Whatever doubts Union fans had about the team’s starting lineup in Trinidad on Wednesday, it wasn’t surprising that manager Bradley Carnell had none.
“We knew that at some point, with the type of intensity we could play at, it could be too much for them,” he said a day after his team’s 5-0 rout of Defence Force FC. “And that did prove to be the truth.”
The biggest decisions were putting Stas Korzeniowski at striker in his first game with the Union’s first team, and attacking midfielder Jeremy Rafanello at right back. Both worked out fine, helped by their teammates’ cavalcade of goals.
“We’ve been training a couple weeks with Stas alongside Bruno [Damiani], alongside Ezekiel [Alladoh],” Carnell said. “So, I mean, for us, that was a no-brainer. It didn’t even come into thought that there’s anything doubtful or risky going on there.”
Stas Korzeniowski jumps to celebrate with Olwethu Makhanya after Makhanya scored the Union’s third goal of the game.
He praised Rafanello for being “always ready for a game, and he can always run for days, and he always puts his best effort forward.”
But while Carnell praised “a lot of good things” in Rafanello’s game, he also admitted that playing Rafanello in that position was in part “by necessity.”
“We’ve been challenged over the last couple of days with a couple of … day-to-day type of scenarios,” he continued.
Those “scenarios” included minor injuries to midfielders Ben Bender and Jovan Lukić along with forward Agustín Anello. Carnell also confirmed that new centerback Geiner Martínez is temporarily on a visa status that makes it difficult for him to leave the United States and promptly return.
But right back Olivier Mbaizo’s absence was Carnell’s choice, one he said he made “just basically through preseason performance. Nothing much to question there.”
That choice left the manager with no outside backs on his bench. Both players with experience there started, Frankie Westfield on the left and Nathan Harriel at centerback. Westfield grabbed at a hamstring midway through the second half, but Carnell said he “should be good.”
As debut goals go, Alladoh’s was pretty impressive. He watched teammates circulate the ball to Westfield, then charged up the middle, split two centerbacks, and slammed in a leaping header from close range.
“New environment, new teammates, he has to figure things out, wasn’t able to get on the score sheet in preseason, but he worked really hard,” Carnell said. “And then in the big games and in the games that matter most, he showed up. So I’m really happy for that, and hopefully he takes that energy and confidence into the next couple of games.”
That was the second of three goals the Union put on the board before Carnell started a raft of substitutions. Cavan Sullivan was one of the entrants, and immediately started shredding Defence Force’s back line.
The 16-year-old made multiple surging runs forward, including three that drew payoffs: a great assist to fellow substitute Bruno Damiani in the 69th minute, a penalty kick in the 78th, and a red card to former Seattle Sounders defender Joevin Jones in the 92nd.
“I’ve seen a lot more maturity from Cavan over the last couple of weeks, and he’s worked his way into being a contributor,” Carnell said. “I speak about the environment, just think about the young kid coming in there and running rings around Defence Force. So I was really happy with his performance.”
Sullivan had some longer runs as a starter last year in the U.S. Open Cup, but quality-wise this might have been his best outing in a Union jersey so far.
“It was a very mature performance, I would say,” Carnell said. “He kept it simple when he needed to, he accelerated and got on the dribble when he had to, and then he draws crucial moments and puts the opponents under pressure. … I thought that was his best performance over the last 12 months.”
The Union’s next game is their MLS season opener on Saturday at D.C. United (7:30 p.m., Apple TV), headlined by an early reunion with former leading striker Tai Baribo.
Then it’s back to Chester for the finale of the Defence Force series next Thursday (7 p.m., FS1), followed by a rematch of last year’s playoff loss to New York City FC on March 1.
The Union opened their 2026 season with a win on Wednesday night, defeating Defence Force FC, 5-0, in the first of a two-game Concacaf Champions Cup first round series at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Milan Iloski opened the scoring for the Union in the 29th minute, scoring on a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box. Ezekiel Alladoh added a second shortly after, heading a Frankie Westfield cross into the back of the net in the 32nd minute.
