Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia Union continue dominance over Red Bulls
When Union coach Jim Curtin took a seat for the post-game press conference Tuesday night following his team’s 4-3 shootout victory over the New York Red Bulls in the Leagues Cup Round of 16, the sound of his voice wasn’t the typical calm, reserved tone.
“I think Troy [Lesesne] is a great young coach, and he’s doing an incredible job with his team,” Curtin said post-game, appearing flustered as he spoke. “This has nothing to do with Troy.”
The leader of one the league’s best teams over the past three-plus seasons then threw some gasoline on an already burning rivalry.
“For a team and a group to be in 21st place to talk and run their mouths as much as they do on the field, to be beat here 11 times in a row by us is something.”
The Union coach, typically reflective and soft spoken, has revealed many emotions over recent years, ranging from the immediate shock of last season’s MLS Cup Final loss to the frustration during the 2021 Covid-protocol-influenced Eastern Conference Final. Most fans will remember the joy of him running the sideline to celebrate Jakob Glesnes’ extra time wonder strike that beat the Red Bulls in the 2021 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. We don’t often see Curtin’s competitive edge, not since the heated defense to Gabriel Heinze’s inflammatory post-game confrontation in the 2021 CCL. It takes a lot to push him out of his comfort zone, and this time it seems the Red Bulls have done it.
“Yeah, I’ve given bulletin board material,” he said, “but I’ve kind of had enough of it. So credit to my guys for sticking together, pushing, winning again.”
A players’ coach, Curtin is quick to offer a pat on the back rather than a kick to the rear, preferring to conduct his teaching behind closed doors and not through the public. It’s easy to see how he treats his players and how they play for him. He’s also a coach’s coach, building
relationships with colleagues and representing the position he’s grateful to be in, now the second-longest tenured coach in a league where longevity is not on his side. His likability is portrayed in the way he interacts with young coaches, sharing ideas on tactics and management, or the way he makes time for fans, at a game, a training session, or a weekend youth tournament.
But don’t sleep on his competitive drive. Curtin wants to win.
“For all this stuff they [Union players] have to deal with on the field off the ball nonsense, people coming off the bench, talking, bench players that come into the game and talk and run their mouths. It’s just strange.”
Firestarter is a not a role Curtin fills often, if at all, and his level of discomfort showed when calling out an opponent. But enter a Red Bull team beaten over the years by his Union team, essentially while playing a better version of the Red Bull philosophy.
For accuracy purposes, the Red Bulls last beat the Union on September 29, 2019, at Red Bull Arena. Andre Blake, Jack Elliott, and Kai Wagner were the only Union players who were on the field for that game and the battle on Tuesday night. Chris Armas was the Red Bulls manager, a longtime friend of Curtin’s going back to their Chicago Fire days. That was the first matchup between the two sides after the famed “Ilsinho game.”
Since then, the Union have gone 8-0-3 in all competitions.
The Union have won the last two games at Red Bull Arena, including a 1-0 win this May and a 2-0 win last September in which Dru Yearwood blasted a ball into his own fans, earning a second yellow at the end of the game. Last May, Dylan Nealis was sent off, but the Red Bulls rallied for an equalizer to earn a 1-1 draw in Subaru Park.
The Union are 18-16-8 against the Red Bulls in all competitions. And though the Red Bulls did hold a significant advantage in the early days, the big swing can be traced back to the Union’s 4-3 come-from-behind victory in the 2019 MLS Playoffs. Since then, the highlight games have been a 3-0 win in September 2020 when Brenden Aaronson, Kacper Przybylko, and Matt Real scored, and the 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena in July 2021 after the Union went down a man and Sergio Santos scored a late equalizer. Top of the list would be Glesnes’ goal in the dying seconds of extra time in the playoffs.
The Red Bulls’ last win at Subaru Park goes back to October 21, 2018. Blake and Bedoya were the only current players on the field. The center back pairing featured Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty, both age 19, with a midfield of Borek Dockal, Haris Medunjanin, both retired, and Bedoya, and CJ Sapong at striker.
The Red Bulls came out Tuesday night intent on reversing their fortunes, and they frustrated the Union early on with their high press, scoring off a turnover in the 4 th minute to go up 1-0. They almost added a second ten minutes later off a similar miscue, but late in the first half the Union grew into the game. But following Nathan Harriel’s 68th minute equalizer, the Red Bulls resorted to their lower-level tactics. The tackles came late, the off-the ball jabbing became more frequent, and for the final twenty minutes, the likelihood of at least one team ending with ten players reached its highest point.
Referee Victor Alfonso Cáceras Hernández handed out five cards in the final fifteen-plus minutes, while keeping the whistle in his hand and the cards in his pocket for much of the game. Kai Wagner came in with a reckless challenge on Kyle Duncan after Julian Carranza was
hauled down and Jesus Bueno took an elbow to the face at the other end, both actions going unpunished. Minutes later, Frankie Amaya sandwiched Bueno, taking a card, while Jose Martinez went into the books for his response. Olivier Mbaizo earned a card, possibly the first
bench player in years, for arguing another no-call on Carranza in the corner. Bueno received a card in the game’s final seconds, pulling down Amaya outside the box.
The sticking point is not that the Union have held the upper hand over the past four and a half years but the manner in which they’ve done it. The teams have been common adversaries for years, sharing many of the same principles of play. As a result, the games have been close,
intense battles decided by one or two key plays. But the psychological damage the Union have inflicted by playing a more efficient Red Bulls style has caused the Jersey players to come undone, reducing them to the chippy off-the-ball antics Curtin referenced.
In a week and a half, when the Leagues Cup is finished and the league resumes, the Union will not have to wait long to see the Red Bulls again. The next round of the I-95 Derby will take place September 3 at Subaru Park, and with plenty at stake, calm heads will need to prevail. But past experiences and the most recent jabs could be a sign that the rivalry’s about to kick up a notch.
