****EDIT - 1/12/11 - 3:23pm***
A quick update:
Slovakian Striker Marek "Stealth Bomber" Mintál is reportedly checking out Philadelphia with his wife to see if he wants to sign with the Union.
He would reportedly make a little over $1M across three years as well as receive a house and car.
- A fourth year at the same salary rate is conditional upon him playing at least half the games in 2013.
My best guess for the default formation is that Mintál would likely play up top with Danny Mwanga and Sebastien Le Toux would move to starting at the right outside-midfield position.
****END EDIT***
By Chris Sherman
In preparation for tomorrow’s MLS SuperDraft, I thought I’d update you all on the happenings of the Union’s off-season activity as well the rumors for potential new players.
Losses:
Shea Salinas: Taken by Vancouver in 4th round of Expansion Draft
- Shea’s loss hurt all Union fans. Shea was a very promising midfielder who showed a lot of flash and had an absolute beauty of a goal midway through the season. Unfortunately, Salinas was injured for a long portion of the season, and Peter Nowak simply didn’t have enough protection slots to keep him. Personally, I would’ve protected Shea instead of rookie MF Kyle Nakazawa, but Peter obviously sees Kyle as a potential future starter and Salinas had too much uncertainty around him.
Alejandro Moreno: Taken by Vancouver in 7th round of Expansion Draft – then traded to Chivas USA w/ Alan Gordon for allocation money and an international player slot
- Alejandro was a mainstay starter in the Philadelphia offense and led the team in assists. He provided an veteran presence up top and his abilities as a holding midfield are not terribly easy to replace. Still, Alejandro was getting up there in age, lagging a little in speed, and was stuck in a numbers game. For a sport in which no more than 2 forwards are started, we already have a player who led the league in combined goals-assists and two first-round draft picks competing for playing time. Moreno will be missed but not as much as other players would have been.
Chris Seitz: Taken by Seattle in the 1st round of the 2nd stage of the Re-Entry Draft – then traded to Dallas for a 2012 4th-round pick in the MLS Draft (actually the 1st round pick in the supplementary draft now that the SuperDraft is only three rounds).
- The Seitz saga has been told enough by others as well as myself so I’ll give you the abridged story. Seitz was the starting goalkeeper for Philadelphia for much of the season but lost the job towards the end to backup Brad Knighton due to continual failure. Combining his lack of success with the rumored future acquisition of Faryd Mondragon (see below) makes Seitz easy to part with. The reason Seitz was even available for the Re-Entry draft was because the Union was trying to re-negotiate his salary down.
Fred: Taken by New England in the 2nd round of the 2nd stage of the Re-Entry Draft
- It turns out that Fred probably isn’t going to re-sign in MLS again anyway so his selection causes us no pain. He has been widely reported to be seeking outside opportunities, no doubt in part because any team in MLS will only sign him at a reduced salary from last year (he was the highest paid player on the Union). Still, losing him and Shea Salinas takes away two members of an already shallow outside midfield player pool. Fred’s style of fluid, attacking ground play worked hand-in-hand with the team’s style. If only his goal production had been more efficient perhaps him and Philadelphia could have made something work.
Additions:
Brian Caroll: traded from Columbus for 2nd round pick (formally acquired from Kansas City in trade of Shavar Thomas) and allocation money
- Brian is a 29-yr-old defensive center midfielder and appears to be a good, strong pickup. Brian’s career actually picked up only after Peter Nowak took over the Manager position at D.C. United and it is obvious that Peter still thinks highly of him. He has played for the USMNT in 8 games and well as for U.S. youth national teams. Perhaps most importantly, is that in his 8-season playing career, Brian’s team has never missed the playoffs. Here’s to 8 more.
Zach Pfeffer: signed as Homegrown player from Philadelphia’s Academy
- Some of you are already aware of Zach’s signing because he comes from the same hometown (Upper Dublin, PA) as the founders of this blog, the entire crew of Philly Sports Port Live!, and yours truly. This 16-yr-old midfielder (15 at the time of the signing) is Philadelphia’s first Homegrown player signing, a program designed to promote elite U.S. and Canadian youth soccer development by allowing the MLS clubs who develop their local youth players to have first dibs on them (keeping them from being exposed to the draft). Don’t expect a miracle out of this kid just yet. It is highly unlikely that he’ll play in any MLS matches for 2011. He’ll likely just be training with the club, getting exposure in the reanimated MLS Reserve League, and probably getting a little exposure in friendlies (as he did last year getting a handful of minutes against CD Guadalajara).
Where does that leave us on the depth chart?