The Union added three more goals in the second half. Olwethu Makhanya scored the Union’s third goal in the 64th minute from a corner set-piece. Bruno Damiani added a fourth off an assist from Cavan Sullivan in the 69th. Damiani added another from the penalty spot to put the Union up, 5-0, in the 81st minute.
The Union also avoided injuries during their match with Defence Force, something Union manager Bradley Carnell noted in his postgame conference.
“Playing away from home, It’s always a tough challenge,” Carnell said. “We always have to sort out a few things.”
Iloski’s free kick was set up by a Defence Force foul on Jesús Bueno. Iloski lined up to take the kick and sent a right-footed strike up and over the Defence Force wall into the right side of the net.
On Damiani’s first goal, the forward came on as a substitute alongside Sullivan and Japhet Sery Larsen in the 65th minute. Sullivan, 17, played a centering pass to Damiani, who laced a left-footed strike into the net to put the Union up, 4-0.
Sullivan earned a penalty for the Union in the 81st after being tripped by Defence Force’s Sheldon Bateau inside the 18-yard box. Damiani slotted the penalty past Defence Force goalie Isaiah Williams to put the Union up, 5-0.
After Wednesday night’s win, the Union lead the series’ aggregate score by five goals. The Union will host Defence Force at Subaru Park for the second game of the series on Feb. 26 (7 p.m., Fox Sports 2).
If the Union lead the series’ combined score after the second leg, they will advance to face Liga MX’s Club América in the tournament’s round of 16.
Up next
The Union will visit D.C. United on Saturday for their MLS season opener (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).
As we do every year to start a Union season, here’s a player-by-player look at the team’s roster.
The list at each position is in order of what looks to be the depth chart heading into the campaign, which starts Wednesday in the Concacaf Champions Cup at Defence Force FC of Trinidad & Tobago (6 p.m., FS2, TUDN). The regular-season opener follows on Saturday at D.C. United (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).
Andre Blake has won MLS’s goalkeeper of the year award three times.
Andrew Rick
He showed again last year that he’s a safe pair of hands as the backup, and he’s still only 20 years old. The question will be if he’s willing to wait longer than Matt Freese did — understandably — to get more playing time. If he is, his time will come, but Blake isn’t going anywhere yet.
George Marks in action for the Union’s reserve team last year.
Left back
A player who hasn’t been signed yet
There’s no other way to put it right now. The Union are shopping for a new starter, and are close to sealing a deal for that player to be 20-year-old Philippe Ndinga from Swedish club Degerfors. But as Yogi Berra might say if he was a soccer fan, it’s not official until it’s official.
Jon Scheer, the Union’s head of academy and professional development, has been the face of the front office this winter with Ernst Tanner on leave.
Frankie Westfield
Until Ndinga settles in, Westfield is likely to do the job. The rise of the Northeast Philadelphia native last year was one of the season’s great stories.
Frankie Westfield was one of the Union’s breakout players last year.
Right back
Nathan Harriel
He has definitely earned the starting job, even though his attacking contributions are still limited. Once Ndinga gets going, Harriel might start platooning with Westfield to play in certain matchups.
Nathan Harriel played 31 games last year, often stepping in at centerback when the Union were short there.
Olivier Mbaizo
He’s highly regarded in the locker room, especially as part of the unofficial welcoming committee for new players who come from abroad. But that doesn’t guarantee playing time, and it’s tough to tell how much he’ll get this year.
Olivier Mbaizo is going into his ninth season with the Union’s first team.
Centerback
Olwethu Makhanya
He hadn’t played a second for the first team at the start of last year, but Bradley Carnell trusted his fellow South African to step up. Now the 20-year-old is a stalwart, and importantly the only returning player in the centerback group. That, perhaps, makes his role even bigger.
