Photo: Paul Rudderow
Philadelphia Union
After representing his native Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 60th team, Haris Medunjanin announced he has retired from international play.
You may have heard that playing in Colorado is difficult due to altitude. Union Director of Performance Garrison Draper breaks it down for us.
Local
Ocean City Nor’easters are hosting open-tryouts this Saturday and registration is open.
Reading United will play its games at its former home, Gurski Stadium in West Lawn, PA.
MLS
The Galaxy aren’t the only team making a splash. LAFC signed Portugese midfielder Andre Horta with their third Designated Player Slot. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the youth player – this could be a very big signing.
Sam Stejskal has the story on how L.A. Galaxy signed Zlatan.
Which MLS players are most popular on FIFA, you might ask? None of the Union players, I might answer.
USA
USMNT beat Paraguay 1-0 in their friendly. Play could have been better but most fans tune-in to watch the young prospects. More from the New York Times.
The joint North American World Cup bid introduced its World Cup bid book. Philadelphia is still on the list of potential cities.
Around the globe
International friendly roundup from the past few days:
- Messi-less Argentina fell 6-1 to Spain.
- England tied Italy 1-1.
- Brazil handed Germany their first defeat (0-1) in 23 games.
- Belgium handled Saudi Arabia in a 4-0 victory.
For better or for worse, UEFA is changing some things up. They’ve abolished their “cup-tied” rule for the Champions League and introduced a fourth sub in extra-time.
Morocco, the primary competitor to the North American joint World Cup bid, is touting new stadiums and gun control as primary reasons for hosting the tournament.
FourFourTwo tells the real story of why Ronaldo (the real Ronaldo – that’s right) never fulfilled his 1998 World Cup potential. The video in the article is about 25 minutes, but if you have time, it’s worth a watch.
In other news, the Union hired a new assistant coach:
https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/2018/03/27/union-name-dick-schreuder-assistant-coach
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I’m curious about some of the specific things teams do to prepare for games at high-altitude venues like Denver, Mexico City, etc., besides traveling a few days early. I’ve heard that some athletes sleep in special tents with low air pressure to get used to the lower oxygen levels…wonder if the Union have the budget for that?
Succession planning? A potential replacement for Curtain down the line?
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Discuss….
You don’t discuss succession plans for 38 year old coaches. Backup plan maybe. Probably just an assistant coach who has experience, especially with offense. You you, the thing most of us have been wanting if they were going to stick with Curtin.
I think the effects of altitude are extremely overstated. Yes it makes a difference, but these are professional athletes here they should be able to handle it. Also, it’s not like teams from high altitude places consistently dominate so it can’t be that big of an edge.
I think you’re half right – I don’t think it’s overstated but I do think they just do a good job of overcoming it. Many athletes, especially NFLers, have said that playing in Denver, or NBAers playing in Salt Lake City, that they breath heavier and it takes a little longer to bounce back after plays late in the game. Soccer is a little different because they are moving constantly, not going from a standstill to 100% like football.
So Yaro is hurt (again) so McKenzie will be in the 18. I’m also betting Real starts this next game.