Category: Soccer/Union

WASHINGTON — On another night, the Union might have at least found an equalizer against D.C. United. Even down a man, the attacking substitutions were clearly wearing down D.C.’s defense in the final minutes Saturday.

But there was no equalizer, and when the final whistle blew, the biggest talking point from the Union’s side wasn’t Tai Baribo’s goal against his old team. Or the fact that United looked the most competent they have in years, against a new group of Union players that was further upended when Frankie Westfield was scratched from the lineup just before kickoff.

It wasn’t surprising that Baribo scored, since the “law of the ex” is as strong in soccer as in every other sport. He was polite after the game about the screams he released in the goal celebration, but one word he emphasized got a point across.

“It’s not because of Philly,” he said. “I love Philly, I love the fans, I love the club. But here I celebrate with my club, and I love the club here, and I love the fans here.”

It was even less surprising that the Union player most responsible for the play was Finn Sundstrom, the 19-year-old centerback who got thrown in the deep end at left back in his first MLS game. D.C.’s Gabriel Pirani snatched Sundstrom’s dinner money with a great bit of holdup play before feeding João Peglow to start a three-on-two break that Baribo finished with aplomb.

No, the thing that ended up mattering most was Ezekiel Alladoh’s red card in the 59th minute. The Union’s new record signing was battling for the ball with D.C. centerback Lucas Bartlett near the end line, shoved Bartlett over, then appeared to lean toward him and offer something. After that, as Alladoh walked away, he turned back toward Bartlett, pointed at him, and said a few more words.

The only replay shown on the Apple broadcast was from a camera too far away to make clear exactly what was said. But referee Guido Gonzales Jr. heard it — in part because Audi Field was far from full — and did not hesitate to send Alladoh off.

In a written statement to the pool reporter from Washington’s WTOP radio station after the game, Gonzales said Alladoh “directed an obscene gesture and language” at Bartlett, and was ejected for “offensive, insulting, abusive language/actions.” No further details were given, and it remains to be seen if specifics will be published.

When Union manager Bradley Carnell spoke in his postgame news conference, he didn’t know the details yet either.

“Obviously, for a red card to be warranted, it’s unacceptable,” he said. “That’s first and foremost, and we have to learn from that.”

He did say Alladoh was taught during the preseason about MLS’s rules on derogatory speech, as all players and staff are.

“It’s easy when you’re in a classroom and on your zoom and you go through it, and you have a cold drink in your hand, and it’s all good,” Carnell said. “But when it’s the emotions, and there’s fans and everything, under those stress-pressure tests, I would call them, we just have to usher and nurture our guys within that environment. And hopefully they get to a point where they can regulate and then move on from one moment to another play.”

One moment from the aftermath bears highlighting for a positive reason. As a few Union players pleaded their case to Gonzales, Olwethu Makhanya went into the middle of them and pulled Alladoh out, telling him he needed to leave the field no matter what.

“Obviously we didn’t want it to get into our heads,” Makhanya said. “As soon as you realize you’ve got a red card — and he’s a new guy, he doesn’t understand some of the rules — but knowing the rules that as soon as you get a red card, you need to be off the field as soon as possible, that’s why I had to rush to him and try to get him off the field.”

The moment was the latest sign of Makhanya’s growth as a leader on this team.

“He’s leading by doing, he’s leading by talking, and just his professionalism through the preseason,” Carnell said. “You can see a lot of growth from him over the last two months, assuming this role as a leader in that group.”

Why Sundstrom?

It raised a few eyebrows that Carnell turned to Sundstrom when Westfield said he couldn’t play, citing lingering effects of the hamstring tweak he suffered in Trinidad on Wednesday.

Carnell liked Sundstrom’s work in the preseason, and Sundstrom was serviceable in his late-game run at Defence Force. But starting an MLS game is a different beast.

Sundstrom played only the first half Saturday, withdrawn at halftime due to what Carnell said was a swollen ankle. Both Carnell and Japhet Sery Larsen praised Sundstrom’s overall work in the game, but that moment stands above everything else.

“Coming in today, thrown in, I think Finn did quite well,” Sery Larsen said. “He did his best. He was playing out of position as well. … It’s not easy, but we appreciate the job he did.”

And for the record, it did not raise eyebrows that Westfield wasn’t fully healthy. Grabbing a hamstring during a game needs little interpretation, even if there isn’t major damage — and even though Carnell said last Thursday that “it should be good.”

Westfield was walking gingerly as he left the Union’s locker room Saturday night. Although he said he’d be fine, his tone of voice gave the rest of the context.

