Union could face another controversy in net
When the time came for the Philadelphia Union to make their first-round MLS SuperDraft pick yesterday, there were a lot of quality players to choose from.
Union could face another controversy in net
Jonathan Tannenwald
Zac MacMath, the Union's first-round SuperDraft pick, on stage after the selection was announced. (Jonathan Tannenwald/Philly.com)
BALTIMORE - When the time came for the Philadelphia Union to make their first-round MLS SuperDraft pick yesterday, there were a lot of quality players to choose from.
Peter Nowak and Nick Sakiewicz could have taken Akron defender Kofi Sarkodie, one of the best defenders in the draft; or one of two top-notch forwards, Indiana's Will Bruin and Penn State's Corey Hertzog.
But when MLS commissioner Don Garber announced the Union's selection, the first thing out of his mouth was that the player came from the University of Maryland. That caused a minor stir.
Then Garber announced that the player was goalkeeper Zac MacMath, and the stir became genuine surprise.
No one questioned that MacMach was the best goalkeeper in the draft. A lot of people even said that the 19-year-old is on a career track that will lead him to the U.S. national team at some point.
But with Faryd Mondragon and Brad Knighton already on the depth chart, did the Union really need their third-string goalkeeper to be a player as good as MacMath? I'm not so sure.
Having said that, MacMath's age clearly played in his favor. Peter Nowak and his coaching staff have plenty of time to develop MacMath into a top goalkeeper. As long as MacMath is willing to be patient and earn his playing time, then everything could turn out well.
Above all, drafting MacMath was a tacit admission by the Union that players are coming from abroad. I heard from a good source yesterday that the signing of Colombian defender Carlos Valdez is done. I also got a tweet from a reader in Germany who said that Slovakian striker Marek Mintal is officially en route.
If those signings weren't happening, then the Union would have had a much greater need to take a quality striker and center back in the draft.
In my opinion, the best pick the Union made yesterday was getting University of North Carolina midfielder Michael Farfan in the second round. Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz told me he was stunned that Farfan was still available at No. 23, and he wasn't alone.
Farfan is a creative midfielder who can play in multiple positions. He holds dual American and Mexican citizenship, and his brother players for Mexican powerhouse Club América.
(Coincidenally, América also has Bimbo as its jersey sponsor.)
As I mentioned yesterday, Farfan played on the 2005 United States Under-17 World Championship squad with Kyle Nakazawa, Jozy Altidore and Omar Gonzalez. That team was coached by current Union assistant John Hackworth, so Farfan comes to Philadelphia as a known quantity. I think we will see him on the field at some point this year as a reserve player.
The Union's third-round pick, UMBC winger Levi Houapeu, is also a nice pickup. I don't know how much he'll play, but he was such a prolific scorer in college that he was worth a shot.
I did a lot of interviews yesterday that you can watch and listen to this morning. There are four videos you can watch:
- Zac MacMath, the Union's first-round draft pick
- Sasho Cirovski, MacMath's college coach at the University of Maryland
- Michael Farfan, the Union's second-round draft pick
- Peter Nowak, who spoke with me exclusively after the Union made all their picks
There are also two blog posts with audio interviews. The first post is from the MLS SuperDraft, and incudes:
- Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer
- Hans Backe, Red Bull New York manager
- Ben Olsen, D.C. United manager
- John Spencer, Portland Timbers manager
- Bob Lenarduzzi, Vancouver Whitecaps president
- Rudy Fuller, Penn men's soccer head coach, whose team faced MacMath's Maryland squad in the 2010 College Cup
The second post has interviews relating to other events at the NSCAA convention. You'll hear from:
- Earnie Stewart, former U.S. national team star
- Claudio Reyna, former U.S. national team star who is now the U.S. Soccer Federation's youth soccer technical director
- April Heinrichs, former U.S. women's national team coach who is now U.S. Soccer's women's youth soccer technical director
- Jill Ellis, U.S. Soccer women's youth soccer development director
Finally, I'll be live-blogging the Women's Professional Soccer Draft this afternoon at 1 p.m. Click here to read my advance on the event, and to follow along once it kicks off. If there's time, we can also talk about the Union's picks yesterday.
The Goalkeeper: Sound tracks: 2011 NSCAA Convention interviews The Goalkeeper: Sound tracks: 2011 MLS SuperDraft
As always Jonathan, great coverage. Looks like the Union as planning for the future but also for the now with the up coming signings. March 19th and 26th can't come soon enough. Now if we can get those pesky Inquirer sports writers to stop being so ignorant, but I guess publicity is publicity.— rmg20- Great job, JT— fcphillyboy9
- Wow, Jon. You are dominating the NSCAA convention. Great coverage!
Love how the Union really have been addressing their weaknesses and planning for the future.— philsoc8 - Great work on all the coverage, we appreciate it! I think MacMath is a fine pick here because we didn't really have a long-term starting keeper on the team, and he fits that bill. I think Knighton is quality, but I don't see him as an everyday starter that you can built a team around. As for Mondragon, his age says it all at 39. He's being brought in to teach the new kid a few things and to start for a year or 2 until MacMath is ready to step in full time. If MacMath progresses the way most people think he will, than he'll be a kevin hartman type keeper that will start here as long as we can financially afford to keep him here.— JamieJ
- Jon, Sarkodie is a right full back.... anyway I'm hoping the addition of Valdez will allow orozco (assuming his loan situation is in order)to move over to the left side a head of harvey. I wasn't as down on harvey as some poeple, but Orozco is definately better at getting forward. Also, the 3 draft picks will get plenty of time to play when you take into account that the reserve league will be operating again (although on a limited 10 game schedule). Nowak always says that he wants competition at every position and it seems he should have it going into this camp. Keep up the good work Jon!— dangeroo
- farfan was a steal!! his dribbling ability is superb for his age...i see him starting next year— dirksydirk
With Mondragon, Mintal and Valdez joining the Zolos, this draft is a great haul for us. Zac Mac is going to need to play in the reserve division, or maybe be loaned to Harrisburg for this season, but he will be an important piece of the puzzle when Mondragon is done after 2012 or 13. Mintal has the ability to fill the Schelloto role in Columbus. Mintal and Le Toux will play a forward/AM hybrid, leaving Danny Mwanga up top as the target point. A back line of Califf, Gonzales, Williams, and Valdez will be a strong improvement over last seasons inconsistent mess.
We are going to be beasts this year with this draft and out international signings!- We now have Jack Mc and Zac Mac on the same team. How great is that!?— avoidthedrop
- Thanks for the correction, dangeroo. I thought I'd heard about him playing centrally at some point but it was a while ago.
- @ dangeroo: Someone who posts at Big Soccer said he had a chance to speak to Nowak after the draft, and was told that MOF is coming back. I like Harvey's work ethic, but I agree that MOF could be an upgrade at LB. I like how the roster is shaping up, and I really hope that they're able to work something out with Mintal, whom I understand is in town this weekend to talk turkey. March 26th can't come soon enough!— HazmatCorntail
Don't we get enough overblown goalie "controversy" with the Flyers? The team needs 3 goalies, and Mondragon will be 40 when the season stats. Plus, it's good to have a veteran around to mentor the young prospect.— Pelti
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
