The 2021 SCCL is just around the corner, and while it's about a month and a half later than usual, it should be a pretty normal tournament otherwise, hopefully. Let's take a look at the matchups. (Team: best finish, current league standing *this season unless noted otherwise*)
Cruz Azul vs Arcahaie
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Back in 2018, the Union went through what I refer to as a "brand refresh", and a successful one at that. The team had gone through some rough times, and needed a new look. It was still clearly the Union, but a bit more clean and sharp. It is possible that the Union's recent success is a reason that this rebrand went down so well, but there was one change that still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. The home jersey switch up. Now, I do think the last two Union jerseys have been decent, but the Union had a very distinct style, something not many MLS teams have. So, as per usual, I turned to the Union community to see what they thought, I asked three questions, here are the responses. Should the Union go back to the home jerseys with the gold bar? Total votes- 72 YES- 33 votes~ 45.8% NO- 20 votes~ 27.8% Maybe- 19 votes~ 26.4% While yes didn't have the majority of votes, it won over no and maybe by about 20% each. So it seems that if the Union did go back to the old style, they'd have the support of at least half of the fanbase, if not more. Some comments on this we got from Union fans include "Bring back the gold bar. Add more light blue for detail/trim" "Use the gold bar kit as a third kit". I agree with the top one for sure, the second one not so much. I do really like the gold bar design, but I'm more focused on making sure the Union have their own unique look, which so happens to be our next question. Is it important the Union have their own distinct jersey style from other MLS teams? Total votes- 69 YES- 57 votes~ 82.6% NO- 4 votes~ 5.8% Kinda- 8 votes~ 11.6% Clearly the vast majority of Union fans agree with me that the Union need their own distinctive look. And it's easy to see why so many people think this. MLS already as a problem with being a bit generic when it comes to team identity, and jerseys are one of the most important parts of a club's identity. Some comments we got about this include "Having only white and black/navy jerseys across the league is a bad thing. Teams should have their own identities. Examples include Adidas getting rid of the Union's gold bar, Columbus switching from yellow to black home jerseys for next season, FCD's hoops getting taken away, etc." "Need an original not just the adidas stock for MLS". I agree with both of these comments, especially the first one. Again, as I said earlier, I would love to go back to the gold bar, but my priority is just that we have our own look. Did you like the last two Union home jerseys? Total votes- 66 Yes, both- 34 votes~ 51.5% Only striped- 14 votes~ 21.2% Only current- 9 votes~ 13.6% Neither- 9 votes~ 13.6% The vast majority of Union fans are in support of at least one of the two new home jerseys since the refresh, showing that while maybe not ideal, these new jerseys are still mostly acceptable. And I'd agree with this sentiment. While I am very adamant that the Union need to have a distinct style, I do agree that the past two jerseys have been clean, though they are a bit generic. Some comments we got in response to this include "The Union should get a new sponsor and incorporate the snake into the kits better" "ur the best Martin". While I am not Martin, I do agree with this sentiment and he appreciated your comment. As for the first comment, I am glad someone said this so I can talk about it a bit. I really like the style of the new jersey, I think it's just the execution thats lacking. With the snake more prominent and worked in more thoughtfully, and a better looking sponsor, I would've been fine with this jersey style being our "new look" that becomes iconic to the Union. Summary
I, as well as most of the Union fanbase, agree that while it doesn't have to be the gold bar one, the Union do need their own distinct jersey style. Which is something I think most of us can agree that the Union are lacking. If you enjoyed this article, then make sure you are following us on twitter and instagram, and comment below what you liked and disliked about this article, and let me know what you'd like to see me write about next. -PJ By: PJ Schaaf
Over the course of Union history, there have been plenty of players who came through who we might remember for any number of reasons, though they usually aren’t good. Today we’re gonna take a look at some of those players and see what they’ve been up to. Sébastien Le Toux Position: Forward/Winger Seasons with us: 2010-2011;2013-2016 After he left: 1st time to Vancouver, 2nd time to Colorado Known for: He’s Le Toux, everyone knows Le Toux Where is he now: Currently working for the Union doing pre game, post game, and halftime commentary. Jack McInerney Position: Forward Seasons with us: 2010-2014 After he left: Went to Montreal Impact Known for: Being one of the Union’s main goal contributors early on Where is he now: Currently playing for the Oakland Roots of the NISA Brian Carroll Position: Defensive Midfielder Seasons with us: 2011-2017 After he left: Retired with the union Known for: Ex-captain for the Union Where is he now: A financial advisor in Indianapolis Bořek Dočkal Position: Midfield Seasons with us: 2018 After he left: Went to Sparta Prague Known for: MLS assist leader in 2018 Where is he now: Playing for Sparta Prague Fred Position: Attacking Midfielder Seasons with us: 2010, 2014-2015 After he left: 1st time to DC, 2nd time he retired Known for: His name Where is he now: Assistant coach for U2 By Martin Libman
