SIM SEASON: Union 2019 Season Rewind on FIFA 20
This past week I decided to test the FIFA 20 sim waters and see how the Union would fare if they were to run it back in 2019 with their current squad.
I created a manger using my name and began a quest to bring the first piece of hardware to the city of Philadelphia. As noted in the title, the results will truly shock you and leave you begging for Union soccer to return ASAP.
As noted in Brett’s latest article, the MLS and MLSPA reached an agreement to resume the 2020 season. Team training in Orlando will begin on June 24,
But back to the FIFA sim, this Union had a .500 month of March to begin the season and then had a strong month of September to earn the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and a coveted playoff spot. The formation that I used was the same as the Union’s last match against LAFC this season, and in FIFA it was labeled as a 4-1-2-1-2 Narrow. I also used the latest starting lineup/bench since the suspension of the season, with the exception of Kai Wagner starting in place of Matt Real at left back.
To make it the sim as realistic as possible, I used the same FIFA sliders in this YouTube video with the difficulty set at Legendary and the transfer window disabled. Below will entail the team’s records of each month, the results of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and statical leaders for the Boys in Blue and around the league. Buckle up ladies and gentlemen, we’re in for a wild ride.
Regular Season
Philadelphia opened up the season on Mar. 2 with a 4-1 home loss to Toronto (similar to their 3-1 home opener loss in real-life, which I attended). They then rebounded with a big 2-1 win over Atlanta United on St. Patrick’s Day.
If some of you recall, this was also the debut of Homegrown midfielder Brenden Aaronson as he scored his first professional goal by nutmegging USMNT goalie Brad Guzan. The team completed the first month of the season with a record of 2-2-1.
In the month of April, the team posted a record of 2-1-1. Their biggest victory included a 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy on April 14. The U’s worst loss of that month fell at the hands of FC Dallas, in a 3-0 rout. The team headed into May with an overall record of 4-3-2.
May rolled around and the Union underperformed and recorded the worst month of the year with an abysmal 0-5-1 record. Their worst loss was a 3-0 road defeat against FC Cincinnati on May 2. Their other losses came against the New England Revolution, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, and Colorado Rapids. The lone point of the month was earned versus Toronto FC, and they dropped to 4-8-3 on the season.
The warm summer month of June led to the Boys in Blue claiming a 2-1-1 mark in MLS play. In their Round of 16 U.S. Open Cup matchup, they lost 1-0 to NYCFC on June 19 and were quickly eliminated from the tournament in which Curtin tends to always start the best lineup (go figure). But Philly rebounded with revenge on NYCFC as they won 3-1 on June 30. Unfortunately, the team fell to their conference rivals, NYRB, on June 9 to enter the midsummer with an overall record of 6-9-4 (nice, well sort of).
July was by far the team’s best season of they achieved a record of 4-1, including a big win over a Western Conference foe. They claimed a commanding 3-0 win over Real Salt Lake on July 14 and then a big 2-0 win over the Montreal Impact on July 28. With those wins and the addition of others, Philadelphia rebounded in a decisive way and a 10-10-4 mark.
The final summer month of the year came knocking on the door, and the Union answered by displaying a record of 2-2 in August. They clinched a conference win in a 3-0 effort over Chicago on Aug. 18. Sadly the U dropped a 3-0 scoreline to DC United on Aug. 5 and another loss to the squad from the nation’s capital on Aug 25. This wrapped up the month and Philly headed into the last months of the season with a record of 12-12-4. Also on Aug. 18, captain Alejandro Bedoya suffered a broken collarbone and was sidelined for eight weeks.
Do you remember, the 21st night of September? Yes of course I do, and in fact the Union went on to impressively defeat the Pink Cows by a final score of 2-0 on the 22nd night of September. To round out the month of September, the Union went on to demolish the San Jose Earthquakes 4-1 on Sep. 26. Prior to all of these games, Philly lost 1-0 to Atlanta United on Sep. 1 and went on to finish the month with a record of 3-2 and an overall record of 15-14-4. Bedoya made his return on Sep. 29.
