CHESTER, Pa. – When Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin fills out his lineup card for the next two games, starting with Sunday’s nationally televised clash against the Houston Dynamo (7 pm ET, Fox Sports 1), he’ll be thinking about more than just winning those contests.
He’ll also be carefully plotting the best way to prepare for Philly’s US Open Cup final showdown with Sporting Kansas City on Sept. 30, whether that means resting certain players or getting key cogs such as captain Maurice Edu or playmaker Cristian Maidana back into the swing of things after missing time.
Such is life for a team that has a huge uphill climb just to earn the final Eastern Conference playoff spot but only needs to win one home game to capture the franchise’s first-ever trophy and earn an automatic berth into the CONCACAF Champions League.
“It’s complicated with the minor playoff hopes that we still have,” Curtin said. “They are fading obviously, and it’s not in our hands. We’ve let that slip away and it’s in Montreal’s hands, to be honest. … So it’s a balancing act of putting a team on the field that you want to get a result but also knowing that there is the Open Cup final, and getting the relationships as sharp and, as best we can, get guys confident – because, you’ve seen our team, when we’re confident we can play with anybody. But when there’s a little doubt that creeps in, it becomes a situation where we have a pretty big drop off.”
With Maidana set to return from a two-game suspension and Edu hoping to return from a groin injury that’s kept him out of the last six league matches, Sunday’s lineup may mirror the one Curtin uses for the USOC final. And the Union coach will hope to see the team gain confidence and build chemistry against a Dynamo team that holds a six-game unbeaten streak vs. Philly.
From there, he may opt to rest many key starters for next Saturday’s road tilt vs. New England since it’s only four days before the Open Cup contest – the same approach he used in the buildup to last year’s title game, a 3-1 extra-time loss to the Seattle Sounders.
“I did learn a lot from the Seattle game last year,” Curtin said. “I thought we were a fresh team going into it, but we did play a lineup that kind of was repeated and played again in the final. So I won’t have any regrets this year. I’ll play a fresh team, a completely fresh team, in the final.”
But is resting players for the New England game the approach? Union midfielder Michael Lahoud isn’t so sure, recalling how the Sounders played most of their key guys a few days prior to last year’s Open Cup final before flying across the country and capturing their fourth USOC crown in six years.
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“I think getting games under your legs, managing that, getting you in the right mindset, I think that’s always better than just giving someone a complete night off,” Lahoud said. “I’ve always been a firm believer, whether it’s giving guys a half or a full 90, that every touch you have on the ball, every opportunity to play, prepares you for the next big game.”
The good news for the Union is that SKC may run into more lineup issues as they have three games before the final, including a big match vs. Seattle next Sunday. And Lahoud believes the Union are better suited for preparing for the 2015 final because they have a “deeper team” than last year, when Philly couldn’t really match Seattle’s offensive options off the bench in what was a grueling – and exhilarating – 120-minute affair.
“There was an electric atmosphere last year that I’ve never seen at PPL Park since I’ve been at this club,” Lahoud said. “It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and I think it’s probably going to be twice as electric just because the fans want it that much more. I know we as players want it that much more, and I think that’s a big reason why we’re back.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
