BREAKING: Union receive #6 overall pick in today’s draft: http://philadelphiaunion.com/Content1.aspx?cid=2.1 Now with picks 1, 6, 7, 17, 33, 49.
The Philadelphia Union are set to take part in their first MLS SuperDraft today, which takes place at the Philadelphia Convention Center. The Sons of Ben are sure to be out in full force, and they’re getting the party started early at McGillins’ Ale House in the morning. I would be there if not for a stupid thing called “work.”
Even with the 1st pick in the draft tomorrow, the Union aren’t sitting back and waiting. On the verge of the draft, the Union swapped places in the allocation order with D.C. United (so they could acquire GK Troy Perkins) in exchange for midfielder Fred, allocation money, and the #7 overall pick in the draft today. That’s a hell of a trade for Philly. Having two of the top 7 picks will enable the Union to continue building a strong young core of players. Some of the prospects being mentioned for that top spot are Ike Opara from Wake Forest, Tony Tchani from Virginia, and Danny Mwanga from Oregon State. The Union could take any of those three, or even someone entirely different. It’s going to be an important draft for the U, so I’m excited to see where they go with their picks.
In other news, Philadelphia has been named as one of the 18 host cities for a potential U.S. World Cup in 2018 or 2022. You can read more about the host cities here. While this is big news for soccer in Philly, it’s only a first step. Once the bidding process goes forward, it will most likely be narrowed down to a smaller list of cities at a future date. Since Philly hosted the USMNT earlier this summer at Lincoln Financial Field, I’m sure that bodes well for Philly’s chances to continue on in a further U.S. bid for a World Cup.
This past week has seen a lot of good news for soccer in Philadelphia, and there is going to be a lot more news after tomorrow.
2010 is here and the Philadelphia Union are finally embarking on their inaugural season. I’ll leave you with a video of what can be expected from the SOBs tomorrow.
