CHESTER, Pa. – After failing to get on the field for the entirety of May, June and July while dealing with a nagging hamstring issue and falling to fourth on the center back depth chart, Steven Vitoria’s situation with the Philadelphia Union looked bleak not long ago.
That’s changed in a hurry.
Now fully healthy and getting an opportunity to play thanks to an injury to captain Maurice Edu, the 6-foot-5 center back has not only started the last five games but has thrived, helping Philly go a solid 2-1-2 in that stretch and solidifying a backline that had been leaking goals.
“It’s been great, I’m not going to lie,” Vitoria said following Wednesday’s training session. “I haven’t felt this good all year.”
Vitória, who was brought over on a one-year loan deal from Benfica in the offseason, was always supposed to be the player the Union built their backline around. But after starting the first nine games of the season, he lost his place in the lineup with a groin injury that quickly turned into a frustrating hamstring problem, as well.
He then missed 14 straight games, struggling to find his place back in the lineup even after returning to health in part because his replacement – Richie Marquez – had cemented his own place in the starting XI.
“Even the last few games that I was playing [before the injury], I was feeling a little discomfort in my hamstring,” Vitória said. “It got to a point where the pain increased and then at first I thought it was groin and it attached onto my hamstring. It was a slow process, but it’s all part of the job. It’s past us and I just want to look forward.”
After going through a few different center back pairings this season, the Vitória-Marquez combination seems to be picking up steam. In their first game together, the two helped hold Orlando scoreless on Aug. 8, before enjoying another road shutout in Montreal two weeks later. And in Saturday’s 2-1 win in San Jose, the Quakes’ only goal came on a penalty kick, with head coach Jim Curtin praising the center back duo for their ability to win balls in the air and effectively communicate with each other.
“That was the most physical and aggressive I’ve seen him in terms of attacking balls in the air, winning head balls, sliding out and going to ground and winning big tackles for us,” Curtin said of Vitória. “Confidence goes a long way. I think he’s confident right now and playing well. Richie is also very good in the air, so now you have two big bodies back there. And Richie will listen and do what he’s told and he can do it well because he has the speed to do it. He can cover a ton of ground and Steven can kind of point and tell him where to go and Richie does a good job listening. It’s a good partnership right now.”
Curtin added that the most important part is that the two center backs are starting to get some “continuity” together and recognizing each other’s movements. And the Union coach might not want to disrupt that even when Edu returns from injury, which he said probably won’t be this Saturday against Columbus Crew SC (7 pm ET, MLS LIVE) but could happen the following week vs. Houston.
Edu has played most of the season at center back but has also been used as a defensive midfielder this year – and, of course, for much of his career.
“There’s midfielders playing well too now, so it’s a tricky one,” Curtin said. “You obviously don’t want to tweak something that’s going well. We still have three games before the [Sept. 30 US Open Cup] final to make some big decisions.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