1. Outside Midfield - While we are blooming with capable defensive central midfielders in Brian Caroll, Andrew Jacobson, Stefani Miglioranzi, Amobi Okugo, Kyle Nakazawa, and Eduardo Coudet, we are desperately lacking in attacking outside midfielders. Justin Mapp is a likely starter for the left outside midfield position, but right outside is a big mystery.
- If Philadelphia obtains an extension or purchase on Roger Torres’ loan, Roger will probably be given an opportunity to win the starting position. Even if he comes back, the 19 year old is not a guaranteed fixture at the position, nor am I brimming with confidence that he can play the whole 90 minutes (he was usually used as an attacking sub last season).
- Sebastien Le Toux could be moved to the position as he played here several times in 2010, but this move would be putting a lot of pressure on Danny Mwanga to carry the team in only his second year. And unless the Union pick up a veteran forward in the offseason, this positional move will likely require that Jack McInerney make big strides this offseason to become a starter up top.
- One possibility that I really like, especially if the Union acquires a new central defender, would be to move Michael Orozco-Fiscal (assuming his loan is extended) to right outside fullback and pushing Sheanon Williams into the attacking midfield position. Orozco-Fiscal looks more natural in the outside back position than in the center and Williams’ appeal to the fans has always had more to do with his lethal attacking style and long-distance throws rather than his defensive abilities (which I maintain are untested).
- I could see one of those central midfielders like Nakazawa, Jacobson, or maybe even Okugo moving to the outside, but changing a player’s position and attacking/defending style is never as easy as it looks.
- New acquisition?
2. Central Defender – I still really want an upgrade at central defender. Despite their struggles last season, I seriously believe we already have the pieces for an excellent defensive line, we just need some better glue to hold them together. Orozco-Fiscal, in my opinion, lacks the dominance in the center needed to compliment Danny Califf. Add in my preferred Orozco & Williams strategy found above and the need for a new center back through the draft (see below) or through other means becomes even more important.
3. Goalkeeper – We lost one of our two goalkeepers. We need to replace him. We either need a full-blown starter or someone who will push Brad Knighton during the offseason. This point may be moot anyway if the rumor mill is correct (see below).
4. Forward – This isn’t one of our greater needs but we need another forward to replace Moreno. I don’t feel comfortable with McInerney automatically 3rd on the depth chart and the sparsely used Nick Zimmerman 4th. Someone to compete with McInerney for that 3rd spot is fine by me.
Rumor Mill
Faryd Mondragon (GK): From FC Köln; 39 years old; Columbian
- Faryd’s potential coming to the Philadelphia is one of the more heavily rumored Philadelphia transactions. Philadelphia could really use his veteran savvy to beef up our sometimes leaky defense. His contract with German Club FC Köln expired at the end up 2010. He has played in 94 matches with FC Köln over the last 3 seasons. Before that he played in 185 matches over 6 seasons with Turkish Club Galatasaray. He has also had 50 appearances for the Columbian National Team.
Carlos Valdez (DF): From Club Santa Fé; 25 years old; Columbian
- Defenders always peak my interest as we need a strong new central defender. He would be coming from Columbian Club Santa Fé (or former name Independiente Santa Fé) where he has played in 54 games over the last 2 seasons. Previously he played for Columbian Club America de Cali (the club currently loaning us Michael Orozco-Fiscal) 97 times over 4 seasons and he has played in 4 games for the Columbian National Team.
Marek Mintál (MF/FW): From FC Nuremberg; 33 years old; Slovakian
- Nicknamed “The Stealth Bomber” Marek’s addition could put him and Mwanga as a devastating pair up top with Le Toux as a scary-good attacking midfielder (or vice-versa with Mintál/Le Toux). Mintál has scored 66 goals in 163 appearances with FC Nuremberg over the past 7 seasons as well as 14 goals over 45 appearances with the Slovakian National Team. He has had multiple injury problems with his foot.
Freddy Adu (MF): From Áris Thessaloníkis (on loan); 21 years old; American / Ghana
- Well known as a disappointing American export having had gargantuan expectations after being transferred from MLS to Portuguese Club Benfica for $2M at the age of 18. Still, one MLS writer believes he would greatly benefit from returning to MLS and in particular with Philadelphia because of Nowak’s fluid, attacking style and Adu’s relationship with Nowak when together at D.C. United.
Draft Rumors
The MLS SuperDraft begins tomorrow at noon. The Philadelphia Union holds the 5th, 23rd, and 41st picks of the draft (5th in each of the three rounds). With the 5th overall pick, many projections have the Union selecting one of two local boys. One is forward Corey Hertzog of Reading, PA who played for Penn State and the other is defender Zarek Valentin of Lancaster, PA who played for the National Championship Winning Akron.
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