Olwethu Makhanya was one of last year’s most impressive players.
Japhet Sery Larsen
The Union don’t often sign experienced players from abroad, preferring to find underrated names they can develop and sell. But they knew they needed a veteran to replace Jakob Glesnes, and the 25-year-old Denmark native fits the bill. Now, can he handle the physicality of MLS?
Japhet Sery Larsen is expected to have a big role on the Union’s back line this year.
Geiner Martínez
We haven’t seen much of the 23-year-old Colombian yet, but it’s a safe bet that we will in time. The Union have a busy schedule with the Concacaf Champions Cup, Leagues Cup, and compressed stretches of the regular season around the World Cup. Rotating centerbacks will be as important as ever.
Geiner Martinez during one of the Union’s preseason games.
Finn Sundstrom
A 19-year-old prospect who grew up with North Carolina FC of the second-tier USL Championship, Sundstrom is a name for the future, and likely will spend more time with the Union’s reserves than the first team this year.
Finn Sundstrom working out during a preseason practice.
Neil Pierre
The best centerback prospect in the Union’s academy pipeline is on loan to Denmark’s Lyngby, where the Union own a stake, through June. Hopefully he will be closer to ready for first-team minutes when he returns.
Neil Pierre (right) made his Union first-team debut last year.
Defensive midfielders
Jovan Lukić
Perhaps the best of last year’s signings, Lukić jumped effortlessly into the midfield engine room. His tackles and his talking can be a little too robust sometimes, but the total package has been great.
Jovan Lukić getting stuck during a game last summer.
Danley Jean Jacques
A great partner to Lukić, Jean Jacques is now set for a true star turn with Haiti at the World Cup. It can’t be said enough how special it will be if he plays in Philadelphia against Brazil this summer.
Danley Jean Jacques also had a strong season in the Union’s midfield last year.
Alejandro Bedoya
The longtime captain is in his 11th season in Chester, and third in a series of one-year contracts. The mental side of his game is as sharp as ever, but the clock is inevitably running on a body that will turn 39 in April.
His arrival in August was the turning point in the Union’s season. They likely would not have won the Supporters’ Shield without him. Carnell likes playing Iloski at forward sometimes, but the team as a whole is clearly better when he’s in midfield. That forces opposing defenses to open up.
Early on in his time in Chester, it looked like most of his contributions would come from industrious pressing. But over the course of last season, he blossomed into more, and finished last year with seven goals and four assists.
Indiana Vassilev (center) celebrates scoring a goal for the Union in August.
Quinn Sullivan
When he returns from a torn ACL in July, after the World Cup break, it will give the team a huge boost. He’s been greatly missed on the field, although he’s fortunately been able to stay a vibrant presence off it.
The Union greatly missed Quinn Sullivan (left) after his ACL injury in September, especially during the playoffs.
Cavan Sullivan
With two years to go until he leaves for Manchester City, the now-16-year-old is running out of time to make an impact on his hometown club. Or perhaps it’s better to say the club is running out of time for him to impact it. Will this be the year he breaks out?
Lots of people around the soccer world are waiting for Cavan Sullivan to truly break out on the field.
Jeremy Rafanello
The Delran native has become the unofficial closer for Union wins, but he isn’t likely to overtake the players ahead of him here. It also bears saying that time given to him is time that Cavan Sullivan could get instead.
Jeremy Rafanello (center) on the ball against Inter Miami last year.
Ben Bender
Carnell likes his willingness to sacrifice, which has led to testing the 24-year-old as an emergency left back. That doesn’t look likely to stand for the long term, but at least he has the manager’s respect.
It was easy to see his strengths in his first season here: size, speed, physicality. But in the stats that mattered most, he tallied only nine goals and one assist in 40 games. That has to change this year, especially with Tai Baribo and Mikael Uhre gone.
