The Philadelphia Union, Major League Soccer's newest team, named their first ten players Wednesday during the expansion draft. The expansion draft allows new teams to build their initial roster with players made available from existing MLS teams. The MLS teams designated 11 players as protected; the remaining unprotected players from their roster were available to the Union. Only one player could be drafted from each team.
Forming the draft list was exciting for Philadelphia Union coach Peter Nowak. He said "It was not an easy process to select this team. The war room was really, really hot. At some point, we had some very tense moments, but we all had great ideas, and we were all just trying to find the right formula."
The Union also announced a trade made earlier with MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake. The Union acquired RSL goalkeeper Chris Seitz in exchange for allocation money from the league and the Union's promise not to select a player from the reigning MLS champions' roster. Seitz played for Nowak on the U.S. under-23 national team that competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The current Philadelphia Union roster stands as follows:
- position, name, age, former team, how acquired
- goalkeeper Chris Seitz, 22, Real Salt Lake, trade
- goalkeeper Brad Knighton, 24, New England, expansion draft
- defenders David Myrie, 21, Chicago, expansion draft
- defender Shavar Thomas, 28, Chivas USA, expansion draft
- defender Jordan Harvey, 25, Colorado, expansion draft
- midfielder Shea Salinas, 23, San Jose,expansion draft
- midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi, 32, Los Angeles, expansion draft
- midfielder Andrew Jacobson, 24, D.C. United, expansion draft
- forward Nick Zimmerman, 22, New York, expansion draft
- forward Alejandro Moreno, 30, Columbus, expansion draft
- forward Sebastian Le Toux, 25, Seattle, expansion draft
With other MLS teams protecting their top players, new MLS teams may be limited in the talent they can find in an expansion draft. However, fan comments about the Union's picks are generally positive. The concensus indicates that Moreno and Miglioranzi will bring experience and leadership; Knighton and Seitz are legitimate keepers; Thomas, Harvey and Myrie will form the core of a solid back line; and Moreno, Le Toux and Salinas will all play roles in an attacking scheme; and Jacobson could very well be a sleeper. If the rest of the team is assembled with the same eye for talent, the Union just might be a decent expansion team.
The Union hope to fare as well as the Seattle Sounders did in 2009. The Sounders, an expansion team in 2009, made the playoffs in their inaugural season.
To continue building the team, the Union will hold their second open tryout on Dec. 5 at the University of Pennsylvania. The first open tryout was held earlier this month. They will also add more players at the MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 13 where they have the pick first overall.
The Union debut March 25, 2010 at the Seattle Sounders and will play their first home game April 10 against DC United at Lincoln Financial Field.
In other roster news, Real Salt Lake claimed Houston Dynamo forward Abe Thompson off the waiver list. Thompson played collegiate soccer for the Maryland Terrapins from 2000-04. He was the school's all-time leader with 43 goals, 112 points and 26 assists, and was twice the semifinalist for the prestigious M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Award. Thompson played for the Kansas City Wizards and Houston Dynamo in 2009. Thompson may be a replacement for Yura Movsisyan, who will leave RSL to join Randers FC in Denmark.
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