The 2011 Philadelphia Union season was the second season of the team's existence, competing in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The team was managed by former MLS player Peter Nowak, in his second season with the club.

Background

At the end of the 2010 season, Philadelphia was 7th in the Eastern Conference, which unfortunately was not enough to get them into the MLS Playoffs. During the off-season, the team lost Fred, Seitz, Salinas, and Moreno through re-entry and expansion drafts. The Union did acquire 2 new players before the 2011 SuperDraft in January: one through trade (Brian Carroll from Columbus Crew) and their first homegrown player (Zach Pfeffer). In the MLS SuperDraft, Philadelphia had selected three new players for the team: Zac MacMath (GK from University of Maryland and 5th pick overall), Michael Farfan (M from University of North Carolina, 23rd overall) and Levi Houapeu (F from University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 41st overall). During the Supplemental Draft, the Union picked up another 3 players: Ryan Richter (MF/F), Josh Walburn (D) and Matt Marcin (MF).

Shortly after the SuperDraft, the team released MF Toni Ståhl, who had only played a handful of minutes with the team in 2010, and was sent off in the first game of the season with 2 yellow cards. Toward the end of January, Philadelphia released their other goalie from the 2010 season, Brad Knighton.

On January 20, Philadelphia introduced two new players: Colombians Faryd Mondragón (GK) and Carlos Valdés (D). Mondragón had recently come from playing with F.C. Cologne in the German Bundesliga, and has at least 50 caps with the Colombia nationaltTeam. Valdés comes from Club Independiente Santa Fe in the Colombian First Division, where he served as captain before coming to Philadelphia.

On January 11, the Union became the 13th team in MLS to gain a shirt sponsor. Bimbo Bakeries USA will sponsor the team in exchange for US$12 million (three million for four years). Bimbo Bakeries has sponsored other teams in Mexico and Costa Rica, but this is their first time in MLS.

Review Preseason Philadelphia Union will play their first pre-season game against the U-17 US Men National Team on February 6. They will then play two friendlies against university teams, University of South Florida and University of Central Florida, on February 10 and 13 respectively. Their last pre-season game in Orlando will be against Orlando City, a new team in the USL Professional Division, on February 19.

The club announced the signing of former MLS Most Valuable Player Carlos Ruiz on February 22.

League Start Philadelphia Union's first game was away against Houston Dynamo on March 19. Their first home game at PPL Park was against the Vancouver Whitecaps on March 26.

2011 roster As of September 23, 2011.

Match results

Preseason friendlies

MLS regular season

The Union are 11-8-15 overall, 7-1-9 at home, 4-7-6 on the road.

MLS Cup Playoffs

U.S. Open Cup

Friendlies

MLS Reserve League

The Union Reserves are 2-7-1 overall, 2-3-0 at home, 0-4-1 on the road.

League table

Conference

Overall

Results summary

Squad information

Squad breakdown

Ages are as of March 19, 2011 (the date of their season opener).

No. Name Nationality Position Date of birth (age) Signed From Goalkeepers 1 Faryd Mondragón GK Cologne 18 Zac MacMath GK University of Maryland 24 Thorne Holder GK F.C. New York 31 Chase Harrison GK Harrisburg City Islanders Defenders 2 Joe Tait CB Dayton Dutch Lions 3 Juan Diego González CB Deportivo Pereira 4 Danny Califf CB Midtjylland 5 Carlos Valdés CB Santa Fe 25 Sheanon Williams RB Harrisburg City Islanders Midfielders 6 Stefani Miglioranzi CM/DM Los Angeles Galaxy 7 Brian Carroll CM/DM Columbus Crew 8 Roger Torres AM América de Cali 11 Freddy Adu AM Benfica 13 Kyle Nakazawa CM UCLA 14 Amobi Okugo CM/DM UCLA 15 Gabriel Farfan CM/DM Club América 17 Keon Daniel LW/RW Puerto Rico Islanders 21 Michael Farfan LW/RW University of North Carolina 22 Justin Mapp LW/RW Chicago Fire 23 Ryan Richter CM/LB La Salle University 26 Morgan Langley LW/RW Harrisburg City Islanders 27 Zach Pfeffer AM FC Delco Forwards 9 Sébastien Le Toux ST/AM Seattle Sounders FC 10 Danny Mwanga ST Oregon State University 12 Levi Houapeu ST UMBC 16 Veljko Paunović ST/AM Unattached 19 Jack McInerney ST Cobb Soccer Club

Statistics

Statistics are from all MLS league matches.