You can tell just from practices why the Union broke their transfer fee record to sign the 20-year-old Ghana native. He’s still raw, though, and Carnell has preached patience. Alas, only so much will be given if he doesn’t find the net.
The Union paid a team record $4.5 million to sign Ezekiel Alladoh.
Agustín Anello
He’s an intriguing signing: born in Florida to Argentine parents, raised in Spain, and a pro career in four countries by age 23. Even better, he played with Harriel and Damiani at some of his stops along the way. He projects as the No. 3 striker right now but should still see significant playing time.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Head out the third base stands of the Phillies’ spring training stadium, go south a block, and you’ll start to hear another ball being knocked around.
The Union have once again made their preseason home here, too, as they prepare to kick off their campaign next week in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
They wrapped up a five-game slate Tuesday night with a 4-2 loss to CF Montréal, an unusually fractious game that included several yellow cards and two reds — one to Montréal’s manager after watching a robust challenge in front of him.
But the result mattered less than getting to see new forward Agustín Anello’s first minutes, starting next to Ezekiel Alladoh and assisting Milan Iloski for a sharp goal. New centerback Geiner Martínez also got some run as a substitute next to Olwethu Makhanya.
How will all that translate to next Wednesday’s curtain-raiser, at Trinidad and Tobago’s Defence Force FC (6 p.m., FS2 and TUDN)?
“I think it starts off the field,” Union manager Bradley Carnell said Wednesday in a news conference. “When we all speak about recruitment, we speak about people first. And I think all of those guys you’ve just mentioned have come in and exceeded our expectations.”
Martínez and Anello are still settling in, having just arrived to the club in recent days, but have gained familiarity when possible: the former with fellow Spanish-speakers in the locker room, the latter from having already known Nathan Harriel and Bruno Damiani.
Alladoh has been around for longer, so there’s more evidence. He is going to be a handful physically for opponents, but the ultimate verdict will come from how often he scores.
“He’s just a bunch of energy,” Carnell said. “He’s a big dude who just wants to run and compete every single day, and we’re just trying to work little angles and details to get him on the score sheet. He had a couple of chances last night, and does really well for us in the [preseason] games in Spain, and we can see the threat he can be.”
The most important thing now is avoiding the injury bug, and unfortunately it has bitten the Union. Nothing too severe, but Indiana Vassilev and Eddy Davis were in street clothes Tuesday night, and Milan Iloski took a pretty good whack on the foul that produced the other red card. Carnell said he believes it’s a contusion, but there wasn’t a full diagnosis yet when he spoke.
Tuesday’s game was a reminder of the physicality in MLS, even in a preseason game. That has also been an adjustment for the newcomers.
“You don’t know until you know, right?” Carnell said. “I think a lot of people don’t know about MLS and the rigors and the physicality of it. Even [for] a player like ‘Jeff’ Larsen, who’s played at really high levels in the Europa League and everything, playing in this league is a different animal. … Last night was a real, I would say, testament to that statement.”
Geiner Martínez on the ball during Saturday’s preseason game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the second-tier USL Championship.
Bruno Damiani has also been absent for the last few days: He’s back in his native Uruguay getting a U.S. green card. Carnell said the striker’s return to camp is “imminent.”
The biggest open question mark remains at left back. The Union are still shopping and don’t have a deal done yet.
A source confirmed a report by Sweden’s Expressen that talks are ongoing for 20-year-old Philippe Ndinga of Swedish top flight club Degerfors. Various reports have said Los Angeles FC and the Houston Dynamo previously had interest.
Union’s franchise value
Sports business publication Sportico unveiled its latest judgment of MLS franchise values on Tuesday, and pegged the Union at $740 million. That’s a 6% increase from 2025, and 14th out of the league’s 30 teams — a ranking unchanged from last year.
The Union’s franchise value ranks in the middle of the pack in MLS.