At least help is on the way. The Union’s acquisition of left back Philippe Ndinga is over the line, a source with knowledge of the matter told The Inquirer. It’s just a matter of time until the official announcement, and crucially until Ndinga’s visa paperwork is settled.

Unfortunately, that is not to be taken for granted these days with the Gabon native who plays internationally for Congo — just as it’s unfortunate that the Colombia-born Geiner Martínez also faces visa issues. The club can only hope that both matters are settled quickly, given how much of the process is out of its hands.

At the attacking end

The Union held an 11-7 edge in total shots, and 3-1 in shots on target. But the expected goals sums went 0.91 to 0.41 in D.C.’s favor, and the eye test went United’s way as well until the late stages.

“We won’t get too low on this result, but for sure we understand what teams are expecting against us, and how they’re going to play against us,” Carnell said. “And that’s something for us to be tuned into and dialed into from the very get-go.”

Striker Bruno Damiani was clear-eyed about what didn’t work.

“Mostly we were always playing through the right side, and [D.C.] realized really quick,” he said. “So they [were] in to jump every time the ball went to that side. We created a very predictable attack, and I think that was our mistake.”

Damiani did not mention Westfield’s absence from the left side, but the rest of us could guess that it affected the balance. He did praise Cavan Sullivan’s positive contributions as a 70th-minute substitution, with impacts in open play and on a few well-served set pieces.

“I’ve been really, tough with him, because I want him to improve,” Damiani said. “I think he has everything that he needs to have success. … I’m happy that he is improving. I wish he keeps going that way, and maybe scoring a goal or getting more assists will still give more and more confidence to him.”

WASHINGTON — Tai Baribo got a measure of revenge on the Union in his first game with D.C. United, scoring the only goal of a 1-0 game to open the season at Audi Field.

It felt almost inevitable when Baribo scored against his old team in the 23rd minute, and not just because he screamed in celebration. The $4 million acquisition had put the ball in the net in the ninth minute too, but setup man Keisuke Kurokoawa was far offside in the buildup.

The guilty party on the Union’s side was a player who wasn’t supposed to start, defender Finn Sundstrom. Left back Frankie Westfield was scratched from the starting lineup just before kickoff — so close, in fact that the Apple broadcast announced him as starting.

Only when the teams took the field was it clear that Sundstrom was starting instead, with Olivier Mbaizo once again not on the game day roster.

Gabriel Pirani started the play for the goal by trapping Sundstrom with a great bit of hold-up work. He then sprung João Peglow to lead a 3-on-2 against the Union’s defense. Baribo was wide open to take the feed and send a first-time shot past Andre Blake.

The rest of the half was mostly as ugly as both teams wanted it to be. D.C. manager René Weiler set his team out in a 4-2-2-2 formation very similar to what the Union play, but with far less experience at it.

The teams combined for 21 fouls and six shots, with referee Guido Gonzales Jr. giving yellow cards to Olwethu Makhanya in the 41st minute and Jesús Bueno in the 45th.

On the free kick after Bueno’s infraction, Baribo hit the post with an open look. Halftime came mercifully soon afterward — and was livelier than much of the play, thanks to a concert from hip-hop group, the Sugarhill Gang.

The closest the Union had come to scoring was a Milan Iloski free kick that went straight to Sean Johnson, the veteran goalkeeper whom D.C. signed in the offseason.

Union manager Bradley Carnell withdrew Sundstrom at halftime for Geiner Martínez, marking the centerback’s Union debut.

Iloski came even closer in the 54th on a well-worked break up the field, but shot just over the bar.

Carnell made his first attacking substitution in the 58th: Agustín Anello went in for Jesús Bueno, and Indiana Vassilev moved back from the attacking midfield line to the defensive one.

But the Union’s momentum went right back out the window just seconds later when Ezekiel Alladoh was given a straight red card after a tussle on the end line with D.C.’s Lucas Bartlett.

After the game, Gonzales told the pool reporter from Washington’s WTOP radio station that Alladoh “directed an obscene gesture and language” at Bartlett. Gonzales’ written statement further said the ejection was for “offensive, insulting, abusive language/actions.”

Cavan Sullivan was next to enter for the Union, replacing Iloski in the 70th. Sullivan promptly took a corner in the 72nd that Nathan Harriel headed narrowly wide.

Baribo came close again in the 78th, hitting a low curler that Andre Blake dove to save. Carnell’s final substitutions came next, Alejandro Bedoya for Vassilev and Stas Korzeniowski for Bruno Damiani in the 79th.