NatNoPlayerPosAppsStartsGAAcquiredSalary 2 HarveyJordan Harvey*DF 16 16 0 1 4 1 Expansion Draft$63,125 2 TaitJoe TaitDF 0 0 0 0 0 0 Signed$42,000 3 GonzálezJuan Diego GonzálezDF 0 0 0 0 0 0 Signed$193,462 4 CaliffDanny CaliffDF 33 33 1 0 4 0 Signed$250,000 5 ValdésCarlos ValdésDF 32 32 1 1 8 0 Signed$180,000 6 MiglioranziStefani MiglioranziMF 17 11 0 0 1 0 Expansion Draft$153,125 7 CarrollBrian CarrollMF 30 30 1 0 5 0 Trade$160,000 8 TorresRoger TorresMF 25 9 3 2 1 0 On Loan$108,725 9 Le TouxSébastien Le TouxFW 34 34 11 9 0 0 Expansion Draft$179,000 10 MwangaDanny MwangaFW 28 13 5 4 4 0 SuperDraft$226,250 (GA) 11 AduFreddy AduMF 11 6 2 0 0 0 Signed$594,884 (DP) 12 HouapeuLevi HouapeuFW 0 0 0 0 0 0 SuperDraft$32,604 12AgorsorChris Agorsor*FW 0 0 0 0 0 0 Weighted lottery$42,000 13 NakazawaKyle NakazawaMF 22 14 1 3 1 0 SuperDraft$44,000 14 OkugoAmobi OkugoMF 15 10 0 0 2 0 SuperDraft$168,000 (GA) 15 FarfanGabriel FarfanMF 22 18 1 2 1 0 Signed$42,000 16 PaunovićVeljko PaunovićFW 17 16 3 3 1 0 Signed$90,000 17 DanielKeon DanielMF 18 9 1 2 1 0 Signed$46,410 19 McInerneyJack McInerneyFW 18 5 1 0 1 1 SuperDraft$135,417 (GA) 20 RuizCarlos Ruiz*FW 14 13 6 0 2 0 Signed$306,671 21 FarfanMichael FarfanMF 21 13 2 3 1 0 SuperDraft$79,500 22 MappJustin MappMF 29 24 3 4 1 0 Trade$183,333 23 HouapeuRyan RichterMF 0 0 0 0 0 0 Supplemental Draft$32,604 25 WilliamsSheanon WilliamsDF 32 32 1 3 4 1 Signed$42,000 26 LangleyMorgan LangleyMF 1 1 0 0 0 0 SignedN/A 27 PfefferZach PfefferMF 3 2 0 0 0 0 Signed$65,000 (HG) 44 35 46 3 * = Not currently part of team.

Goalkeepers NatNoPlayerAppsStartsRecordGAGAASOAcquiredSalary 1 MondragónFaryd Mondragón27 27 8-8-11 28 1.04 7 Signed$396,667 18 MacMathZac MacMath8 7 3-0-4 8 1.00 3 SuperDraft$125,000 (GA) 24 HolderThorne Holder0 0 0-0-0 0 0 0 Signed$42,000 31 HolderChase Harrison0 0 0-0-0 0 0 0 SignedN/A 35 34 11-8-1536 1.03 10 * = Not currently part of team.

MLS Cup Playoffs Squad information

Statistics

Statistics are from all MLS Cup Playoffs matches.

NatNoPlayerPosAppsStartsGAAcquiredSalary 2 TaitJoe TaitDF 0 0 0 0 0 0 Signed$42,000 3 GonzálezJuan Diego GonzálezDF 0 0 0 0 0 0 Signed$193,462 4 CaliffDanny CaliffDF 2 2 0 0 0 0 Signed$250,000 5 ValdésCarlos ValdésDF 2 2 0 0 1 0 Signed$180,000 6 MiglioranziStefani MiglioranziMF 1 1 0 0 1 0 Expansion Draft$153,125 7 CarrollBrian CarrollMF 2 2 0 0 1 0 Trade$160,000 8 TorresRoger TorresMF 2 0 0 0 0 0 Signed$108,725 9 Le TouxSébastien Le TouxFW 2 2 1 0 0 0 Expansion Draft$179,000 10 MwangaDanny MwangaFW 1 1 0 0 0 0 SuperDraft$226,250 11 AduFreddy AduMF 2 0 0 0 0 0 Signed$594,884 13 NakazawaKyle NakazawaMF 0 0 0 0 0 0 SuperDraft$44,000 14 OkugoAmobi OkugoMF 0 0 0 0 0 0 SuperDraft$168,000 15 FarfanGabriel FarfanMF 2 2 0 0 2 0 Signed$42,000 16 PaunovićVeljko PaunovićFW 1 1 0 0 0 0 Signed$90,000 17 DanielKeon DanielMF 0 0 0 0 0 0 Signed$46,410 19 McInerneyJack McInerneyFW 2 1 0 0 0 0 SuperDraft$135,417 21 FarfanMichael FarfanMF 2 2 0 1 0 0 SuperDraft$79,500 22 MappJustin MappMF 2 1 0 0 0 0 Trade$183,333 23 HouapeuRyan RichterMF 0 0 0 0 0 0 Supplemental Draft$32,604 25 WilliamsSheanon WilliamsDF 2 2 0 0 1 0 Signed$42,000 26 LangleyMorgan LangleyMF 0 0 0 0 0 0 SignedN/A 27 PfefferZach PfefferMF 0 0 0 0 0 0 Signed$65,000 1 1 5 0

