Tag: MLS Cup

FC Cincinnati coach Noonan: Supporters’ Shield more relevant than MLS Cup

Noonan’s side clinched the Shield with a win at Toronto FC on Saturday

FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan has said he believes the Supporters’ Shield is now more relevant than MLS Cup.

Noonan’s side clinched the Supporters’ Shield on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Toronto FC, completing an incredible turnaround that saw the team finish dead last in MLS for three straight seasons (2019-21).

The Shield is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record, which is, of course, how the majority of leagues worldwide crown their overall champion.

In MLS though, winning the Shield is merely a guarantee of homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and MLS Cup.

In a league where 18 of 29 teams currently reach the postseason, Noonan said on Monday that he felt winning the Shield represented something even bigger than taking home MLS Cup — though he stressed his side’s desire to do both.

“It’s a big achievement, and maybe that conversation is different years back but for me, it’s the consistency of a team over the course of a season,” Noonan told reporters in quotes published on the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“For me, now, and even my own opinion of it has changed: I think it has now surpassed MLS Cup in terms of relevance. That’s not to take away from the desire of our team to hold an MLS Cup but for that team to be the top team over the course of the season, I think, is very meaningful. The hope is that we can find a way to achieve both.”

Noonan’s side will now look to match Los Angeles FC, which won a Shield-MLS Cup double last year, becoming the eighth team to achieve the feat.

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MLS has a new playoff format, and it’s complicated

Here’s how the expanded MLS playoffs will work in 2023

Number of teams? Competitions? Length of playoffs? In MLS, the arrow must always go up.

Just four days before the 2023 season kicks off, the league announced details of a new, expanded postseason structure Tuesday. In a major departure from the single-game knockout set-up seen in recent seasons, MLS will allow nine teams from each conference into the playoffs — meaning that 62% of the league’s teams will get in, and over half will host at least one postseason match — and incorporating a best-of-three format for one round.

That last addition, a convoluted development first reported by The Athletic, is a throwback to the league’s early days. MLS had two different versions of a best-of-three format — one settling tied games with the old 35-yard shootout, and another allowing for ties in a “first to five points” set-up — from 1996 to 2002.

“Major League Soccer, in concert with the MLS Product Strategy Committee, undertook a review of the playoff format beginning in 2021 to deliver an enhanced playoff format that would provide fans with more games of consequence and better reward regular season results while maintaining the best elements from the single-elimination format,” said the league in a statement announcing the new format. “Incorporating fan research and feedback, MLS engaged a third-party expert in the global sports industry to support the process with data and analysis.”

Per MLS, every playoff game will be available with MLS Season Pass, with commentary “in either English or Spanish,” with matches featuring Canadian sides also having a French-language option.

How do the MLS playoffs work now?

The playoffs will begin shortly after Decision Day, which will see 28 of the league’s 29 teams square off on October 21, the final day of the regular season. The playoffs will open with wild card games on October 25-26 between the eighth- and ninth-placed teams from each conference, with the higher seed hosting one-off matches. In a concession to the mid-week date and the sheer length of the new playoff format, wild card games will not include extra time, instead proceeding straight to a penalty kick tiebreaker if the teams are level after 90 minutes.

The winners there will move on to round one, effectively a conference quarterfinal round featuring the aforementioned best-of-three format. Those matches, like the wild card games, will proceed straight to penalties if tied after 90 minutes, and a win in the tiebreaker is just as good as a win in regulation. The first team to win two games advances, with the higher seed hosting games one and (if necessary) three. Round one will take place between October 28 and November 12.

With FIFA’s November window falling right in the thick of the playoffs, MLS will take a break from November 13-21, before picking back up for conference semifinals and finals between November 25 and December 3. All playoff pairings past round one will revert to a more conventional one-game format, with ties broken by a more familiar 30-minute extra time and penalties set-up.

The 2023 MLS Cup final will take place December 9 at the higher seed’s home stadium.

Expansion inevitably means dilution

MLS’s release announcing the format change notes that this new structure could see as many as 24 “must-win” matches taking place to winnow the field down for MLS Cup, which doubles the total from the old format.

However, the old format’s single-game format meant that every single game from the start of the playoffs to MLS Cup was must-win. It is true that there were, in gross terms, fewer games where a team’s season was on the line, but in terms of intensity, adding eight games to the playoffs that can’t send anyone home will possibly lower the intensity of the postseason.

