Union have become a destination club

It didn’t take long for the phone calls to start, Jim Curtin said.

Soon after rumors made the rounds that Pat Noonan would finally get his shot at a head coaching job, and that the Union would thus need a new assistant coach, Curtin and Ernst Tanner started fielding calls.

“A lot of coaches want to be part of our environment,”

Curtin said. “They want to learn our principles, our style.

They want to be in our culture.”

Curtin’s bulging voicemail box is further evidence of a fact that seemed unlikely when he took the job in 2014: The Philadelphia Union are a prime destination in MLS.

It doesn’t take long to accrue a reputation in soccer. It can take a long time to dispel that perception. In 12 seasons, the Union have done both. It’s a testament to the hard work of Curtin and Tanner (with Chris Albright’s sizeable assistance to Tanner and predecessor Earnie Stewart) that the Union have gone from a butt of MLS jokes into something of a model franchise.

Curtin will cite the point totals – a league-high 156 since the start of the 2019 seasons – plus a trophy (the

2020 Supporters’ Shield) and semifinal appearances in the MLS Is Back tournament and this year’s MLS Cup playoffs. But just as vital is how they’ve done it, which brings the Union to a rare sweet spot of success on the process and the results side.

Are the Union of the high-spending ilk of Los Angeles FC or Atlanta United? No, but then the former has had people jumping ship in bulk lately, and the latter has endured 18 months of sustained mediocrity through two disastrous coaching hires. They may have the on-field flash, but that’s a reflection of the money spent, which flatters the club infrastructure that is less exemplary than it first appeared.

On the flip side, the Union could be a club that exclusively emphasizes player development with no tangible on-field benefits. Every time the U.S. plays, announcers of found of point