It’s no surprise that Inter Miami is ranked No. 1, and not just because of Lionel Messi. The Herons will open a big-time new stadium this year in the shadow of Miami’s airport. But the valuation of $1.45 billion is still a headline, as it’s bigger than some baseball and hockey teams — including the Marlins across town.
Los Angeles FC, the Los Angeles Galaxy, Atlanta, and New York City FC also have franchise values above $1 billion. The top 10 is rounded out by Seattle, Austin, Columbus, Cincinnati, and San Diego, the last of which is valued at $765 million.
The highest the Union have ranked since Sportico began its estimates in 2021 is 11th in 2024.
Sportico’s metrics include not just revenue projections, but “the value of team-related businesses and real estate holdings.” That works in the Union’s favor, given how much land they own around Subaru Park and the training and academy complex they’ve built there.
MLS hasn’t always embraced outsiders’ valuations of its teams. But it does these days, and even promotes Sportico’s figures on some of its platforms.
Union manager Bradley Carnell addressed the media for the first time in 2026, as the club prepares for its preseason camp next week in Marbella, Spain.
Carnell was accompanied by Jon Scheer, the Union’s director of academy and professional development, and, in the absence of sporting director Ernst Tanner, who has been on administrative leave, is part of a collective braintrust on sporting direction that includes Carnell, assistant sporting director Matt Ratajczak, and chief scout Chris Zitterbart.
The two spoke on the Union’s approach to what was an eventful winter transfer window, one that saw the departures of all-star-caliber players from the club’s Supporters’ Shield-winning campaign last season in Tai Baribo, Jakob Glesnes, and Kai Wagner.
But the Union were also active in acquiring players to retool its roster. The club spent a record $4.5 million to acquire Ghanaian striker Ezekiel Alladoh in December and made another deal to acquire centerback Japhet Sery Larsen for around $938,000.
Even with the changes, Scheer said the club has some more shopping to do.
Ezekiel Alladoh (center) joined the Union in the offseason as the team’s record signing all-time.
Transfer talk
Alladoh was the most significant of the Union’s acquisitions this offseason. The club paid a record fee for the 20-year-old striker, topping the $3.4 million fee it paid for striker Bruno Damiani last winter.
The Union sold Baribo, last year’s leading goalscorer, to D.C. United and allowed Mikael Uhre to leave in free agency, clearing the way for Damiani and Alladoh to begin the season as the first-choice strikers.
“[Alladoh’s] rise has been phenomenal,” Carnell said. “He’s been a target of the club upon my arrival, for example. So to get this acquisition, we’re incredibly excited about continuing his growth and development with us.”
The Union shored up their attacking line with Alladoh, but they also sought reinforcements on the backline after trading Glesnes to the Los Angeles Galaxy and sending Wagner to English Championship side Birmingham City.
To help fill Glesnes’s spot at centerback, the club brought in 25-year-old Sery Larsen from Norwegian side SK Brann. Sery Larsen, a Danish national, made 80 appearances in three seasons with Brann. Carnell compared Sery Larsen’s arrival to Glesnes’, who joined the Union in 2020.
"I think the style of play is really entertaining."
“[Sery Larsen] is of a caliber of a young leader,” Carnell said. “Jakob came into this environment, I think at a similar age to Sery Larsen, at the age of 25, and developed into a real good leader in and around the locker room and the team. Sery Larson comes in from a caliber and a quality level that almost commands respect in and around teammates. But, you know, the performance has to fit.”
Bedoya’s back
While a few of the team’s more vocal leaders have left, Alejandro Bedoya returns for his 11th season with the Union. Carnell said that he and Tanner met with Bedoya to discuss the captain’s future prior to Tanner being placed on administrative leave, and left the decision up to Bedoya.
“Knowing the impact that Ale’s had at this club, and knowing how important he is, in and around here, from setting the tone, the standards, the locker room, the leadership, we totally left it open to Ale Bedoya, if he would like to continue,” Carnell said. “Knowing the changes that happened in 2024, the conversation was so enlightening and so rewarding because, you know, he felt surprised that we were willing to bring him back.”