There are some clear positives to the new format: 16 of the 18 playoff teams will host at least one playoff match, which means their teams get one more revenue-driving home game, and one that’s an easy sell when it comes to local news outlets that aren’t as focused on MLS coverage. Weird or not, the new format is a boost on that front.

However, that lower intensity from adding games of limited consequence is amplified by a larger playoff field. Teams finishing in eighth and ninth in their conference are by definition not actually having good seasons. In 2022, the ninth-placed team in the East finished 25 points behind the Philadelphia Union, while in the West the gap was 24. In both cases, we’re talking about teams that lost more often than they won, and that has a substantial negative goal difference. Outside of their home markets, any given ninth-place team in an MLS conference is not a team people are clamoring to see get one more game.

Additionally, the structure has gone from one that was as clear-cut as can be to one that is utterly convoluted. Last year, a newcomer could tune into any playoff game and know that the winner advances, and the loser goes home. The format that has turned college basketball’s March Madness into one of the country’s biggest sporting events works in soccer, too.

Now, a casual fan needs a guide. One round is a single-game knockout, but with no extra time. Another round is best-of-three, and can be won by success in a tiebreaker that is merely soccer-adjacent. Then, after that, the single-game knockout is back, but now games can go to extra time? Even for MLS’s oldest heads, it’s an exercise.

That said, MLS clearly made a choice in 1996 and has stuck with it for each of its 28 seasons: the playoff format will be very inclusive. There are more seasons in which 80% of the league got into the postseason than 50%, the lowest-ever percentage (which has only happened twice, in 2010 and 2022). The league has always been like this, and as it continues to grow — St. Louis City SC’s debut brings MLS up to an unwieldy 29 teams — all signs point to a playoff structure that grows with it.

MLS is a strange league, and winning in it has always required adaptation to weird rules and situations. Like it or not, the deeply unorthodox playoff format for 2023 is very much in character.

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MLS Cup was an epic, and got TV ratings to match

MLS Cup ratings, despite a tough broadcast window, were up 38% over 2021

MLS Cup was a classic, and TV viewers responded in big numbers.

The titanic clash between LAFC and the Philadelphia Union was seen by over 2.1 million people, in ratings provided by Nielsen.

Nearly 1.5 million viewers watched on Fox, while 668,000 did the same in Spanish on Univision. The only MLS Cup to draw better ratings came all the way back in 1997, as the final between D.C. United and the LA Galaxy drew just over 2.2 million viewers.

MLS has long struggled for positive news on the TV ratings front, but MLS Cup was a big success despite going up against a massive college football game between Georgia and Tennessee. Viewership was up 38% from 2021’s final, which was shown on ABC and UniMas.

Only one club match did bigger numbers on an English-language channel this year, with the Champions League final getting 2.67 million viewers on CBS back in May.

Philly went all-in on the Union

Philadelphia sports fans in particular ended up boosting the numbers. Despite having a World Series game for the Phillies later on Saturday, more fans tuned in to see the Union than ever before.

In Philadelphia, MLS Cup drew a bigger share of TV viewership than the combined totals from the Georgia-Tennessee football game on CBS and ABC’s broadcast of Penn State vs. Indiana. It’s estimated that a whopping 26% of Philadelphia’s TV viewers were tuned to MLS Cup during the penalty kick shootout.

The ratings there and nationwide come at an interesting moment for MLS. The league has signed a 10-year broadcast deal with Apple TV, reportedly worth $250 million. The vast majority of games will be available on a new MLS streaming service on the Apple TV app, with details about linear broadcasts for specific games — MLS Cup almost certainly being among them — yet to be announced.

As a league with a history of middling-to-poor ratings, entering a new era without a defined linear TV broadcast partner could be treacherous. Being able to show networks that interest is climbing, even going up against one of the biggest football games of the year, is the best way to guarantee more lucrative deals and the more favorable broadcast windows the league has long craved.

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Gareth Bale admits he’s still not 100% as Wales-USMNT World Cup opener nears

With just two weeks until the World Cup starts, Bale is still working his way back

Gareth Bale said he’s still not 100 percent fit after his incredible extra-time goal helped Los Angeles FC win MLS Cup.

Bale hadn’t played in a month when he was subbed in during extra time of Saturday’s championship match against the Philadelphia Union.

After the Union seemed to have locked up the title with a 124th-minute goal, Bale scored one of the most dramatic goals in MLS history with a 128th-minute header that tied the match 3-3.