Welp it’s that time of year again where I do my end of the season review. Obviously we are all disappointed about the loss and it has taken all of us including me a few days to calm down from this and writing this still hurts a lot and us being knocked out this early is a real shame because this was our best chance to win MLS cup, especially since we had home field advantage throughout the playoffs since we won the shield but one game ruined everything which is a real shame. We didn’t look like ourselves at all Vs New England and it seems like the international break completely destroyed us. We looked like a complete mess against the Revs and Jose Martinez in particular was no where near his best as he made some stupid mistakes but unfortunately everyone makes mistakes and it came at the worst possible time for us. Brujo has been so consistent for us all season and his off day just like for all the other players came at the worst possible time for us. As sad as we are, we have to give New England credit when it’s due for taking advantage of our mistakes and ultimately beating us 2-0 but we were no where near our best and all we can say now is that we wish them good luck against Orlando and who knows, they might make a run for mls cup, you never know especially with how these playoffs have gone so far. This is a real shame for us but at the same time, we all have to realize that this was a huge step in the right direction and the fact we keep getting better every year is amazing and the fact we finally won a trophy and we finally qualified for the Concacaf Champions league after all these years of trying is a huge accomplishment and a huge step in the right direction. Unfortunately the shield curse got the better of us but at the end of the day, this was by far the best season in club history and we keep getting better every year and although it will hurt seeing someone else win the eastern conference championship and mls cup, this was an amazing season and we can only get better from here and maybe we can make it back here next season!!! This will be a long offseason!! By Martin Libman
It's Gameday!! Tonight at 8 Eastern time on ESPN, the Philadelphia Union take on the New England Revolution in the first round of the Audi MLS Cup playoffs!!! The Union will be back at full strength after Andre Blake has finally recovered from a hand injury and according to Curtin, he's good to go now for tonight's match!! This is the 6th time the Union are playing the Revs this season and the Union are currently unbeaten against New England so far but we can't take anything for granted, especially with how the other playoff games have gone so far. The Revs are looking pretty good now especially with Carlos Gil back. They beat Montreal in the play-in game in a very close game, they scored a last minute winner to advance to the 1st round and they were the lower seed out of the play in games after Nashville beat Miami 3-0 so that's how the Revs made it here. On paper, this should be a comfortable win for the Union especially since we are 9-0-0 at home this season but in the playoffs anything can happen and history doesn't look good for us because it has been rare recently for the supporters shield winner to also win MLS cup but hopefully that will change this season!! Home field advantage should help us alot but you never know in the playoffs and the Revs have an amazing attack so we will need to be very careful of that but we will be at full strength tonight which should help us a lot. Some fans being able to go to the game tonight should hopefully be a huge boost for the players especially for players like Brendan Aaronson, Kai Wagner, and Mark Mckenzie because this might be potentially be their last game ever for us because Aaronson is leaving at the end of the season to join RB Salzburg and Wagner and Mckenzie are being linked with a few big clubs as well so they will need to treat every game like it's there last ever game for us because that will be the case now especially with the playoffs now. This will be a massive game and hopefully we can advance to the next round where we would play Orlando who have a short handed squad at home so we will need to play every game like its our last game of the season and it's amazing that we won the supporters shield but now it's time to hopefully go for the big one and it all starts today so let's hope for a good performance and hopefully we can advance to the next round!!! WHO IS OUR BIGGEST RIVAL?
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