Alejandro Bedoya (center, with ball) returns for what will be his 11th season with the Union.
Bedoya’s on-field role has diminished in recent years, though the 38-year-old made 10 starts for the Union last season.
“I’ve seen what Ale does on the training field,” Carnell said. “I’ve seen what he does in games, the commitment, the bloody nose on the shield game. I know exactly what kind of person Ale is. When he reached out to us in the offseason to say he’s still chasing the cup and he wants to come back, doors opened, conversations happened, and we were so happy to bring him back.”
In addition to his playing roles as team captain and versatile midfielder, Bedoya will also continue his front office responsibilities as a player development and front office specialist.
The Union are shopping for a new starting-level left back to replace Wagner. For years, it was no secret that Kai Wagner wanted to go to Europe. It came up seemingly every offseason, even after the left back signed a new long-term contract with the Union in early 2024.
At a certain level, that part of Wagner’s tenure in Chester will not be missed. But his contributions on the field obviously will be, as statistically one of the best left backs in MLS for many years. His departure ended up coming at a time when the Union’s depth chart at the position isn’t great.
Union defender Nathan Harriel is an option at left fullback in the departure of Kai Wagner, but the club is still looking for a solution.
Frankie Westfield and Nathan Harriel can play the role, but neither is a natural. So it will come as a relief to fans that the club’s brass made it clear Friday that they’re shopping for a new left back, presumably one who can start.
“While we’ve made a few signings, we aren’t done,” said Scheer on Friday. “We’re very active in the transfer market. We look forward to continuing to attack, so that our club is in the best possible position come 2026 and the season’s start.”
Ben Bender (right) is also training as a left back to support the team’s depth chart in the absence of defender Kai Wagner.
“Kai is a player that has had a lot of interest over the years, and has had ambition to go across to Europe as part of his career,” Scheer said. “He’s been an important part of the team and certainly brought a lot of key characteristics. But certainly we feel like we’re in a position where this is something we’ve been planning for just in case, and it’s really important that Bradley has a lot of tools at has disposal.”
Carnell said that, along with Westfield and Harriel, attacking midfielder Ben Bender has been training at the position in case of emergency.
“If we had to play a game tomorrow,” Carnell said, those three names would be the depth chart.
“Like John mentioned, we’re always also looking,” he continued. “And we feel we’re not done in terms of our scouting and process to see what’s on the market. But we don’t want to make a rush purchase where it doesn’t make sense, or a rush purchase where we feel under pressure just to make an acquisition.”
Cavan Sullivan (6) and the Union depart for Spain on Saturday, where they’ll play three matches over the course of a two-week preseason camp.
Preseason match schedule
The Union finalized its preseason schedule on Friday, with five games on the calendar. The team will leave for Marbella, Spain, on Saturday night, and will play three games there: Jan. 20 vs. Czech club Sigma Olomouc, Jan. 23 vs. Demark’s Nordsjælland, and Jan. 29. vs. Montenegro’s Budućnost.
The Nordsjælland matchup could see Milan Iloski play the club he came to MLS from, moving first to San Diego FC before joining the Union in the middle of last year.
After returning to Philadelphia on Jan. 31, players will get a few days off before the team heads to Clearwater, Fla. They’ll play the second-tier USL Championship’s Tampa Bay Rowdies in St. Petersburg on Feb. 7 and CF Montréal on Feb. 10 at the Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex in Clearwater.
The Tampa Bay game will be open to fans. It’s not clear yet if the Montréal game will be, or if any of the five games will be broadcast.
Don’t talk to him about the next five years; he doesn’t want to discuss them. Will his contract get extended with the Union next season? He says he has no clue.
