Philadelphia Union’s season statistics speak for themselves. A club best of 20 wins, a league-high of 14 clean sheets, a league-low of 35 goals against, and 29 different starting lineups are all part of a recipe that produced the top overall record in all of Major League Soccer.
But the team’s secret ingredient is one that cannot be measured in numbers.
Players, staff, and coaches agree that what has set the Union apart from the rest of the league is the camaraderie within the group. Creating team chemistry was a priority before the season even started, and when the team lifted the Supporters’ Shield at home for the second time in club history, it was clear that commitment paid off in dividends, both on the field and in the locker room.
“They're bought into each other, and that's when it becomes dangerous for other teams,” Head Coach Bradley Carnell said. “When we’re functioning and optimizing our levels as one, we've shown we can be hard to stop.”
At the start of 2025, Carnell and Sporting Director Ernst Tanner emphasized the importance of bringing in players that not only had the technical skillset to fit in the team’s system, but also possessed certain character to match what they hoped to build.
Over the past year, Tanner has signed a handful of new additions from leagues across the world, including club-record signing Bruno Damiani, who moved from Nacional, his hometown club in Montevideo, Uruguay, to the Philadelphia Union to pursue a new challenge in Major League Soccer.
His experience throughout his first year in Philadelphia is reflective of the culture the club has so diligently built.
“My adaptation, in general, in every aspect of my life, is really good. But [before coming here] the thing that was very important, was how it was going to be with the teammates and in the locker room,” Damiani reflected at the conclusion of the regular season.
“I was really lucky because we have a very good locker room.”
For the 23-year-old striker, connections formed quickly upon his arrival to the states back in February. It started with immediate conversations with fellow Spanish speakers like Ian Glavinovich, Jesus Bueno, and Alejandro Bedoya, but it wasn’t long before friendships blossomed with more than just those with South American roots.
“The guys who know Spanish were the first to approach me, but even the people who talk in English were really kind with me, and I knew from the first moment that it was going to be a good year,” Damiani said.
And a good year it was.
On the pitch, the team lifted the Supporters’ Shield for the second time in club history, despite fielding a significant contingent of starters for whom 2025 was their first Major League Soccer season between international additions and young talent climbing the team’s renowned developmental pathway.
Off the pitch, the group bonded week in and week out, growing closer through both coaching staff-led excursions to places like go-karting tracks and Philly’s new Formula 1 arcade, to ‘asados’ hosted by Damiani himself.
“I think most of all, an asado is a moment to share with the friends or the family. It's about sharing a moment and a lot of meat with your friends,” Damiani said.
“In Uruguay, some families do it every weekend, every Sunday, just by sharing the moment, cooking on the grill and just playing some cards. My family doesn't do it every weekend, but when we do, it was in my uncle's house, where we have a proper grill with the wood and the coal. Not like here, where it's just gas. In the other part of my family, the asador was my father or even my brother. I was never in charge of the cooking, but just because I'm Uruguayan, I need to take [that job] here. It's been a pleasure to cook for all the guys.”
Damiani first experienced an American barbecue when he and his teammates celebrated Quinn Sullivan’s 21st birthday at the Homegrown’s family home early in the season. While he enjoyed the food and the quality time, it spurred a longing for a familiar South American asado, which he hosted at his own place soon after.
“We did our first team barbecue like three months [into the season] or something like that, and it was really nice. I think some of the guys, like Nate [Harriel] and Indy [Vassilev] were really surprised about the quality of the meat and how good it was,” Damiani said.
“They said whenever you're gonna do another one, just count me in. So it was a good experience.”
From there, the team gathered for close to 10 asados throughout the season, spending time together without occasion, celebrating milestones, and even cheering on their teammates from afar when Jakob Glesnes, Kai Wagner, and Tai Baribo played in the 2025 MLS All-Star game. For Damiani, the relationships built over meals from his home country and other off-the-field activities have been paramount in the team’s overall success this year.
“I’m a very group guy. I think that is something very South American too, like, how important it is to share moments. I think the moments of having the people here now on our rooftop with the families and wives, is creating something more than just a group of teammates that are sharing a locker room. It’s different – a different aura, different feelings. Obviously the meat is good, but it's all about the moment of being together,” Damiani said.
Damiani isn’t alone in his sentiment. Players like first-year Serbian midfielder Jovan Lukic and tenured veterans like captain Alejandro Bedoya alike have expressed similar appreciation for the locker room culture and its impact on the pitch come first whistle.
While the regular season is officially over and the team has a trophy to show for their historic success, the 2025 MLS playoffs are on the horizon, and the group hopes the commitment to each other and their shared goals will propel them to even greater heights.
“Everyone is involved in that, everyone in the club, not even just the teammates, but the coaching staff, athletic trainers, all of [front office staff] too. All of the activities extra of our job create moments to share. I know some of the guys like to play golf, and I am happy every time I hear the guys doing something outside of the field, because it creates a different chemistry,’ Damiani said.
“It’s not only about winning, but also sharing the field. You get happy because they score, you get happier when they get a clean sheet. It's all about the team. It's amazing. I wish it gives us even more luck for the games we have, and let's see how it goes,” Damiani said.
The Boys in Blue embark on their 2025 playoff campaign on Sunday, starting their journey with the opening match of their best-of–three First Round series against Chicago Fire at Subaru Park. To join Philly’s fight for another trophy, click here to purchase tickets!
