Weekly Update - 2/6/24
Just a few weeks to go!
Hi all!
Here is a quick update since the last time I wrote to you all. Let’s get to it:
1. Potentially no Brazil or Argentina at the Olympics?
Venezuela’s Olympic dream is still alive. They drew against Argentina in a thrilling match of the 2024 pre-Olympic tournament. Both teams were down a player, and the Argentines ended up losing a second player as Gonzalo Luján elbowed a Venezuelan player at the end of the match.
With two spots on the line for the Olympics this summer, meaning the top two teams earn passage, the group currently has Paraguay at the top after defeating Brazil, and Argentina and Venezuela are even for second place, with Brazil last.
José Riasco and Venezuela will face Brazil on Wednesday, February 8 at 6 P.M., with a chance to potentially eliminate the Brazilians from Olympic contention.
This is a must-watch soccer.
2. Another injury for Holden Trent?
Late last week, I heard from a source that Holden had sustained a minor injury to his thumb. Pictures of the team boarding their flight to Florida for the second phase of the pre-season confirmed it.
Can not overlook this, as his previous injury on his ring finger took him away from the field for an extended period, allowing Joe Bendik to play and leave the fans and press wondering just how good Trent is due to not playing a competitive match all of last year. My understanding is that this should be a few weeks and hopefully no more.
3. Blake on the condensed schedule (pt. 3?)
Yesterday, the CBS Sports Golazo show previewed the Philadelphia Union for the 2024 season. Their segment included an interview with Andre Blake. I believe this interview was conducted during Media Day in January but was only aired yesterday.
Andre Blake commented on the condensed schedule and how to navigate it:
"You need more depth. The stronger your team, the more you're able to rotate players. For me personally, when it's not with the club, I was traveling with the national team. So, in a sense, I was being a little bit biased because I don't get a break. At the end of the day, the more you win, the more games you play. Winning is going to lead to more games, but if it's going to lead to trophies, I'm okay with that. In the grand scheme of things, you just need to have more depth, and I don't know if that means MLS needs to relax the rules a little bit more or whatever the case might be. I guess it's the reward you get for wanting to win; it comes with more games."
Watch the whole segment here:
4. Cavan Sullivan joins the U2 for the second phase of pre-season.
The highly-rated US Youth National Team star and academy product joined the U2 for the second phase of the pre-season in Florida.
I have heard that he has been one of the best performers with the Union 2 while the first team was in Florida. The Union have about two years to convince the young star to stay with the Union, despite being linked to teams like Manchester City.
5. Depth Chart as of 2/5/24
With all the news from last week, here's an updated roster for the Philadelphia Union as they head into the second phase of the preseason. The team will face F.C. Cincinnati on Feb 9 and the New England Revolution on Wednesday, Feb 14. Their season officially kicks off in Costa Rica against Saprissa on Feb 20 at 10 p.m.
That is all for this newsletter. Again, thank you for subscribing and thank you to all that financially support this passion of mine.
14 days until the team finally plays a competitive match!
Cheers,
j.
Video credit to: CBS Sports, FOX Sports
Image credit to: Philadelphia Union Social Media