Goalkeepers NatNoPlayerAppsStartsRecordGAGAASOAcquiredSalary 1 MondragónFaryd Mondragón2 2 0-2-0 3 2.00 0 Signed$396,667 18 MacMathZac MacMath0 0 0-0-0 0 0 0 SuperDraft$125,000 24 HolderThorne Holder0 0 0-0-0 0 0 0 Signed$42,000 2 2 0-2-03 1.50 0

Honors and awards

MLS Player of the Month MonthPlayerStatsSeptember Sébastien Le Toux7G

MLS Player of the Week WeekPlayerStats11 Justin Mapp2G (11', 61')

MLS Goal of the Week WeekPlayerReport10 Carlos Ruiz18 Carlos Ruiz20 Roger Torres

MLS Team of the Week WeekPlayerReport1 Danny Califf 2 Brian Carroll7 Sheanon Williams Carlos Valdés Keon Daniel10 Justin Mapp11 Justin Mapp16 Sheanon Williams18 Sébastien Le Toux Justin Mapp Carlos Valdés28 Michael Farfan29 Sébastien Le Toux Michael Farfan

MLS All-Stars 2011 PositionPlayerNotesGK Faryd MondragónHans Backe's Pick

Player movement

Transfers

In DatePlayerNumberPositionPrevious clubFee/notesRef November 22, 2010 Brian Carroll 7 MF Columbus Crew Acquired for allocation money and a 2nd round SuperDraft pick December 22, 2010 Zach Pfeffer 27 MF FC Delco Signed As Homegrown Player January 20, 2011 Faryd Mondragón 1 GK Köln Undisclosed January 20, 2011 Carlos Valdés 5 DF Santa Fe Undisclosed February 14, 2011 Chris Agorsor 12 FW University of Virginia Weighted lottery February 22, 2011 Carlos Ruiz 20 FW Aris Free March 1, 2011 Thorne Holder 24 GK Adelphi University Free March 1, 2011 Ryan Richter 23 MF La Salle University Supplemental Draft, 1st round March 18, 2011 Levi Houapeu 11 FW University of Maryland, Baltimore County 2011 MLS SuperDraft, 3rd round March 18, 2011 Keon Daniel 17 MF Puerto Rico Islanders Free March 18, 2011 Gabriel Farfan 15 MF Club América Free June 13, 2011 Veljko Paunović 16 FW Unattached Free August 12, 2011 Freddy Adu 11 MF Benfica Free, acquired via allocation process August 22, 2011 Thorne Holder 24 GK F.C. New York Free September 13, 2011 Joe Tait 2 DF Dayton Dutch Lions Free September 14, 2011 Morgan Langley 26 MF Harrisburg City Islanders Free September 23, 2011 Chase Harrison 31 GK Harrisburg City Islanders Free

Out DatePlayerNumberPositionDestination clubFee/notesRef November 24, 2010 Shea Salinas 11 MF Vancouver Whitecaps FC Expansion Draft November 24, 2010 Alejandro Moreno 15 FW Vancouver Whitecaps FC Expansion Draft December 15, 2010 Chris Seitz 1 GK Seattle Sounders FC Re-Entry Draft December 15, 2010 Fred 7 FW New England Revolution Re-Entry Draft January 14, 2011 Toni Ståhl 12 MF Fort Lauderdale Strikers Contract option declined, free transfer January 25, 2011 Brad Knighton 18 GK Carolina RailHawks Waived, free transfer February 8, 2011 Cristian Arrieta 26 DF Fort Lauderdale Strikers Waived, free transfer February 14, 2011 Eduardo Coudet 21 MF Fort Lauderdale Strikers Waived, free transfer February 18, 2011 Andrew Jacobson 8 MF FC Dallas Traded for a 2013 SuperDraft 2nd round pick March 1, 2011 Nick Zimmerman 23 MF Carolina RailHawks Waived, free transfer March 1, 2011 J. T. Noone 17 MF Harrisburg City Islanders Waived, free transfer March 2, 2011 Michael Orozco Fiscal 16 DF San Luis Loan expired; purchase option declined June 2, 2011 Chris Agorsor 12 FW Real Salt Lake Waived, free transfer July 7, 2011 Jordan Harvey 2 DF Vancouver Whitecaps FC Traded for allocation money July 26, 2011 Thorne Holder 24 GK F.C. New York Waived, free transfer August 5, 2011 Carlos Ruiz 20 FW Veracruz Transfer

Loans

In DatePlayerNumberPositionLoaned fromFee/notesRef March 8, 2010 Roger Torres 8 MF América de Cali Terms undisclosed

Out

Miscellany

Allocation ranking Philadelphia is in the #17 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. national team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. Philadelphia started 2011 ranked #5 on the allocation list and used its ranking to acquire Freddy Adu. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.2011 MLS Roster Rules | Major League Soccer

International roster spots