In fact, as he arrived for an interview to discuss his career and where it’s going from here, he joked that he didn’t even know where he was supposed to go after this meeting for a scheduled team-bonding activity — one that apparently involved barbecue.
Bedoya is an enigma. Right now, he might be one of the few people whose off-the-field portfolio, at first glance, shows many avenues. But on this day, as captain of the No. 1 team in MLS’s Eastern Conference … no plans.
Well, except for one: Get back to the MLS Cup final. That’s it.
“Five years from now? I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you,” Bedoya said as he leaned back in his cushioned chair inside the Union’s film room. “What I can tell you? This team is special, and we’ve been special since preseason. We knew this team was special that long ago. I want to be a part of the team that brings an MLS Cup to this club and home to Philly.
Alejandro Bedoya (right) celebrates scoring a goal in the first half of the Union’s win against the Houston Dynamo on July 29.
“So, to be honest, I’m not thinking about [anything past that]. I made it a point this season, especially now that we’ve been so successful, to be focused on the team. I don’t want to think too far down the line and cause any disruptions to talk about this or that or what may happen or might not.”
It’s been an interesting 10-year run in Philly for Bedoya. He’s been the team’s leader since arriving from FC Nantes of the French first division in 2016. He’s been a vocal ambassador for ending gun violence. He’s been a staunch advocate for growing the youth game from a grassroots level.
However, this season, he’s mainly been the utilityman that first-year manager Bradley Carnell needs.
Things get real now for the Union. Coming off a high two weeks earlier after the club captured its second Supporters’ Shield, given to the team that finishes with the best regular-season record, Bedoya now leads the Union into the playoffs with every opponent looking to beat the best.
Alejandro Bedoya raises the Supporters’ Shield after beating New York City FC at Subaru Park on Saturday, Oct. 4.
First up is Chicago in Game 1 of a best-of-three series on Sunday (5:55 p.m., FS1, Apple TV+).
“He’s our leader. He’s one of the guys who holds us together,” Carnell said earlier this season of Bedoya. “That’s why he’s here. He’s committed to doing what he has to for the club. And from a leadership standpoint, there’s no one better. He’s great with the young guys, he’s great with the guys [who] have been here, and he knows what it takes to get to where we’re trying to go.”
Taste for more
It was 2022, and the rays of a sunny Los Angeles afternoon beamed onto Banc of California Stadium (now known as BMO Stadium), the site of the MLS Cup final. Led by then-manager Jim Curtin, Bedoya, clad in the Union’s unmistakable lightning bolt kit, took the field for warmups. He didn’t start that day, but his impact to that point was immeasurable.
That season, at age 36, he’d played in 30 regular-season games for the club and started 27 of them. He played nearly 2,500 minutes and scored six goals along with six assists, highlighted by two goals against D.C. United on July 8, which made him just the third player in club history to join the 20-20 club.
The fruits of his labor culminated in an Eastern Conference title and a trip to MLS’s final. But as team captain, his leadership guided the Union to its first MLS Cup appearance — and arguably one of the greatest MLS Cup finals ever.
So what’s changed in his roles and responsibilities from that moment with that coach to this moment with this coach?
“To be honest? Not much,” Bedoya said. “I’m still one of the captains, whether it’s me, [goalkeeper Andre] Blake or [defender] Jakob [Glesnes]. I, more so maybe than others, act as like that intermediary between the coaching staff, the technical staff, and the locker room. … I’ve been more of a glue guy, if you will. And this year, more than ever.”
The glue-guy approach has been the case on the field too. Each year, Bedoya’s minutes have dwindled from everyday starter to strategic, none more than this season, when he was used in situations to which he’s unaccustomed, like in the Union’s 7-0 loss to Vancouver on Sept. 13, when he started at right back following the suspension of defender Olwethu Makhanya.
In that match, the decision — and result — spoke for itself. Bedoya even acknowledged as much. But in the same breath, he noted that ebbs and flows happen in a club-first mindset.
