The next era of Philadelphia Union soccer is officially underway after the club departed and landed in Europe for their pre-season preparations on Monday ahead of the 2025 season, and the first under new Head Coach Bradley Carnell.
Union begins prep for the 2025 season!
For the first time in club history, Union will head to Marbella, Spain, for training and a pair of friendly matches against Czech’s SK Slavia Prague on January 19 at 9:30 AM EST and Danish side Aarhus Gymnastikforening on January 26 at 9:00 AM EST, both matches being held at the Marbella Football Center.
After the conclusion of their prep in Spain, Union will briefly return to Philadelphia before heading South to complete their pre-season down in Clearwater, FL, for the 11th consecutive year. While down in Florida, Union will cap off their pre-season friendly schedule against Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex on Friday, February 7th – time of match TBA.
The team did not include any mention of available streams for any pre-season matches in their press release.
Philadelphia Union’s Full Pre-Season Schedule
January 13th – Depart for Marbella, Spain
January 19th – Friendly against SK Slavia Prague @ 9:30am EST
January 26th – Friendly against Aarhus Gymnastikforening @ 9:00am EST
January 27th – Return to Philadelphia, PA
February 2nd – Depart for Clearwater, FL
February 7th – Friendly against FC Cincinnati – Time TBA
February 22nd – Open MLS Regular Season @ Orlando City SC
Who’s at Pre-Season, and Who Isn’t?
The team has yet to release the full list of players who have traveled to Spain for pre-season, but I’ve done my best to work out who should all be on the trip getting their first chance to impress new Head Coach Bradley Carnell.
First things first, Jack McGlynn will miss out on a big chunk of the first pre-season with his new Head Coach after receiving a call-up to the USMNT’s January Camp, which will play two friendlies in Ft Lauderdale, FL, on January 18th and 22nd. McGlynn should be back and available for the Union’s 2nd pre-season stint down in Florida.
As reported by multiple people, Jack McGlynn was the only Union player called up by the USMNT who was given the green light by the club to skip an important pre-season with their new Head Coach, while Nate Harriel, Quinn Sullivan, Frankie Westfield, CJ Olney, David Vazquez, and Neil Pierre were all asked to stay back with their team for training.
According to a tweet from The Inquire’s Jonathan Tannenwald, Union Academy product Brandan Craig has been spotted at CF Montreal’s pre-season training camp after going out on loan away from Philadelphia in each of the last two seasons, which probably alludes to Craig’s time in Philly being over.
Of the departures from last season, Jack Elliott is surely the biggest hole to fill on this roster, but the splitting of ways with Leon Flach is another spot on the depth chart that’s going to need some reshaping. Both should give young, promising prospects an opportunity to take the next step in their career and impress their new Head Coach, which Ernst Tanner says is an important piece to Union’s ethos and identity and something he wants the team to rely on more in 2025.
Predicted Pre-season Roster (Alphabetical Order)
Goalkeepers: Andre Blake, Andrew Rick, Oliver Semmle.
Defenders: Jakob Glesnes, Ian Glavinovich, Nathan Harriel, Isaiah LeFlore, Olwethu Makhanya, Oliver Mbaizo, Neil Pierre, Kai Wagner, Frankie Westfield.
Midfielders: Alejandro Bedoya, Jesus Bueno, Daniel Gazdag, Danley Jean-Jacques, CJ Olney, Nick Pariano, Jeremy Rafanello, Cavan Sullivan, Quinn Sullivan, David Vazquez.
Forwards: Markus Anderson, Tai Baribo, Chris Donovan, Nelson Pierre, Mikael Uhre.
Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images
