Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

In Wednesday’s roundup we linked to tweets from Kevin Kinkead in which he said that he was hearing that Rene Meulensteen would be the next Union manager but that the Union’s success in the US Open Cup had resulted in delaying an announcement. Following a tweet from Taylor Twellman saying he was hearing no decision would made until after the season, Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle that Meulensteen was a candidate for the job but that a decision had not been made:

Absolutely no decision has been made. About three weeks ago, I suspended any kind of search activity for a new coach. I’m probably going to pick it up some time after the Open Cup. But [the new coach is] completely undetermined…[Meulensteen] is amongst a small group of candidates that I regard very highly for the position.

You will recall that Sakiewicz had previously confirmed that Jim Curtin, along with Jesse Marsch, Tony Meola, and John Harkes, were all on the short list. More from MLSsoccer.com and SBI.

Zolo Talk looks at the pros and cons of Meuelensteen as a candidate for head coach.

At CSN Philly, Dave Zeitlin has an excellent article on the impact that Jim Curtin’s coach at Villanova, Larry Sullivan (who also happens to be Chris Albright’s uncle), had on him as a player and as a coach. Curtin says of Sullivan, “Larry’s a guy that, when I look back on my development as a soccer player, he was the most influential guy. He made me grow up a lot — not just as a soccer player but as a man.” It’s a must read.

At Delco Times, Matthew De George looks at how the Union defense has solidified under Curtin after a shaky start to the season. Sheanon Williams says in the article, “I think over the last couple of months, we’ve put together a good relationship between outside backs and center backs, (and) center backs and center backs, so it’s been good. We’ve been working together a lot trying to figure things out, and I think we’ve done a good job of that. And the coaching staff has done a good job of holding us accountable and making sure we’re where we need to be…We know that if we’re tight in the back, we can definitely get chances. I think that for us has got to come first, and then the goals will come.”

The Union announced on Wednesday that one of its defensive stalwarts, Ray Gaddis, had signed a new multi-year contract with the club. Jim Curtin was effusive in his praise of Gaddis,

First of all, when you talk about Ray, I get a smile on my face because this is one of the things I’m most happy about in my short tenure as the coach to get him rewarded for all his hard work. Off the field, this is a tribute to his parents. They’ve raised a kid who has as good of character as I’ve ever seen in a human being. In terms of accepting challenges and taking on new roles — playing left back without complaining, working after practice every day on his weak foot and finding ways to get better — he does everything you ask and more…

He’ll be a guy that if he stays on this pathway, he’ll be a U.S. Men’s National type player. He’ll be a January camp guy and I think he can break into that — he’s that good. One-on-one with the ball, Ray Gaddis is the best defender in our league right now. I will go out and say that — and I believe it. But he’ll be the first to tell you he still has room to grow and work on things with the ball in the air. But he’s the same guy that is the first to ask after practice to work on that stuff.

More on the news from PSP, Philly.com, CSN Philly, Brotherly Game, MLSsoccer.com, SBI, and WVUPros.

At MLSsoccer.com, Dave Zeitlin on Maurice Edu’s versatility and how it has helped the team. Edu says in the article, “If I was asked to play right back, if I was asked for whatever reason to play in goal, I would do it. The same can be said for everyone on this team because we believe in what we’re trying to accomplish here. And at the end of the day, you’re doing this for the team. It’s not about your personal preference; it’s about accomplishing something greater than yourself.”

KYW Newsradio talks to Andrew Wenger, who says of the mood within the squad, “Got a lot of confidant guys and we’re winning. Anytime you’re winning games it makes soccer fun, so we’re having a blast right now.”

Brotherly Game looks at the stats to answer the question of whether Cristian Maidana’s play has been good enough to put him in the conversation for team MVP.

In Africa Cup of Nations qualification, Rais Mbolhi had a clean sheet as Algeria defeated Mali, 1-0 (video highlights here). Michael Lahoud’s Sierra Leone was defeated 2-0 by Democratic Republic of Congo (video highlights here). Reports from the game are few and brief and so far I can’t tell if Lahoud played in the game and, if he did, for how many minutes.

