Philadelphia Union is headed south for a matchup against Atlanta United FC on Sunday, July 2nd. Head Coach Jim Curtin met with the media on Friday ahead of the contest, briefly previewing what's to come for the Boys in Blue. Fans can catch the Union's road match starting at 4PM ET on FOX, Fox Deportes and free on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV!
Southern Hospitality
"These are the games that you get up for as players," Curtin said, looking ahead to the contest in Georgia.Â
The Union were propelled by an amped crowed in their recent 4-1 win against Inter Miami FC at Subaru Park, the team's beloved fortress. On Sunday, the team will face a stark change in environment, entering intense enemy territory that is Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The arena's closed dome paired their infamous Supporters Section named The Gulch, will likely create charged conditions, adding a layer of intensity to an already competitive matchup.Â
"They have great fans there, there's no question. It's always an intimidating and tough atmosphere to play in," Curtin said.
"We'll have to be really organized defensively, nice and compact. If it turns into a end to end stretch game, that really favors Atlanta and what they're good at. Always a tough place to go. Again, a great fan base, and we'll have to be on top of our game to try to get a result."
Targeting Thiago
22-year-old midfielder Thiago Almada is in the midst of another impressive season for Atlanta United. He's on track to surpassing last year's totals which earned him MLS 2022 Newcomer of the Year honors -- so far, he's notched seven goals through 63 shots plus nine assists in 17 games played.
Almada has the skill to pose a lethal attacking threat to the Union, and on Friday, Curtin shared that the Union's defensive resources in large part will focus on containing him.
"Almada is a player that is not a player you can shut down for 90 minutes. So what you can try to do is limit where he touches the ball on the field. The more he drops deeper, the better it is for your chances. But yeah, it's certainly not a one person job," Curtin said.
He continued to name midfielder José Martinez as an integral piece of the Union's defensive game plan, implying that he will line up against the Argentine standout on Sunday, though it'll be a team effort to shut him down.
"But we'll have to have multiple players knowing where he is at all times, because he can hurt you a lot of different ways. He can hurt you on the dribble, he can hurt you with a pass, and obviously as we've seen this year he can hurt you in the run of play with shooting and also on free kicks," Curtin said.
During this week's team preparations, Curtin emphasized to his players the importance of not fouling in or around the box to prevent Almada from earning any additional scoring opportunities.
"That's a big part of his game and their game. He's lethal on the restart. So we have to be really smart, he's a special player having a special season," Curtin said.
Fans can catch the Union's road match on Sunday starting at 4PM ET on FOX, Fox Deportes and free on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV!