LAFC would go on to win MLS Cup on penalties. After the game, Bale told a press conference that his journey so far in MLS hasn’t been easy as injuries and fitness have severely curtailed his playing time.

“We spoke [before the game] about if I’m needed for the last 20 or 30 minutes then I’m available,” Bale said. “I’m not 100% at the moment. I’m still coming back, I still have a few little issues like most people do.

“I haven’t trained too much over the last three or four weeks because I’ve had this slight issue, but I was able to come on and give as much as I can and I’m glad I came up with the goal to help the team.

“It’s been a difficult transition coming in with no preseason, trying to play catch-up, relocating with my family. But I’ve tried to keep as fit as I can, tried to help the team as much as I can on and off the pitch and it’s all worth it when you have moments like this.”

Bale’s admission will be troubling for Wales, with just two weeks to go until the country’s World Cup opener against the U.S. national team.

The Welsh captain admitted it’s been extra tough to battle an injury so close to his country’s first World Cup since 1958.

“I’m feeling better and better as time goes on,” he added.

“Obviously I’ve had a few setbacks, I had a slight knock a couple of weeks back which kept me out for 10 days, so it’s just one of those.

“It’s been difficult mentally leading into the World Cup. There’s so many players dropping out and now they’re missing the World Cup, so it’s been difficult mentally and I’m sure it has for a lot of players playing leading going into this World Cup.

“For sure it’s been in the back of my mind trying to make sure I’m 100% fit.”

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Maxime Crepeau likely to miss Canada World Cup squad after MLS Cup injury

The “play of the game” may have cost Crépeau a World Cup spot

LAFC may have had plenty to celebrate after their MLS Cup victory, but one notable player was conspicuous by his absence.

Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau was injured in extra time after a hard collision with Philadelphia Union forward Cory Burke. The play was eventually ruled to be worthy of a red card from referee Ismail Elfath, while Crépeau appeared to have sustained a severe lower-leg injury, and was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated.

“I don’t have any new information for you,” said LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo in a post-match press conference. “I really do not know. With, you can see what’s going on, I haven’t had a chance to sit down with the doctor.”

Cherundolo’s post-game remarks were interrupted by a video call from Crépeau himself, with Cherundolo — after showing the phone to reporters — telling the 28-year-old he would call him back immediately after finishing his media obligations.

Fox’s broadcast crew made the decision not to show a replay of the collision or its aftermath, with color commentator Stu Holden explaining on the air that the visuals made for distinctly unpleasant viewing.

Crépeau, who after receiving treatment on the field was able to encourage his teammates and gave a thumbs up as he was carted off, was applauded by LAFC fans as he left the field.

John McCarthy, who took over in goal, took time to credit Crépeau for possibly saving LAFC’s MLS Cup hopes.

“That’s the play of the game, for me,” said McCarthy. “If he comes out and slides and misses [Burke], that’s 3-2, and who knows how the game’s gonna end? But he made a big-time decision by coming out and making that play.”

Crépeau was in a difficult spot, as a badly under-hit back pass from Jesús Murillo looked like it would give Burke a free run at goal. Crépeau’s charge off his line ended up a split-second too late to touch the ball away from Burke, and was so close that initially, Elfath only gave the goalkeeper a yellow card. It may have been a foul with grave consequences, but to McCarthy’s point, it did prevent the Jamaican striker from a clear one-on-one opportunity with the game in the balance.

“I’m absolutely devastated for him, because it seems like it’s a pretty serious injury, and he’s gonna miss the World Cup. I don’t know the extent of it,” said McCarthy. “If you come out of a game in that situation, you’re not coming out for a band-aid. So I’m genuinely, genuinely sorry [for Crépeau].”

World Cup impact for Canada

McCarthy was right to bring up Crépeau’s World Cup hopes. John Herdman had generally treated the LAFC goalkeeper as his primary back-up, with only Milan Borjan ahead of him on the depth chart. The timing, for player and country, couldn’t be worse.

Herdman already has a very worrisome situation on his hands, with Alphonso Davies awaiting the results of a scan on his hamstring, and the signs are pointing to Crépeau’s spot now being up for grabs. Minnesota United’s Dayne St. Clair appears to be the next man up, but the 25-year-old has just one senior cap for Canada.

