In his fourth appearance for the Union since November 2023, defensive midfielder Leon Flach was indisputably one of the most impactful players on the pitch in his team’s 0-0 draw against Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old German made five interceptions, four recoveries, two clearances, and won three of four duels on the ground, helping ensure the team held a clean sheet to claim a point on the road. With the result, the Philadelphia Union extended their unbeaten road streak to eight, remaining the only team that hasn’t picked up a loss away from home yet this season.
“I feel good, this is what I’ve waited for for so long,” Flach said in the locker room after the match. “I’m just happy to compete and to be out there again fighting for points with my teammates.”
Flach’s first match back from a pair of injuries came against D.C. United on May 4th, and he’s had a seamless reintegration into the squad in his 329 total minutes since. He played all ninety minutes in the team’s last two matches, which both finished in a shutout.
Stats aside, Flach's pleased with his start, leaving the pitch visibly happy to be back with his teammates after time away.
“I’m just focused on showing what I'm capable of and I think it’s worked out pretty good so far. First game, I think I showed them I'm close to being 100%, then I think the last three games went pretty well too,” Flach said.
“Honestly, if you enjoy something probably even more than you did before, it may give you a higher percentage at the end. I had my family over the last couple of days too, so that maybe also gave me some extra power. I’m just happy I don't have to watch it from home.”
Road to recovery
Flach suffered a pectoral muscle injury in January during the team’s preseason training in Clearwater Florida, and it was only his second serious injury in his professional career. His first came at the end of the 2023 season when he was sidelined with lingering sports hernia pain that required surgery.
“Honestly, I was so motivated when I came into preseason, because I knew last year I was not true to myself because of the injury and because of other things that happened. I was happy on my first day back coming back from an injury, but on the second day, I fell on my arm and I think that's not a really common soccer injury,” Flach said.
“I think it’s maybe been the biggest challenge of my life because I have never been injured and then those two injuries came within like four months, actually.”
He’d been harboring a desire to come back in top form since his first injury, so when the second came along, he refocused that energy toward recovery, resulting in a speedy and fruitful return.
“I think the rehab was overall positive — I learned some things about me, about other people, and the team helped me a lot. Just working by yourself can be lonely, even when you try your best, but now I’m just enjoying being fully back with the team.”
Physical rehabilitation was at the forefront of Flach priorities in his months away from the typical day-to-day of a healthy Philadelphia Union player. But the importance of mental fitness wasn’t lost on him either, and he intentionally wove his self-care into his recovery routine.
“When I was at home, I spent time with my friends. When I was here, I spent time in the gym, maybe even stayed a little bit longer just do extra stuff, which long term helped me. I think that also, conditioning-wise, I did so much stuff, I feel really fit, I can run as much as I probably can in general. I tried to maximize all the things there, but also off the pitch. I tried enjoy everything a little bit more, and do more outside of soccer, which also helps you from overthinking,” Flach said.
What's next for Flach
Now feeling what he describes as ‘close to being 100%’, he has some goals in mind for the remainder of fourth year in Major League Soccer.
Since he’s been back with the group in Chester, he’s made certain to spend time with his team off the pitch — citing playing golf with the homegrowns and hanging out with his fellow German teammates Oliver Semmle and Kai Wagner as some of his favorite activities. On the pitch, however, he’s aligned with his teammates in their mindset that their recent home troubles aren’t permanent, and the best is yet to come.
“I think we’ve had a bad run, it’s true. But that happens. Now, we have two straight clean sheets and two performances we can build on — even the New York City performance was not bad. Now we can go home and prove that we can win at home too, because that's where you play in front of your fans. You want to make your fans happy because the relationship between the fans and the team is so important.” Flach said.
“I think we are heading in a good direction now because we’ve become really hard to play against again, we haven’t conceded any goals in the last two games, and I think that's the foundation. Then, the rest comes by itself. We have to get back to what we were like in our 2022 MLS Cup run. Play really hard defense, then score by transition because we have great offensive players but we also have a great backline who were just a little bit unlucky,” Flach said.
After a four point swing on the road between their last two matches against New England Revolution and Charlotte FC, Philadelphia Union will return home for a pair of matches at Subaru Park before the international break, when Flach will have to step up big again while a number of his teammates are away representing their respective national teams.
