It’s already time to make Dániel Gazdag’s case for the Philadelphia Union Ring of Honor

With his goal against Seattle on Tuesday, Dániel Gazdag now stands alone as the Philadelphia Union’s all-time leading scorer. His 57 goals in 127 matches surpasses the record that Sébastian Le Toux held for nearly a decade.

With Gazdag taking sole control of arguably the club’s most important record, I thought it would be a good time to see where he ranks as an
all-time Union legend.

Gazdag completed his stateside move in May of 2021 and, in just three years, has found himself as the club’s all-time top scorer. Additionally, he is almost sure to reach the top five in all-time assists and top 10 in all-time appearances by the end of this season. Dániel may not be the complete face of the club in the same sense that Le Toux was a decade ago, but I chalk that up to the far better squad around him. Gazdag is the key piece to one of the most productive trios in MLS history, and his role in the success of the last few years can not be understated.

In just his first three years in Philadelphia, Gazdag has been by far the most productive attacking player in club history; add to that his critical role in leading the club to its first MLS Cup appearance, and his resume begins to impress.

When looking at the Union’s Ring of Honor, it is impossible to understand the metrics for qualification, with Sebástian Le Toux the only existing member. However, Andre Blake and Alejandro Bedoya are sure to join Le Toux in the coming years. All three of those players will be admitted on the basis of longevity and impact rather than production.

Looking at Gazdag, I am willing to make the case for him to join that group. That may sound crazy, with Dániel having been with the club for less than a third of Blake and Bedoya’s tenure; however, his impact in these three years is unprecedented. Gazdag has been a fundamental piece in the club’s most successful run and has produced these stats against far better opposition than the Union faced in their earlier years.

Gazdag just turned 28, meaning he is right in the middle of his prime. If he can keep up this kind of output in the coming years, he will go down as one of the most efficient and productive players in league history, let alone club. However, I firmly believe that Dániel does not need to do anything more to reinforce his spot in Union history. The Hungarian International has been the key to the Union’s record-setting attack in the last three seasons, and with sole possession of the scoring record, his place among Union legends is already cemented.