The competition at this point will likely be for that third goalkeeper spot on Herdman’s roster. With Borjan still busy at the club level with Red Star Belgrade, Canada had called up Crépeau, St. Clair, and CF Montréal’s James Pantemis for a friendly against Bahrain on Friday, November 11. Canada would have two days to sort out their final roster after that friendly, with FIFA’s deadline on November 13.

Canada has only called up one other goalkeeper in the last year, with Oldham Athletic’s Jayson Leutwiler (a 33-year-old veteran, but who has just three caps for Canada) likely the only other option in Herdman’s mind at this point.

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Will Ferrell rises to the occasion, drinks from MLS Cup after LAFC victory

Cometh the hour, cometh the man

Will Ferrell has played some characters that know how to party, and it turns out he can match them in real life.

Ferrell, an LAFC owner, drank from MLS Cup after his side came through a nutty, dramatic 3-3 draw with the Philadelphia Union to lift the trophy after a penalty kick shootout.

Ferrell stood on the pitch at Banc of California Stadium and channeled the spirit of Frank “The Tank,” his beer-loving character from the 2003 movie “Old School.” With help from the club’s star striker Cristian “Chicho” Arango, Ferrell tipped back the MLS Cup trophy to take a big swig of whatever sponsor-provided beverage was inside.

That’s expert-level partying, with Ferrell leading by example for an LAFC side that had never lifted MLS Cup before Saturday’s success.

Watch Will Ferrell drink from MLS Cup

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Gareth Bale scored an insane 128th-minute goal to save 10-man LAFC’s season

The oft-injured summer signing scored one of the most dramatic goals in MLS history

Gareth Bale hadn’t played a minute during the postseason, and it didn’t appear that he would as MLS Cup entered extra time tied 2-2.

Bale was LAFC’s marquee summer addition, but injuries and fitness limited him to just 347 minutes and only two starts among his 12 appearances leading up to the biggest game of the season.

Philadelphia Union captain Alejandro Bedoya even joked about it leading up to the game, saying Bale “barely plays.”

The Union probably aren’t laughing much now.

In one of the wildest MLS Cups we’ll ever see, Bale came on in extra time and headed home a season-saving goal for 10-man LAFC to send the game to penalties, where they would prevail 3-0 and lift MLS Cup.

The circumstances were one of a kind. The Union appeared to have won the Cup after Jack Elliott scored in the 124th minute to give Philadelphia a 3-2 lead.

But with an incredible nine minutes of stoppage time in extra time after Maxime Crépeau’s horror injury there was still hope for LAFC, though they were down to 10 men after Crépeau was sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

That was enough time for Bale to deliver a signature moment, getting up high and dunking on Elliott to nod home a cross from Diego Palacios and send Banc of California Stadium into convulsions.

It may be true that he barely plays, but Bale did the most with his brief time on the pitch on Saturday. It ended up with yet another trophy in a highly decorated career.

Watch Bale’s goal in MLS Cup

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10-man LAFC get Gareth Bale miracle goal, overcome Philadelphia Union in unfathomable MLS Cup final

An impossibly eventful game ended with LAFC taking MLS Cup

An indescribable MLS Cup ended with LAFC showing calm nerves on penalty kicks, with Ilie Sánchez ending an indisputable classic from the penalty spot after an astounding 3-3 extra time draw between his side and the Philadelphia Union.

An unreal spectacle featuring everything good and bad about MLS stomped on the gas pedal at the opening kick and never let up. MLS Cups of the past have been dramatic, with the very first final memorably being decided on a golden goal from Eddie Pope back in 1996, but they’ve never been like this.

LAFC took two leads on set piece goals, only for the Union to reply each time with a dead ball goal of their own. The Union, deep in to stoppage time in extra time, thought they had a winner, only for Gareth Bale — of course! — to head home an even later goal to send a 3-3 epic to penalties. From there, former Union goalkeeper John McCarthy, who was only in the game due to an injury to Maxime Crépeau, saved two Philadelphia penalties to lead LAFC to their first-ever MLS Cup victory.

The Union wanted and got the frenetic sort of game they enjoy, but LAFC had the better of the exchanges, taking the lead in the 28th minute. An ill-advised foul from José Martínez gave LAFC a free kick from a great location, 24 yards from goal.

Philadelphia prepared for a Carlos Vela left-footer, but Acosta stepped up instead from the other side, firing a shot that Jack McGlynn — who started over Alejandro Bedoya due to the veteran’s questionable status after an injury — could only glance past the wrongfooted Andre Blake.

