Tanner utilizes deep Austrian connections to acquire former Red Bull Salzburg keeper Carlos Miguel Coronel

It’s always nice to have connections. At least that’s the common phrase.

For Brazilian goalkeeper Carlos Miguel Coronel, his connection came knocking with a great opportunity to continue his early professional soccer career. Earlier this morning, Philadelphia Union announced Coronel will be joining the club on a one-year loan with the option to buy. Which is crucial considering the saddening pending departure of Borek Dockal, whose loan ended earlier this off-season.

Coronel joins Philadelphia from Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg, Ernst Tanner’s former club. Like I said, connections are key.

“Carlos is a young goalkeeper who I am of course familiar with from my time at Red Bull Salzburg,” said Tanner. “He possesses impressive athleticism for his size and we believe he has terrific potential.”

Of course, Andre Blake will be the number one keeper in 2019 once more. But Blake’s frequent international call-ups with Jamaica result in missed league matches. That’s where Coronel can make impacts.

The departure of John McCarthy and Jake McGuire at season’s end created a gap in the Union’s goalkeeping depth chart. The addition of Academy graduate Matt Freese was well-earned but Freese will now have to battle with Coronel for MLS spotlights when Blake is missing.

The newly turned 22-year old Brazilian will join the Jamaican as the team’s top two keepers. Coronel’s official addition to the team’s active roster will be announced once his International Transfer Certificate and P1 Visa are processed.

The 6’2’’ keeper hails from Corumba, Brazil and will join country-mates Fabinho, Islinho, and Sergio Santos in what has now become a very formidable Brazilian contingent in Philly’s locker room.

Tanner and Coronel first met in 2015. Coronel signed with Salzburg affiliate club FC Liefering and stayed three seasons. He made 67 appearances while earning 20 clean sheets. Last season, Coronoel blank opponents 10 times. His hard work earned him a call-up to the first team for the final match of 2018 in which Coronel made his Austrian Bundesliga debut.

“This is an appropriate step for him at this point in his career and we are looking forward to helping him integrate with our First Team as well as improve alongside Andre Blake, Matt Freese, and the other young goalkeepers from our Academy.”

Position battles are taking shape as Philadelphia enter the early stages of training camp. Only time will tell how it shakes out, but competition seems high at each position group. Ultimately, competition is the main ingredient for a productive pre-season.

Expect Tanner and the Union to make more announcements – including (hopefully) a dynamic central midfielder to fill Dockal’s boots in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more as the news filters out.

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