Union’s MLS Defender of the Year Jakob Glesnes player added to 2023 All-Star Roster

Alongside Jose Martinez who will be making his first All-Star appearance, it was announced today that Philadelphia Union Center Back Jakob Glesnes has been added to the 2023 MLS All-Star roster by Head Coach Wayne Rooney. This marks the second consecutive year that Glesnes will represent Philadelphia at the MLS All-Star weekend, this year having a chance to showcase his talent against one of the Premier League’s best in Arsenal Football Club.

Union gets second All-Star

Though Jakob Glesnes is only in his fourth season with Philadelphia, he’s made quite an impact on the club’s backline, playing an important role in solidifying a strong defense as the foundation of the Union’s success. Throughout the first 3 and a half seasons with Philly, Glesnes has started 105 out of 107 regular-season MLS matches, which is a strong testament to the consistency that he’s brought to the backline since arriving in Philadelphia. Glesnes has started 93 consecutive games for Philadelphia dating back to October of 2020, which is the longest active streak and 2nd longest in league history, only behind Chris Klein’s 118 consecutive starts.

Throughout Jakob Glesnes’ 125 total games for Philadelphia, Glesnes has a total of 5 regular season goals, 5 regular season assists, and one playoff goal, which also broke the record for the latest goal scored in MLS history. This season, Glasses leads the team in Minutes played (1,800), Completed Passes (695), Total Passing Distance (16,358 yards), Progressive Passing Distance (6924 yards), Completed Long Passes (162), Passes Into the Final 3rd (91), Field Switching Passes (41), Tackles Won (23), Interceptions (33), Tackles and Interceptions (65), Touches (1038), Carries (544), Total Carrying Distance (3662 yards), Progressive Carrying Distance (2209 yards), and Recoveries (130).

Don’t miss both Jose Martinez and Jakob Glesnes representing Philadelphia in the 2023 MLS All-Star game against Arsenal FC on Wednesday, July 19th at 8:30 pm.