For Acosta, the goal comes at a perfect moment. It will probably help media members figure out what team he actually plays for, but this final was also his final game to make his case for a U.S. men’s national team spot to Gregg Berhalter before the World Cup roster reveal next week.

A free kick in a similar spot came 10 minutes later, but this time the Union wall did its job, blocking Cristian “Chicho” Arango’s initial shot. Vela floated the rebound to Diego Palacios, but the Ecuadorian defender’s angled shot was spectacularly saved by Blake, keeping the Union in the game.

Fittingly for a series in which the last six leads have all been answered with an equalizer, the Union pulled level on a set piece of their own. Martínez, after LAFC had half-cleared the initial service, scuffed a 58th minute shot from over 30 yards out.

It wasn’t a good hit, but it rolled straight to Dániel Gazdag, who was kept onside by Palacios and easily finished past Crépeau.

Set pieces remained the order of the day. With the Union tightening the screws, LAFC had barely mounted an attack in a 10-minute span only to take a stunning 83rd minute lead. Vela’s corner found Jesús Murillo — who had escaped Martínez to get wide open — for a free header at the near post, and the center back sent a bullet past Blake.

Save for a large, blue-clad contingent in the upper decks, Banc of California Stadium was in full party mode, but their celebrations were cut short. Two minutes later, the Union won a free kick deep on the left flank, and Kai Wagner’s service to the near post was driven into a perfect location.

LAFC’s marking scheme somehow completely left the six-foot-six Jack Elliott unaccounted for, and the tallest field player in the game strode forward to head past Crépeau.

LAFC brought in some rarely-used big names for extra time, with Bale entering for Vela shortly after Cristian Tello had replaced Acosta. While Bale is the bigger star, Tello was more immediately influential, with Blake making a huge save to deny his long-range shot.

A wild game took a deeply unfortunate turn in the 109th minute. An under-hit back pass from LAFC gave Cory Burke a potential one-on-one with Crépeau, who raced off his line hoping to save the day. The players collided outside the box, with Crépeau missing the ball, clipping Burke, and being apparently badly injured in the process.

Referee Ismail Elfath initially gave him a yellow card for the foul, but as Crépeau was stretchered off to receive further medical attention, the card’s color was changed to red for a denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Burke would also need a substitution after trying to play through it, and Elfath had to give nine minutes of stoppage time after the lengthy break. That’s not a lot of time, except in a game like this, where it was time for both teams to score.

Four minutes into stoppage time, Wagner bent a corner in, and LAFC half-cleared…and half-cleared…and half-cleared again. Bale tried to acrobatically get the ball away, but ultimately Wagner got another chance to cross. He found Julián Carranza, and though his shot didn’t get through, Elliott was there to sweep home on the line, stunning Banc of California Stadium.

Elliott had broken an MLS record that his center back partner Jakob Glesnes had only set last year, when the Union eliminated the New York Red Bulls. The Union were just minutes from their first MLS Cup.

And yet.

Four minutes later, LAFC broke that record again, with Bale — who had barely even gotten a touch beforehand — soaring up to beat Elliott to a Palacios cross, as the 10-man home side conjured up a goal 128 minutes into MLS Cup.

In penalties, as much as the game had been even, only one team was ready for the moment. LAFC recovered from Tello’s opening attempt being saved to convert their next three attempts, while the Union disintegrated. Gazdag slipped, firing over, while Martínez and Wagner both had rather meek shots denied by the confident McCarthy.

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Gareth Bale ‘barely plays,’ but Alejandro Bedoya expects tough LAFC challenge at MLS Cup

Bedoya expects a tough LAFC challenge regardless of Bale’s playing time

MLS Cup hasn’t kicked off yet, but that isn’t stopping the teams from getting stuck in.

Speaking to reporters ahead of Saturday’s championship game (4:00pm Eastern, Fox/Univision/TUDN), Philadelphia Union captain Alejandro Bedoya offered a playful dig at Gareth Bale, whose fitness levels are unclear heading into the final.

The Union and LAFC haven’t squared off since May, and since then the Supporters’ Shield winners have added Bale, Giorgio Chiellini, Cristian Tello, and Designated Player Denis Bouanga.

Asked about how LAFC have looked since those moves, Bedoya couldn’t help but point out the major talking point when it comes to Bale’s time in MLS: he just hasn’t been on the field very much.

