not qualified | Semifinals | not qualified |
| 2013 | 7th place (east) | not qualified | 4th round | not qualified |
| 2014 | 6th place (east) | not qualified | final | not qualified |
| 2015 | 9th place (east) | not qualified | final | not qualified |
| 2016 | 6th place (east) | Knockout Round | Quarter finals | not qualified |
| 2017 | 8th place (east) | not qualified | Quarter finals | not qualified |
| 2018 | 6th place (east) | Knockout Round | final | not qualified |
- ↑ The competition starts in autumn of the previous year.
Club records
These records relate to the regular season , MLS play-offs and US Open Cup games up to and including the 2015 season:
- Most games: Sébastien Le Toux , 153
- Most goals: Sébastien Le Toux , 49
- Most assists: Sébastien Le Toux , 43
Average audience
Regular season / play-offs
- 2010: 19,254 / not qualified
- 2011: 18,259 / 18,539
- 2012: 18,049 / not qualified
Web links
- Official website
- Sons of Ben : Philadelphia MLS fan website
Individual evidence
- ↑ MLS awards Philadelphia 2010 expansion team. February 28, 2008, archived from the original on March 2, 2008 ; accessed on July 22, 2010 (English).
- ↑ Major hurdle cleared for Philly expansion ( Memento February 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) January 31, 2008 at www.mlsnet.com
- ^ New era for Reading PDL team ( Memento from October 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) December 21, 2009 at www.uslsoccer.com
- ↑ Philadelphia Union To Play Harrisburg City Islanders July 27 . Daily Times . Retrieved December 15, 2010.
- ↑ The Union go down in their debut ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. March 26, 2010 on www.philly.com
- ↑ Chinn's brace leads Red Bulls over Union ( English ) Red Bull New York. April 28, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ^ Team Signs 15-Year-Old ( English ) New York Times. December 22, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ↑ CLUB HISTORY . Retrieved November 24, 2012.
- ↑ PHILLY Soccer 2010 Name The Team . January 29, 2009. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ↑ Philly-area soccer team holds vote for team name . In: USA Today , January 15, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
- ↑ The Sons Also Rise . Philadelphia Weekly . May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
- ^ Philadelphia Union brand narrative . May 11, 2009. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
- ^ Philadelphia Union supporters club . May 11, 2009. Archived from the original on May 16, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
- ^ Linc to host first Phila. Union soccer game September 23, 2009 at www.philly.com
- ↑ MATCHCENTER Philadelphia Union vs. Seattle Sounders FC . Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- ↑ mlssoccer.com: Stats - MLS Regular Season 2010 , accessed November 22, 2010
- ↑ DC United fosters a rivalry with expansion Philadelphia Union . In: The Washington Post . Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- ^ Philadelphia Union gain a rival . In: Yahoo.com . Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- ↑ a b c Partners ( English ) Philadelphia Union. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ Jeff Gammage: Union soccer team wins sponsorship from Bimbo bakery . The Philadelphia Inquirer . January 11, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2011.
- ↑ Ownership & Front Office . Philadelphia Union. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
- ↑ Basketball star Durant Investor at Philadelphia Union - "Increase the footprint in the sports world" , transfermarkt.de, accessed on June 15, 2020
- ↑ PHILADELPHIA UNION YOUTH MODEL . Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
- ↑ 2019 Philadelphia Union Roster. Retrieved July 15, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Philadelphia Union - Technical Staff. Retrieved July 15, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c MLS Factbook 2012. (PDF; 1.2 MB) MLSsoccer.com, archived from the original on December 24, 2012 ; accessed on July 28, 2012 (English).
- ↑ TheCup.us - game details for the competitions. Retrieved July 28, 2012 (English).
- ↑ rsssf.com - game details for the competitions. Retrieved July 28, 2012 (English).
- ↑ Philadelphia Union - Stats . Retrieved August 24, 2015.
Eastern Conference: Atlanta United | Chicago Fire | FC Cincinnati | Columbus Crew | DC United | Inter Miami | Montreal Impact | New England Revolution | New York City FC | New York Red Bulls | Orlando City | Philadelphia Union | Toronto FC
Western Conference: Colorado Rapids | FC Dallas | Houston Dynamo | LA Galaxy | Los Angeles FC | Minnesota United | Nashville SC | Portland Timbers | Real Salt Lake | San Jose Earthquakes | Seattle Sounders | Sporting Kansas City | Vancouver Whitecaps
Future Franchises: Austin FC (2021) | Charlotte (2022) | Sacramento Republic (2023) | St. Louis City (2023)
Former franchises: CD Chivas USA (2005–2014) | Miami Fusion (1998-2001) | Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996-2001)