Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin spoke with members of the media on Sunday afternoon with just over two days before the Union face off against Inter Miami CF as part of the MLS is Back Tournament. Check out a few of the key takeaways from the presser.
Mentality Key to Winning Games in Orlando
With the first set of matches nearly completed at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando and the tables starting the show real points now, Curtin said that one of the most important items isn’t just match fitness but team mentalities. Inside a bubble away from the rest of the world isn’t an easy thing as teams look to gain important points for the 2020 campaign.
“If you take every variable that has come in now from the three month layoff, people being away from their families, different start times and all these variables that come up plus guys testing positive and not being part of your group,” Curtin said Sunday. “The teams that have approached this with a positive mindset and a good mental approach is just as important as anything. There could be teams that lose a game or two and they’re mindset is going to be get out of here and that can’t be our focus and we can’t let that creep into our group. That’s one thing that we can control with how positive we stay in what are unique and uncertain times. It’s brought our group strong together and we need to utilized that as best we can.”
From soccer for breakfast to late-night kicks
When the schedule was announced with the Boys in Blue scheduled to kick off at 9 a.m., Curtin and his staff had vastly change their day-to-day preparations to get the team set for such an early match. From waking up at 5:30 a.m. for a team breakfast at 6 to just being ready for game speed, the challenges were there along with the hot, Florida sun. For match two, most is the same minus the sun but with such a late kick off the MLS after dark mantra presents just as many challenges for such an important game.
“It makes for a long day,” Curtin said. “Last game was the earliest I’ve kick off and this will be the latest I’ve kicked off. New challenges for sure but the mental toughness and not allowing excuses to creep in is something that we’ve been good about. If we can get a win against Miami obviously, we know it counts very strongly for the league but it almost solidifies us moving on to the next round. We control our own destiny with this game and we have to take advantage of that and try to get all three points.”
No fines for #SayTheirNames
When the team made the decision to replace their own names on the back of the kits with those killed from police brutality, Curtin said it immediately led to discussions for the team. Having not asked for permission to alter the kit could have left the team susceptible to a league fine but that doesn’t seem probable at all given talks.
“When it happened, we did receive contact from the league as we knew we would,” Curtin said. “There were several discussions from some people with our club, the organization and the league. When things were explained on both sides there was a good understanding and a good respect for what the actions took place. While we didn’t ask permission, it was a unique opportunity to choose action over asking permission and the league has been understanding of that. There have been discussions after it happened but the feedback we’ve gotten from the league has been positive.”
Philadelphia Union continues its participation in the MLS is Back Tournament on Tuesday, July 14. Kick off is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET on TUDN and will be streamed on Twitter. Following the match, fans can catch a special postgame show presented by Premier Orthopaedics on the Union’s social channel and on PhiladelphiaUnion.com.
