The Philadelphia Union will play FC Cincinnati in their fourth preseason friendly on Friday morning at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex. This will be the two teams’ first meeting since Philadelphia was eliminated from the playoffs in the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs due to a single VAR-decided goal.
The team led by head coach Pat Noonan didn’t go very far, losing to intrastate rival Columbus Crew in the next round, but in the interim, they’ve made a number of significant roster changes in anticipation of 2024.
Brandon Vazquez, 25, made Cincinnati club history during his four seasons as the team’s all-time leading goal scorer before being traded for a sizable sum to Liga MX team CF Monterrey.
Even with his leaving, their roster remains strong because, after 2023 ended, they have added a number of highly regarded players, such as defender Miles Robinson from Atlanta United, striker Corey Baird from Houston Dynamo, and midfielder Pavel Bucha from FC Viktoria Plzeň in the Czech Republic.
Bucha is the newest member of the group; Noonan’s squad has already welcomed him to training in Clearwater since his signing was revealed on Wednesday.
The game on Friday will be a challenge for Head Coach Jim Curtin’s team, but it will also be the first time in preseason that every member of his healthy roster is available to participate. But this won’t be your usual match. In addition to the customary 90 minutes of play, the two teams will compete for 120 minutes.
“Impressive effort has been made by the players. Head Coach Jim Curtin stated, “There’s obviously some tired legs, some fatigue, some soreness, and the normal things that happened during a preseason.”
“But all in all, I believe the technical staff has performed incredibly well. The support staff has gone above and beyond to ensure that the trip is going well so far, and the sports performance department has done a fantastic job. Naturally, we now have two tests in which we will play 120 minutes each against a formidable Cincinnati squad. On Wednesday, we will then go on and try again against a different Champions Cup team in New England.”
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