Don’t forget to check out the latest Daily Doop.

Looking ahead to Tuesday’s US Open Cup final against Seattle Sounders, The Seattle Times has a good read on how soccer survived in Seattle between the demise of the original NASL and the start of MLS.

O When the Yanks has an excellent in-depth look at the Union Academy teams for the 2014-15 season. The article begins, “There are not many clubs that made as many big moves as the Union did over the summer. The Union were able to add US Youth National Team players at every level of their Academy. The Union are one of the most forward thinking Academies in USSDA which is what makes them such an attractive spot for some of the country’s top talent.”

After the Union game in DC on Sept. 27, the Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Unified Team, which is comprised of athletes from Chester Upland School District and the School District of Philadelphia, will take the field at RFK to face the DC Special Olympics soccer team.

Local

The Drexel men’s team fell 1-0 on Wednesday to Loyola after conceding an 88th minute goal.

MLS

Wednesday night’s Eastern Conference games saw a change in the standings. New York (37 points) defeated ten-men DC (first place, 47 points) 1-0 to move into fourth place ahead of Saturday’s game against the Union at PPL Park. New York’s move up the standings sees Columbus (36 points) drop to fifth place and the Union (36 points) drop to sixth. Last place Montreal (21 points) squandered a two goal halftime lead to draw 2-2 with LA. In Western Conference play, Vancouver (37 points) defeated eighth place San Jose (27 points) 2-0 to move into fifth place.

DC head coach Ben Olsen was not pleased with Mark Geiger’s decision to show Fabian Espindola a red card in the loss to New York.

MLS Atlanta has named Tottenham executive director Darren Eales as team president. Eales will join the club, which will begin play in 2017, later this year.

David Beckham remains confident that he will establish a MLS team in Miami.

Real Salt Lake’s USL PRO team, set to begin play in 2015, will be called the Real Monarchs. The Royal Monarchs, eh. They worked hard on that one.

Marketing Land has a Q&A with MLS CMO Howard Handler.

US

Fox Soccer looks at the motivation behind the possible lawsuit aimed at forcing FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association to replace the artificial surfaces that will be used for all of the 2015 Women’s World Cup games in Canada with natural grass. Abby Wambach says in the article, “They’re hoping that we’re bluffing. And at the end of the day, we’re not. We’re going to go ahead and go through with this. We had hoped not to get to this point; we had hoped not to take legal action.”

In a Q&A at USsoccer.com, Jurgen Klinsmann offers his assessment of the young team that defeated the Czech Republic last week:

The young players that were part of the camp in Prague and won against the Czech Republic sent a very strong message out there to the more established players. They sent a message of competition. They sent them a message to say we are coming through the ranks. They put themselves back in line, but they want to climb the ladder of hierarchy within the team and be part of the success going forward. This is what you want to have as a National Team coach. You want these youngsters coming in not being scared or afraid, taking risks and making some statements. They did that in Prague, and that also means they have a very strong case of getting called back into camp for the games in October.

Geoff Cameron underwent surgery for a hernia on Wednesday. He should be out for another two weeks.

Brek Shea to Championship side Birmingham City?

This year’s Nike International Friendlies and Development Academy Winter Showcase, which features U-17 national team squads and will take place Nov. 28-Dec. 3, will feature the US team against Australia, Brazil and England.

SI considers whether headers should be banned in youth soccer.

Elsewhere

ESPN on the impending decision from FIFA on when the 2022 World Cup will be played.

Goal.com reports, “John Abbott, steering group chairman at Interpol, has urged football authorities to “get real” about match-fixing in the game and called for clauses regarding match-fixing to be written into contracts of players and referees.”

It is forbidden by Argentine law to use a surname for the first name of a baby. After a one family received an exemption in order to name their child Messi, the city of Rosario, Lionel Messi’s home town, issued a statement reminding parents that last names cannot be used for first names.