Philadelphia Union Head Coach Jim Curtin conducted a conference call with members of the local media today after Thursday morning's announcement that Major League Soccer would be postponed due to the impact of COVID-19.
Below is what Curtin had to say Friday morning:
Opening Statement
“Some things are obviously much bigger than soccer and at this time the Philadelphia Union is in full support of Major League Soccer and Commissioner Garber’s decision to suspend the season. The health and safety of the community and our fans is what’s most important. We look forward to our first game in Subaru Park in front of our amazing fans but assure that will only be when the well-being of our fans, players and staff is assured. This is an evolving situation and there are new adjustments to it and in real time but all of our players are to stay away from the Power Training Complex and Subaru Park until Monday and that applies to the first team, Union II and the Academy in its entirety.”
Just confirming about players not being able to come to training...
“We had already put that initiative into place but it was also confirmed to us this morning by MLS that mandated that players are allowed to train on their own but they don’t want them gathering. There are evaluations being done and that should be handed out Monday so basically all of MLS and not just the Union have been informed to stay away from gathering and training in groups until Monday.”
On Union players after Concacaf postponed Olympic Qualifiers...
“[Mark McKenzie, Brenden Aaronson and Matt Freese] were on flights last evening and were scheduled to arrive back in Philadelphia this morning so they’ll be back here in the U.S. We made sure that they took proper precautions by purchasing masks and everything else where they flew but all three of them are expected back this morning. I saw that Concacaf suspended all competitions for the next 30 days and obviously the Olympics and all the financial impact that is has is a very big decision. I’m just the coach of the Union and I have no idea what it does for the Olympics but I just know that Concacaf cancelled all competitions in a similar boat to Major League Soccer.”
On if the Union players will be tested by Union medical staff...
“They will not be unless they show symptoms and that is where we are with things As a precaution they did the simple things like disinfecting their seat, they were informed to travel with the masks and to take all the necessary precautions that anyone should be taking right now if they fly. They are no different just because they are professional athletes than any human beings right now. The safety of everybody is the most important. Unless they show symptoms there won’t be testing or quarantines for the guys coming back from Mexico.”
On what Curtin does now during the league’s suspension...
“As the head coach of a team and professional soccer players I think we are all wired to find every single advantage that we can gain and how do we have a mini preseason and can we schedule friendlies and games to prepare us but I think that has to go completely out the window right now. I think the health has to come first so I think that competitiveness has to take a backseat to doing what’s right and doing safe things so that’s where I’m at with it. Obviously as more information comes out on Monday on what we can and can’t do, we’ll then start to get back into that mode again. For right now as all human beings we’re just stepping back now, stay safe and don’t proceed into public if you don’t have to be.”
