Gino Portella healthy again and ready to bolster Philadelphia Union II back line

Defender Gino Portella has been a bit of a curiosity over the last two years as an un-rostered player who has appeared at times in training with the first and second teams for the Philadelphia Union only to disappear again without seeing minutes in a game.

Now, after a couple seasons of injury setbacks that kept him off the field, the 22-year-old center back is hoping to finally get an extended run-out with Philadelphia Union II.

Portella arrived from the lower levels of German football in January 2021 but was on again and off again in training while dealing with injuries and wasn’t rostered until the MLS Next Pro playoffs last year. He made his debut in the 89th minute against Toronto FC II in a 1-0 loss that ended the team’s season.

“He’s been unlucky,” Union II head coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “It happens, sometimes you get through ruts like that as a player, but it’s nice to see him come through the other end of it. He’s gotten to contribute quite a bit here this preseason and we’ve been pushing him to try and get him in positions to be able to contribute.”

Those contributions included getting a chance to play for the first team down in Florida for preseason and scoring a goal off a corner kick in a 2-2 draw with St. Louis City SC in January.

“It was a hard time when I was injured every time you know, but that’s life,” he said. “Now I’m back and fit and it was good to have some experiences with the first team in preseason. I’m looking forward to being with the second team and with the first team and doing anything to help the team win.”

Despite not seeing the field his first two years here, the 6-foot-4 center back who speaks English, Italian and German didn’t lose site of why he came to the U.S.

“I trained hard every day with the coaches here too, with my rehab coaches,” said Portella, who was born in Germany to an Italian father and a Bosnian mother. “And I knew one day I would be back and I prepared myself. Now with the new season I’m back and I give 100 percent every day, everything to help the team.”

Portella will be one of several center backs in the pool battling for minutes with first team homegrown Brandan Craig in the mix when he’s not away with the United States U20s, second-year defender Nathan Nkanji and academy prospect Daniel Krueger, who represented the Union in last year’s MLS Next All-Star Game.

“He’s a young guy who wants to learn, who wants to do well,” LeBlanc said. “And we’re certainly looking forward to him getting an opportunity to do that.”

Philadelphia Union II’s second season in MLS Next Pro kicks off Sunday at 3 p.m. against Orlando City B at Subaru Park. The game will be streamed live on mlsnextpro.com.