The Union were actually the better team for most of the rest of the night, but could not find an equalizer through six minutes of stoppage time. The last chance came on a free kick on the game’s final play, with Sullivan serving a cross that Makhanya headed off target.

Up next is Thursday’s home leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup series against Defence Force FC at Subaru Park (7 p.m., FS1, TUDN). Alladoh will be eligible to play in that game since it’s a separate competition. And he won’t have much to worry about, since the Union hold a 5-0 aggregate lead from the first game.

Olwethu Makhanya is just 21 years old, and this year will be his second as a regular player for the Union. But in a centerback unit with so many newcomers, that’s enough to qualify him as a veteran.

In fact, it’s enough to qualify him as a rising leader. Though Japhet Sery Larsen and Geiner Martínez are both older, Makhanya is the only one of the expected regulars who has played in Bradley Carnell’s system, and knows the Union’s standards on and off the field.

“We had two important players from the back line leaving the team,” he told The Inquirer, referring to centerback Jakob Glesnes and left back Kai Wagner. “So that leaves people like me who were here last season to try and take on leading, try to help the new guys coming in to understand what we try to do. So yeah, I feel like it’s a new challenge for me to try and be a leader, and lead the new guys.”

No position on the field requires more chemistry than centerback. Whether in a group of two (as the Union use) or three, each player must know where the others were, are, and will be, and often without being able to talk about it in real time.

That made it crucial to get Makhanya and Sery Larsen as many reps together as possible in the preseason, and that seemed to be achieved over the Union’s five games. Martínez arrived later, but he played in the last two games and was on the field with Makhanya in each.

“I feel like five games is enough,” Makhanya said. “Obviously it’s not going to be perfect from the start, but I feel like it’s going to be enough at least to prepare us for the start [of the season].”

He has also enjoyed getting to know Sery Larsen and Martínez off the field.

“They’re very good people,” Makhanya said. “They’re already blending in with the team. Very good human beings, they work hard, [are] willing to learn, and that’s all we need as a team.”

Selflessness within the group

Though Glesnes’ departure impacts Makhanya most directly, Wagner’s departure matters, too. There are no true left backs on the Union’s roster right now, and though the club is actively shopping for a new starter, they haven’t signed one yet.

For now, Frankie Westfield and Nathan Harriel are platooning at the spot, since each has past experience there. Makhanya has had to adjust to that, and will have to adjust again when the new signing arrives.

“Looking at the way that we play, the system, the style of play,” Makhanya said, “I feel like the guys that we have at the moment … everyone can be able to play those positions. As long as they’re able to take in the instructions from the coach, we should be fine.”

Longtime Union fans will know that it’s been a regular theme in these pages over the years that the Union need to have more than two starting-caliber centerbacks, so they can be rotated over the season to stay fresh. That will be very important again this season, with the club’s return to the Champions Cup now and MLS’s Leagues Cup in late summer.

Any player wants to play, of course, but veterans know the importance of the long haul. So it’s to Makhanya’s credit that he’s willing to take a seat for a night if needed.

“I’d be OK,” he said. “As long as it’s something that’s going to help the team, I’d be fine with it.”

It’s not surprising that Makhanya has grown a bond with manager Bradley Carnell. Along with both being South Africa natives, Carnell took a leap of faith to make Makhanya a starter last year when he hadn’t played a second for the first team yet.

That faith was rewarded with a major role in the Union winning the Supporters’ Shield, and doing so with a return to the stingy defense they cherish.

“I feel like the relationship I have with him is really amazing,” Makhanya said. ”He’s a great human being, he’s a good teacher, his instructions are very clear, he’s a very understanding person. So because of who he is, it it’s very easy to work with him.”

Is South Africa watching?

Asked what his goals are for this year, Makhanya started with some humor.

“Firstly for myself, I think I’m going to score a couple of goals this season on set pieces,” he said. He scored twice last year, including a dramatic game-winner in the U.S. Open Cup round-of-16 comeback against Red Bull New York.

But Makhanya meant it when he said he wants to improve his aerial presence this year and “get a few headers” on free kicks and corners. He proved it right away, too, with a headed goal off a corner kick in the season-opening win at Defence Force FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

“And then for the group, we obviously have very high expectations, because we already know what we can do,” he said. “So we’re just trying to maintain that and try to find a way forward, and we take it a game at a time.”

There could be one more goal, too, beyond the Union. South Africa’s national team is in the World Cup for the first time since hosting in 2010. Fans and media back home have noticed Makhanya’s success, and have criticized the Bafana Bafana’s staff for thinking less of MLS than perhaps it should.

