The Philadelphia Union introduced at present that Bradley Carnell would be the group’s new head coach, after the group parted methods with Jim Curtin in November.
“We’re very satisfied once we have been beginning the discussions concerning the skills of [Carnell] bringing us again on observe, bringing us again to a successful group, making essentially the most out of our sources,” mentioned Union Sporting Director Ernst Tanner. “And out of the discussions, I’m actually satisfied that we have now the correct particular person sitting on this room.”
Carnell, becoming a member of on a two-year contract, turns into the fourth head coach within the Union’s historical past. His earlier stint was at St. Louis CITY SC for 62 common season video games, with a 22-15-25 report. Tanner mentioned that the group narrowed over 100 purposes right down to 10 finalists.
“It’s an thrilling undertaking. It’s an exquisite undertaking to be a part of, an exquisite group to be happy with,” Carnell mentioned. “I’m trying ahead to getting again to the way in which that Ernst and the event of this membership, the philosophy of this membership, getting again to the ways in which outline us, defines the gamers, defines the fashion, defines the group. I’m not simply trying forward, but in addition trying again at sure factors … and make us one thing totally different, edgy and troublesome to play towards.”
Listed here are the fundamentals to know concerning the Union’s new boss on the touchlines.
- He’s 47 years previous, from Johannesburg, South Africa.
- He performed as a defender for 18 years, for groups in South Africa and Germany’s prime two flights, together with Kaizer Chiefs, Stuttgart and Borussia Monchengladbach.
- He earned 42 caps with Bafana Bafana, the South African males’s nationwide group, enjoying within the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations.
- After retiring as a participant, he started teaching in South Africa, then served as an assistant supervisor, then interim head coach, for the New York Purple Bulls. The Purple Bulls gained the 2018 Supporters’ Protect whereas Carnell was assistant supervisor.
- Carnell turned St. Louis’ inaugural head coach in 2022 and led the group to the highest of the Japanese Convention on the finish of the common season, turning into the primary growth franchise in league historical past to try this in its debut season.
- St. Louis suffered a sophomore hunch, and Carnell was fired in the midst of his second season. “It was an honor to arrange that group, coach that group, have the successes that we did,” Carnell mentioned Thursday. “Even in 2024, I might say we have been nonetheless aggressive, extraordinarily aggressive, to the core of who I stand for and the id that we performed with. Some outcomes received away from us right here and there, however I take advantage of these all as studying alternatives.”
- He went on to hitch the Canada males’s nationwide group as an assistant coach very briefly in September 2024.
Philadelphia completed final 12 months’s common season twelfth within the 15-team Japanese Convention and missed out on the playoffs for the primary time since 2017. Carnell mentioned he aligns with the membership’s philosophy of participant improvement, whether or not it’s younger rising stars like 15-year-old Cavan Sullivan or the veterans on the senior group’s roster.
“That is me to a core, that is my DNA, by way of improvement,” he mentioned. “And I’m not speaking about improvement simply as younger guys within the [Union II] group. There’s undoubtedly improvement nonetheless to be completed with seasoned execs.”
The Union begins its common season on Feb. 22 at Orlando (Fla.) Metropolis.