Photo: Paul Rudderow

In the final press conference before the Union opens its season, Jim Curtin stated what should be obvious by now. “We are okay if Saprissa has a lot of possession – we actually expect that. Where we are very good is in the transition.”  

The Concacaf Champions Cup match against Deportivo Saprissa will happen at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, a venue where only two MLS teams have emerged victorious in the past – the Union and Columbus Crew. The match can be viewed at 10 p.m. ET via FS2 on cable, all the FOX Sports streaming platforms, fuboTV, TUDN USA, and TUDN.com.

The Union emerged with a 1-0 win during the Covid era of the Cup. This time the challenge will be different. Curtin said “It’s an honor to be one of those teams, but I’m also smart enough to recognize that when we won in this stadium it was Covid and it was empty, so it will be a totally different animal tomorrow.”

For the coach, Saprissa is “the biggest club in Costa Rica” and while the Union have a little bit of history with having played Saprissa in the Cup before, there are always concerns going into the first game of the season. Not only will the game be played before fans this time, but the Union is just winding up its pre-season, whereas Saprissa is in mid-season form. Curtin said “Saprissa has been in a good run of form in the league” and “is a little bit more fit than us. That’s natural.”

He reiterated that the Union “worked very hard in the pre-season to try to get to a good fitness level … but as we all know, coming to this stadium is different than a pre-season game.” Curtin recognized that the first fifteen minutes of the match will be critical, saying “we know Saprissa will throw a lot at us, we have to be brave and have to be calm and not make mistakes in the early going.”

Curtin went on to say “Saprissa is a team we’re very familiar with, the players and personnel. There is a lot of MLS experience in their group.  I’ve prepared for its players several times in the past.” “They have a player in [Mariano Néstor] Torres, that for me is one of the top players in Concacaf.” He continued that the Union has “a lot of familiarity, we respect them a great deal, but we don’t fear anybody. That has to be our mindset. We know we have a good team too.”

Curtin was very cognizant that the Union are opening a two-leg series on the road, saying “I always say the tie can be lost in the first leg, it can’t be won. So, we have to be very intelligent with how we approach the game, very disciplined….We are going to be smart about how we approach the game, respectful but also brave.” 

He continued “I also recognize this is a new test, new players, this 90 minutes is basically half time – so we have to set ourselves up in a good way to go back to Philadelphia, it’s an important goal of ours to not concede, try to score on the counter, and then protect our home in Philadelphia.”

If the Union can remain disciplined on the road in the first leg, Curtin noted that the Union’s “home field advantage is a very good one – I think in our last 65 games [at Subaru Park] we’ve been beaten three times. We are very good at home. The challenge is to set yourself up for that second leg. It is an advantage to have the second leg at home, I believe, but you also have to be very cautious with the approach in the first 90 minutes [on the road].” 

Wrapping up the press conference, Curtin spoke to which players have shown some spark in the pre-season. As head coach he said he doesn’t like to single out individuals, but “we’ve had really good performances from guys [in each line] – we’ve had Damian Lowe take a big step I think as a central defender, Quinn Sullivan has had a great pre-season and has really emerged as a good two-way player for us, and Julian [Carranza] has been himself and has been hitting the back of the net.” In summary, Curtin said “I like where we are at physically fitness-wise… I like where the group is at, and I really look forward to our first test.”