I’ll be the first to apologize for my personal performance tonight and accept responsibility for the result tonight. Simply not good enough or anywhere near our standards and expectations. One thing is for sure. One result/game will NOT define us this season. On to the next one!
“We had to rotate a little bit, obviously,” Bedoya said. “Maybe I’m not the best right back. So I took that on the chin there, but we’re all about the collective here … and you have to be an unselfish guy. I think in Bradley [Carnell’s] system this year, I’ve been playing more even on the left side of midfield, which typically I haven’t played in years past. But as I said before, man, whatever it takes, I’m ready to step up and help the team out in any way.”
A plan for now
Despite a refusal to look into crystal balls right now, Bedoya’s future does have a number of paths. He has a certification from Harvard Business School and has become an entrepreneur and investor across several ventures.
He has diversified, but not necessarily in a way where all roads leads back to soccer. Instead, it’s in a way that when he’s not on the field, he can spend more time doing things with his family, namely his children, Santino, age 10, and Milena, 8.
Bedoya says the two, along with his wife, Bea Hilland, are his biggest supporters. He said he loves doing dad things, like taking them to soccer, dance, and doing school pickups when he’s not on the road.
But in true dad fashion, sometimes he wants to just sit on the couch and watch football. He says they’re cool with that, too.
Alejandro Bedoya (left) and his wife Beatrice Hilland (right) were on hand at the White House in 2022 for a celebration of then-President Joe Biden signing new federal gun control legislation.
“My wife will be the first one to tell you that she plays a major role in the house, with the kids, especially as much as we travel to games,” he said. “And as an old guy myself, you feel more pain, you get more sore the day after games. And you know those Sundays when maybe we have the days off, the younger guys can come in and do even more work, but I just want to sit on a Sunday and watch [NFL] RedZone all day, you know?
“I make it a routine to make sure every time I’m home, I do a drop off at school and pick up at school. I make sure that even when I do want to be lazy or try to recover on the sofa, that I got both of them next to me on my side … I get emotional sometimes thinking about after we won a Supporters’ Shield, like how happy they were. They’re FaceTiming friends saying, ‘We won the Shield,’ not just ‘Dad won the Shield.’ What I do matters to them, and to me, that’s everything.”
So how does he juggle a portfolio that doesn’t seem to stop?
“It’s finding the right balance with them,” Bedoya said. “My kids are at the age where they’re playing sports now. They’re in soccer. They’re in dance; they’re in baseball. I like being part of those special moments. I think part of the beauty of being a father and still being a player is being able to share these moments with them.”
“Let’s go finish this thing”
Over the course of his 15-minute interview, the only times Bedoya wasn’t stoic was when he discussed his family and what’s next for the Union. The latter only has a handful of more games before it could be bringing home MLS’s biggest prize.
And after 10 seasons in the same league with the same team on the same mission, Bedoya knows he’s not getting any younger. There are no more long-term contracts. His playing career has become a year-over-year proposition with a goal that has been the same since Day 1.
Bring an MLS Cup back to the Chester waterfront.
Union captain Alejandro Bedoya is ready to be the leader the team needs as it enters into the 2025 postseason as the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference.
This is the year he truly feels offers the best chance to do that. Whatever happens after that, Bedoya has already affirmed is wait-and-see.
“I can tell you from that first week [of preseason training] in Marbella [Spain], I could sense that there was something brewing,” Bedoya said. “We already had a basic kind of philosophy, philosophical model of how we want to play, but Bradley and the staff came in and amped that up to another level, to another notch.
“As far as my place? Like I said, I’m maybe not a starter anymore, but I’ve shown even this year that even when I do start, I can still impact the game in a positive way.”
He paused and added:
“This team is special, I think our record and our run to this point reflects that. The standard in training and in games is high, every day. We’re the team to beat and now it’s about going out there and being dominant. Let’s go finish this thing.”
