Jim Curtin and the Philadelphia Union have made no bones about putting a heavy priority on lifting the 2023 Concacaf Champions League title.
Doing so means fixture congestion this spring, as they booked their CCL semifinal spot Wednesday with a 2-2 draw at Liga MX's Atlas FC (3-2 aggregate) down in Mexico. After that, it was a quick turnaround for Saturday's MLS Matchday 8 test at Chicago Fire FC, where they rallied for a 2-2 draw behind DƔniel Gazdag's 62nd-minute penalty kick and JuliƔn Carranza's equalizer minutes later.
Knowing LAFC await at the end of April, an age-old juggling act remains: how to balance CCL with the MLS season. Curtin isn't shying away from that problem despite the physical toll it could take on his players.
"I think everybody and every coach in the league is trying to find a blueprint for how you navigate 55 to 60 games, which is unique for all of us," the head coach said on MLS 360 after the match. "We've all maybe experimented a little more with lineups. So you don't have maybe the continuity that you're used to.
"But I still think our group shows a lot of heart...it's one of those games tonight where when the own goal goes in, you just think it's going to be one of those nights. But I think from that point on, we actually really took over the game and got stronger and showed our fitness and maybe could have stolen the game, too."
Carranza, for his part, answered the bell after some hard conversations. Curtin stated he "was furious" with his 22-year-old striker after a lackluster first half considering the Argentine had bagged a brace against Atlas on Wednesday.
"I thought he wasted the first 45 minutes. Great to see a response, though, in the second half, and he looked like himself," Curtin said of the Designated Player. "He's still a young striker, but I'm going to keep pushing him. His potential is the play anywhere in the world. I believe that, but it has to be every day."
Now, following a visit from Toronto FC on Matchday 9 next Saturday, it's back to CCL play, and a rematch of the legendary MLS Cup 2022 that ultimately went LAFC's way on penalty kicks.
That matchup also guarantees at least one MLS team in the final for the second straight year with the star-studded makeup of the defending league champions and the gritty, blue-collar mindset of the Union crossing paths once more. Both are looking to repeat Seattle Sounders FC's triumph over Pumas UNAM last year, which broke Liga MX's stranglehold on the continental tournament that provides regional bragging rights and a FIFA Club World Cup spot.
"Their club is special, and I think our club is special too," Curtin said of LAFC. "The beauty of MLS is you can do it different ways. You can do it the way LAFC did it. You can do it our way, where it was maybe a little more built through the academy and it took a little bit more time, but both clubs are successful. Both clubs are fun to watch."
