Before departing for Ohio, Philadelphia Union Head Coach Jim Curtin spoke about the Eastern Conference Semifinal clash against FC Cincinnati which will feature many familiar faces in a postseason battle for the second-consecutive season.
Overcoming Long Layoffs
Long breaks in a season is a twin-edge sword and the Union have seen both aspects of that during their 18-day preparation for FC Cincinnati.
On one side the Union have used the gap to get healthy with forward Julian Carranza fully recovered from injury that forced him to the final the final match of Round One. The time off has also seen 2022 MLS Defender of the Year Jakob Glesnes work himself into available for selection too after undergoing successful sports hernia surgery after the Union’s first playoff match against New England. While two players have returned, the Union will be without midfielder Leon Flach as Curtin announce he too would need surgery.
"Leon Flach had a situation similar to Jakob where his last game on the turf just didn’t feel right in New England,” Curtin said on Friday afternoon. “He gave us a good 20 to 30 minutes there at the end of the game but he’ll be getting surgery. He could make MLS Cup if it goes perfectly but the surgery he’s getting isn’t the same as Jakob’s. It is hopefully a quicker heal but we’ll see. He’s the only one that is out and everyone else is available for selection."
The other side of the story has been waiting and avoiding overpreparing for a matchup. The long break came from the FIFA International Window that threw some wretches in both team’s planning with the Union getting just one full practice session with all players before leading for Ohio.
“We’ve had a good couple of weeks to prepare for this one but we’ve been missing six players the whole time but we had them back at least today for preparation,” Curtin said. “We’ve worked hard throughout the week and I think Mikael Uhre has had his best couple of weeks training so far this year which is a real bright spot and hopefully that can carry over to the game.”
The Fine Line
With familiarities between Philadelphia and Cincinnati going beyond just the playing field, the two teams have developed a bit of a budding rivalry being decided by the slimmest of margins. That was case one year ago in this same round where the Union came out on top with a second-half volley finish from Leon Flach. Like last year, Curtin expects the match to follow the similar pattern of their previous contests ever since former assistant Pat Noonan took over the reigns in the Queen City.
“Both teams are very physical and we know each other well,” Curtin said. “Obviously there are familiar faces on both sidelines and I think it’s a healthy competitiveness on both sides. We want to win and sometimes that can teeter right onto the edge. The key is not taking that too far or picking up silly yellow cards. We still want hard challenges in midfield, big plays in each penalty box but you have to be right on edge of not hurting your team by giving away silly fouls or cards. The intensity is going to be there because the playoffs are what the players play for and live for. Finding that right balance of intensity and keeping a level head is where you turn chaos into controlled chaos where we are still playing within ourselves. Both teams take pride in their defending as a team and both teams score a ton of goals but for us both it is defense first and I think that is where the intensity comes from.”
