Photo: Daniel Studio
It was a tough road loss for the Philadelphia Union at the Chicago Fire last week, but the Philadelphia Union got one of their best players back from injury.
In the latest edition of the KYW Philly Soccer Show, Union midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta joins KYW’s Greg Orlandini and CBS-3/Philly Voice/PSP’s Kevin Kinkead to talk about overcoming the knee injury that forced him to miss the opening part of the season. The creative Barnetta looks to be a big part of the Union’s offense as the season continues and talks about the leadership role he will likely play with the team. Barnetta also says he has gotten to learn a lot about Philadelphia and the surrounding area and enjoys living here very much.
Greg and Kevin then talk about current rash of red cards in MLS. The Union lost midfielder Warren Creavalle for Friday’s home game against Orlando City after he picked up a red card for a rough tackle in the Chicago game. Additionally, Matias Laba (Whitecaps), Benoit Cheyrou (Toronto FC), and Felipe (Red Bulls) all picked up red cards during games last week. Greg and Kevin talk about the effect it is having on the game and discuss some things Union coach Jim Curtin recently said about the ejections and suspension.
Finally, the guys talk about the death of one of the greats of the game, Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, who was influential both as a player and as a coach.
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To listen to the pod, click on the player above or visit the Philly Soccer Show iTunes page. Follow the pod on Twitter at @KYWPhillySoccer.
This guy is so smart. Great questions too. I also love how he tactfully answered Greg’s questions about whether he and Ilsinho are practicing “plays.” Probably not the way he meant it, but funny nonetheless. I hope he can stay healthy this year.
Does the team encourage players to appear on these podcasts? Or do they do it on their own?
Either way, I really enjoy listening. It makes the players seem very real and down to earth, and makes me like the team even more.
Thanks.
We make a request to the team for the interviews and they do their best to fulfill those requests. Barnetta’s English improved leaps and bounds from last year.