“Well, one of them barely plays,” deadpanned Bedoya. “He’s a big name. He’s a big guy, right? I mean, that’s a headline.”

Since making a stunning move to LAFC, Bale has played just 347 minutes, with only two starts among his 12 appearances. While that does mean he’s been in the large majority of the club’s 15 matches since making his debut on July 17, it also averages out to around 28 minutes per appearance.

Down the stretch, those figures have taken a nosedive. Bale’s last appearance was a five-minute cameo against the Portland Timbers on October 2. The Welsh star was not in uniform against Nashville SC on Decision Day or for LAFC’s bonkers 3-2 win over the LA Galaxy in the Western Conference semifinals. He did dress for the rampant win over Austin FC that booked their spot at MLS Cup, but was an unused substitute on the day.

Despite all that, and despite doubts over his own availability for the final, Bedoya praised Bale once the chuckles from media died down.

“No disrespect to Bale, he’s a fantastic player,” said Bedoya. “I’ll never forget that goal he scored when he was out of bounds, like five yards out of bounds and he just sprinted past and then was able to score the goal. He’s incredible.”

Bedoya name-checked Chiellini and MLS MVP candidate Cristian “Chicho” Arango as some of LAFC’s stars, before adding that he has a good relationship with head coach Steve Cherundolo dating back to their U.S. men’s national team days.

“I just saw Steve Cherundolo just now, I played with him on the national team,” noted Bedoya. “He was crucial to me during my time with the national team, because I played in front of him for some games, and I know how he sees the game, and just learning from the guy like him. So I’m happy for him in his first season as a head coach here, he’s in an MLS Cup final.”

Union have to ‘give them hell’

Bedoya also brought up recent meetings between the teams, which have tended to be as even as they’ve been entertaining.

Each of the last three clashes have ended in a draw, and the games have felt like two MLS titans duking it out. Back in May, the Union took the lead twice at the Banc of California Stadium, only for LAFC to fight back to equalize on both occasions in a 2-2 draw.

Just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the two MLS Cup finalists played arguably the single best game in the league over the past three seasons, an epic 3-3 battle. The Union took three leads, only for LAFC to get level each time. That game might be best remembered for a Jakob Glesnes launching a missile of a free kick to score from 35 yards.

“I think we’ve given them some tough games,” said Bedoya. “I think some of the most exciting games in MLS, when you think about that 3-3 game, and then the 2-2 game we had earlier this year. We tied them at home too, 1-1. I mean, they’re always pretty exciting.”

For Bedoya, the key to a Union win boils down to which team can assert their style of play, and how hard Philadelphia can fight.

“We play our game, they have their game, it’s pretty much kind of different styles,” said Bedoya, noting that LAFC has become less possession-heavy under Cherundolo in 2022. “As long as we play our game, and our style, and give them hell, be hard to play against, I think we can get the job done.”

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It doesn’t sound great for Alejandro Bedoya’s chances of playing MLS Cup

The Union captain may be forced to watch the biggest game in club history from the sideline

Philadelphia Union captain Alejandro Bedoya may be forced to watch MLS Cup from the sidelines.

Bedoya started against NYCFC in the Eastern Conference final, but he appeared to re-aggravate the hip flexor strain he’d been battling for more than a month and didn’t make it past halftime.

Speaking at a pre-match press conference on Friday, Union head coach Jim Curtin admitted that the 35-year-old, whom he described as the “heart and soul of our club,” faced an uphill battle to play against LAFC at Banc of California Stadium on Saturday.

“He’s doing everything obviously to be a part of the game,” Curtin said. “We talk about it all the time, you never know when you’ll get another opportunity like this.

“He’s not the youngest, but he’s gotten better and better with the years and he’s had an amazing season for us. So even if it’s for five minutes to close out the game, he wants to be a part of it and he’s going to do everything he possibly can to be prepared for it.”

Should Bedoya feature against the Supporters’ Shield winners, it will almost certainly be off the bench. Even if Bedoya doesn’t play, Curtin still said he’d have a role to play for the Union.

“I can say now it will be difficult [for Bedoya] to start the match,” Curtin said. “It’s literally going to go down to the last minute for him to be a part of the game.

“He’ll still do all the things in the locker room to help us out, to calm the guys down, to get them amped up when they need to get amped up. He’s the heart and soul of our club and if he’s not able to be part of it, I think the guys will have a little extra in there for Alejandro.”

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