Philadelphia Union
My colleagues on the Philly.com photo desk were at the Union's "Cocktails and Cleats" fundraiser on Wednesday." Here are some photos from the event.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
You might have to read that headline to yourself a few times, but apparently the story is true. Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl told the tale in his latest column.
Apparently, when Chelsea played AC Milan at Lincoln Financial Field back in 2004, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich brought his yacht to Philadelphia. While in town, the Russian billionare invited Eagles chairman Jeffrey Lurie to dinner aboard said yacht, along with now-former Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon, AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani.
I think we can all agree that's not the kind of invitation you turn down. The yacht alone is worth as much money as some Chelsea players (and some Eagles players) make in a year.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Veteran U.S. national team defender Heather Mitts has announced that her playing career is over. But her connections to the American soccer community will continue, as she's joining the Philadelphia Union's television team.
"The time has come for me to move onto a new stage of my career," Mitts wrote in a statement on her Facebook page. "I truly appreciate the women who paved the way, to my friends and dear teammates that I will never forget."
Mitts will be a sideline reporter and analyst during the Union's local television broadcasts. Her debut will come Saturday, when the Union host the New England Revolution at PPL Park. The Comcast Network will air the game, with kickoff set for 5:00 p.m.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Philadelphia Union manager John Hackworth held his weekly press conference on Wednesday, and had a few interesting things to say. Here are some highlights.
On whether he'll make changes to his lineup after Saturday's loss:
I would expect some different players in the lineup – maybe not a lot. But I said it last week: I feel like we have good depth, and there's guys that have been competing in training for the last several weeks now that deserve an opportunity.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
UPDATE: The Washington Post's Steven Goff reported Monday afternoon that the Union asked Freddy Adu to take a 75 percent pay cut if he wanted to continue to play with the team. Had Adu agreed, his resulting guaranteed annual salary would have been $129,750.
That is well below the Designated Player threshhold, as I wrote Sunday night. In the context of his teammates, if you go by the salary figures published last October, Adu would theoretically have the eighth-highest salary in the Union's locker room.
Admittedly, there are a lot of assumptions in that salary ranking - with the most significant one being that no one got a raise over last year's figures. But even if some of the players in the neighborhood of Adu's salary did get raises (and I think it's fair to believe that happened), a salary of $129,750 would likely still be in the top 10 on the team.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Time: 4:00 p.m. EST
Venue: PPL Park, Chester, Pa.
TV: WPVI-6 (J.P. Dellacamera and Alejandro Moreno, with Tony Limarzi and Peter Pappa hosting the pregame show at 3:30 p.m.)
A fast and frenetic offseason for the Union was capped off Friday night by the team's final roster moves. Now it's time for everyone to turn their attention to PPL Park, as the 2013 Major League Soccer season finally begins.
The Union have the honor of playing the first game of the league's calendar. Sporting Kansas City comes in to town as one of the favorites to win the Eastern Conference, and with good reason. For as much as the team lost in Kei Kamara and Roger Espinoza, Peter Vermes signed some serious firepower in Benny Feilhaber and Claudio Bieler.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
During his press conference Wednesday, Philadelphia Union manager John Hackworth acknowledged that he hasn't finalized his starting lineup yet for the team's season-opening game this weekend.
Hackworth certainly has a lot of options at his disposal. Many of his players can do well in multiple formations, and Hackworth acknowledged he intends to mix things up to keep opponents off guard.
So on Thursday, I asked you all to let me know what lineup you want to see from the Union on against Sporting Kansas City.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
John Hackworth held his final press conference of the preseason on Wednesday at PPL Park. Heading into his first full year in charge of the Union, Hackworth fielded a wide range of questions and gave some lengthy answers regarding his goals and expectations for the coming season.
Here's a transcript of his remarks.
What's the difference between the team that's starting this year and the team that finished last year?
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Our partners at Cinesport sent along this video that SI.com produced from the recent MLS Media Day in New York. It features Philadelphia Union midfielder Michael Farfan, D.C. United midfielder Chris Pontius and San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski riffing on a range of soccer and non-soccer topics. Enjoy.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Now it's official. After lots of rumor and speculation - and some leaked photos on the internet Tuesday afternoon - the Philadelphia Union finally unveiled their new third jersey during their Meet the Team event at Xfinity Live.
The black, white and red color scheme is a tribute to Bethlehem Steel, the famed club from the 1910's and 1920's that won five U.S. Open Cups.
Led by Archie Stark, Bethlehem Steel rose to local and national prominence in an era when soccer was a huge deal in America.
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