Carnell, who played for his country at the 2002 tournament, is well aware — and not pleased. Makhanya was diplomatic about it when asked, at least at first.

“I mean, not even being part of the national team last season was kind of disappointing for me, you know, but it’s just a motivation at the same time,” he said. “So yeah, it’s something that’s been in my mind that I’m looking forward to.”

But he added a few choice words a moment later.

“I think they do [look at MLS], but I feel like they don’t really have that much respect for the league,” Makhanya said. “So I guess that’s why I’m maybe not part of the squad, but I can’t really know.”

If he starts this season as well as he played last year, there might be even more people hoping for a better answer.

When the Union kicked off their season on Wednesday night, they were the fourth MLS team to take the field in this year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.

The previous three — San Diego, Nashville, and Los Angeles FC — outscored their opponents by a combined 12-3 over four games.

LAFC accounted for six of those goals, with star forward Dénis Bouanga scoring three and superstar Son Heung-min tallying one and three assists. San Diego’s biggest name, last year’s MLS Newcomer of the Year Anders Dreyer, led his team to an outstanding 4-2 aggregate win over Mexico’s Pumas UNAM.

You needn’t have walked through much slush around Philadelphia this week to wonder which MLS team would be first to fall. But surely it wouldn’t be the Union, with such a talent advantage over Trinidad’s Defence Force FC.

Then the Union’s starting lineup was revealed, and the mood turned to shock. Manager Bradley Carnell chose to start Stas Korzeniowski at forward, Alejandro Bedoya at right attacking midfield, Nathan Harriel at centerback, Andrew Rick in goal, and most surprising, attacking midfielder Jeremy Rafanello at right back.

Bruno Damiani, Indiana Vassilev, Japhet Sery Larsen, and Andre Blake were all on the bench. Geiner Martínez and Olivier Mbaizo weren’t on the game squad in the first place. Nor was Jovan Lukić, though at least Carnell had signaled that was coming due to an injury.

Right after kickoff, Concacaf’s world feed broadcast hinted at another unusual circumstance. Jesús Bueno had issues getting a visa to enter Trinidad. He spent Tuesday night in nearby Antigua, got the visa Wednesday morning, and only arrived in Port-of-Spain at lunchtime Wednesday.

Later in the game, a source with knowledge of the matter told The Inquirer that Martínez also had a visa issue. That helped clarify things a little more.

But it was still a surprise to see this lineup. Was Carnell taking the opponent lightly? He spoke repeatedly after the game about his respect for Defence Force, but his lineup choices also said something.

Some watchers recalled that another of Bedoya’s teams made choices in Trinidad in 2017, 20 miles down the road in Couva. He was stuck on the bench for the U.S. men’s team’s infamous loss to Trinidad & Tobago that knocked the Americans out of the 2018 World Cup.

At the final whistle, all those thoughts were long gone. The Union won in a 5-0 rout, with Milan Iloski’s 29th-minute free kick opening the floodgates. Ezekiel Alladoh scored his first goal for the Union off a superb Frankie Westfield cross, Olwethu Makhanya slammed in a header off an Iloski corner, and Bruno Damiani scored twice as a substitute.

Cavan Sullivan also made his first goal contribution for the Union’s first team, with a terrific assist on Damiani’s first goal. The 16-year-old had multiple nifty moments on the ball in his 25-minute run as a substitute, one of which earned a penalty kick after a nice combination play with Westfield. Damiani stepped up to score it.

On the same night that Westfield’s brother Rocco led Father Judge to a second straight Catholic League boys’ basketball final at the Palestra, Frankie was a strong nominee for the Union’s player of the game. He recorded 39-of-46 passing, five scoring chances created, four clearances, one block, and seven duels won of the 12 contested.

That was almost all overshadowed in the 70^th minute, when the cameras showed Westfield holding his right hamstring. With Harriel off the field, the only other left back option available was midfielder Ben Bender on the bench.

Westfield shook off the pain for a while, but he exited in the 84^th minute for Vassilev. That meant both outside backs were attacking midfielders. At least at that point it didn’t matter anymore.

“Rafa’s a guy who is very versatile, he can play anywhere,” Carnell said afterward. “This was just more by need, and we knew he could do the job. We just needed positive guys to give energy, [to] want to do what’s best for the team, and that’s what Jeremy is.”

The gamble paid off, and with some style in the end. Carnell was rightly pleased at the final whistle, praising his team for surviving Defence Force’s early-game surge before imposing its will.