October was a big month for player announcements and injury updates. On Oct. 6, Philadelphia tied NYCFC 2-2 to end the regular season in 6th place in the East with a record of 15-14-5 and 50 points. The Union also ended the regular season on a 6-game unbeaten run thanks in part to the guy at the helm, Mr. Sean McMenamin. *The Seattle Sounders went on to win the U.S. Open Cup following their 2-0 victory over LAFC (surprise, surprise).*
Brazilian super-sub and all-time fan favorite Ilsinho officially announced his retirement from MLS on Oct. 7 (this is also expected to happen in real-life, following this season). The news did not get any better as on the same day it was confirmed that midfielder José Andrés Martínez suffered an ACL injury, sidelining him for 4 months and the playoffs.
In an extremely surprising move on Oct. 12, striker Kacper Przybylko was sold to Udinese for $3,600,000 and Udinese agree to pay the $5,000,000 transfer clause as a result of unequal playing time with the Union (let’s just say Kacper was not the friendly ghost anymore).
MLS Playoffs
Then the coveted MLS playoffs came around and boy did the Union NOT disappoint. In the first round of the tournament, the U faced #3 Atlanta United FC on the road and earned a hard-fought 1-0 win without midfielder Jamiro Monteiro, due to receiving a red card in the final game of the season.
For this scenario, I swapped in Anthony Fontana for Monteiro and Matej Oravec for Martinez. Striker Sergio Santos scored the lone goal in the 3′, and after coming on as a sub in the 90′, defender Jack Elliott had suffered a broken tibia injury.
An announcement followed on Oct. 19 that stated he would be out for 4 months and the remainder of the playoffs.
In the conference semi-finals, Philadelphia faced off against #7 NYCFC at home and handily took care of them in front of the Sons of Ben. The final score was 3-1 as Santos opened the scoring in the 6′, Bedoya followed suit in the 40′, Castellanos for New York scored in the 49′, and Santos put the cherry on top with a goal in the 76′ and another playoff win. Monteiro was back from his suspension so I swapped him back in for Fontana and placed the homegrown on the bench.
Next up on the Union’s quest for an MLS Cup was Orlando City SC, in an Eastern Conference Finals showdown. Unfortunately, Bedoya suffered a minor injury that would sideline him for this game, so Fontana filled his spot on the lineup and center back Aurelien Collin slowed into the bench. Wagner scored the Union’s first goal in the 22′ before OCSC leveled it and forced extra time. In ET, Aaronson scored in the 92′ but Orlando knotted it up again to force penalties. That is where the U found a way to advance 5-4 on penalties and claim their spot in the MLS Cup Final (you know something is going their way when the Union advance on PKs, but this can’t be happening? Or can it?).
MLS Cup Final
And HERE. WE. GO. Bedoya returned from injury and Fontana was slotted back. Into the bench for the final lineup of the season. This final was a wild one from the start as there was back and forth action from the start, and the score is at 3-3 heading into penalties (yet again). But before we talk about the PKs, we’ll take a look at how super-sub Andrew Wooten scored two huge goals after being subbed on in the 76′ for get this, defender Jacob Glesnes!
Manager McMenamin’s (or Curtin) tactics worked to perfection as Wooten put the Union in a position to win the match in penalties. Did the Union really win their first MLS Cup?
And here’s the moment of truth…YES! YOUR PHILADELPHIA UNION ARE 2019 MLS CUP CHAMPIONS!
They defeated the Sounders 4-3 in penalties to lift their first piece of hardware! I was going crazy in my basement when I saw this unfold before my eyes, and I’m sure Union fans everywhere will rejoice when reading this!
Final Player Stats
Midfielder Monteiro and striker Santos led the team in appearance with 37, striker Wooten led the team in goals with 11, midfielder Aaronson (second in MLS play) led the team in assists with 12, and goalkeeper Andre Blake notched 10 clean sheets on the year (ranked seventh in MLS play). As a reward for winning the MLS Cup title, the Union were granted $130,000 in prize money.
All in all, this was an extremely fun scenario to see play out, and I hope you all enjoy reading everything that went down in the sim. This certainly surprised me, but I was ecstatic when I saw that final result shown on my screen. Although this was just a video game, maybe just maybe this is a sign for better things to come.
For now, we will just have to bask in the FIFA 20 sim glory and hope that our Boys in Blue can bring a trophy to the City of Brotherly Love very soon!
Featured Image: Sean McMenamin/Philadelphia Sports Nation
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Categorized:Union Unique Columns