“I think we did have a challenge for sure, and I think through the second half performance of our guys — give them credit,” he said. “We showed a real professional performance in the second half.”

But he had still gambled, and it’s a good thing he won.

Though Agustín Anello has lived more than half his life outside the United States, the Florida native still feels like an American.

So when the Union called with an offer, he was interested. Even better, he had two friends already on the team in Nathan Harriel and Bruno Damiani. From there, Anello did his homework and decided it was time to come home.

“The guys have really made it feel like home, so that’s quite nice,” Anello told The Inquirer. “You know how things work when a lot of things come together, and, yeah, the feeling of coming back to my country to play was also a big factor. So I feel a lot of things came together for this to to be possible.”

He knew of the Union’s track record, including last year’s Supporters’ Shield, and of the style they play. That intrigued him too.

“Philly reached out, and, obviously, the great season they had the year before, the way they train, the work ethic — they’re all factors that obviously push [and were] important factors, at least, for me to come,” Anello said. “I think it’s a style of play that fits my game style. There’s a lot of transitions, a lot of importance inside the attacking area, a lot of pressing, a lot of passion.”

Anello sees himself fitting in one of the striker spots, but also in one of the attacking midfield spots. Union manager Bradley Carnell has the same idea.

“He’s got a good technique with dribbling, so he can be off the shoulder of the outside back dribbling in a one-v-one,” Carnell said. “He can pick up in the pocket too, [which is] how we like to play as well with interior 10s [attacking midfielders]. So he shows a lot of flexibility within our game model.”

An unusual journey to get here

Anello was born in the Miami suburb of Hialeah to Argentine parents and grew up in Cape Coral, on the west side of South Florida near Fort Myers. He moved with his family to Barcelona, Spain, at age 10 because of his father’s work and didn’t set foot in the U.S. again until the summer of 2022.

“I got to live what my parents lived, what my dad and uncles lived when they were little, playing in the streets with their friends,” he said. “That was a very big thing in my childhood. … I feel full American and full Argentinian at the same time, so, yeah, I think I have that blood running in me.”

Anello rose through the youth ranks of Belgian club Lommel and turned pro there in 2021. In early 2023, he made the first of four moves around Europe over the next 16 months.

He did well enough along the way to attract U.S. Soccer’s attention, and earn an invitation to an under-23 team camp in November 2023 that surveyed candidates for the 2024 Olympic team. His teammates there included Nathan Harriel and Jack McGlynn, whom the Union traded to the Houston Dynamo last February.

That wasn’t when the seed for a move to MLS was planted, but it’s also a moment that Anello and Harriel remember well.

“It was a long time ago, but at the same time, at the camp, he was a great guy,” Harriel said, noting that Carnell sought out him and Damiani when Anello’s name came on the radar. “He’ll be great for the locker room. He fits in really well, hard worker, creative, he’s a good dribbler.”

In August 2024, Anello crossed the Atlantic to join Uruguayan club Boston River. His new teammates included Union prospect José Riasco, who was on loan there, and Damiani. Anello and Damiani became good friends, and that also ended up coming in handy down the road.

“I talked with Bruno mostly,” Anello said, at times when Damiani came home to Uruguay during MLS’s breaks. “He told me good things about the club, how the boys were, the facilities, the training ethic. And, yeah, those things obviously are adding-up factors to take this step.”

(Damiani was away getting his green card when this piece was reported, so wasn’t available for comment.)

Off to a quick start

Anello also had observed the growth of MLS, and American soccer as a whole, from the quality of play to stadiums and training facilities. It also does not hurt to come home in a year when the biggest World Cup in history will be here.

“It’s exciting, to be honest, just seeing the league grow, the World Cup coming up,” he said. “I think there’s going to be a lot more eyes. So, yeah, me and my agents, my family, thought it was the best time to come.”

He hasn’t had much time to train with his new club, since he only joined the squad this month. When Anello started the preseason finale against CF Montréal, he had only been in one full practice session with his teammates.

But he fit in well enough to play the first half and delivered a sharp assist to Milan Iloski for the Union’s second goal of the game. The buildup was good, too: Ezekiel Alladoh made a strong run up the middle with the ball, Anello ran down the left side to get in position, and Alladoh put the pass on a plate.

“It’s good to take a step at a time,” Anello said. “I just want to get integrated as fast as possible, start getting my qualities out, start to get comfortable with the team, and start making an impact.”

That was sage advice, and he has lived up to it so far.