TORONTO — Philadelphia Union coach Jim Curtin knows all about Bob Bradley's ability to work with young players. He was once one of them.
Bradley, then in charge of the Chicago Fire, drafted a 21-year-old Curtin in the third round (29th overall) of the 2001 MLS SuperDraft.
"I learned a lot from Bob, as a player. I learned a lot as a coach," said Curtin, whose league-leading team takes on Bradley's Toronto FC on Saturday at BMO Field. "It's an honour to coach against him."
"Bob's an incredible coach. He's an incredible leader and he's a winner," he added.
Curtin is already impressed in what he has seen of Toronto under the 64-year-old Bradley.
"You can see right now the way that they play they're very dangerous. They're really all comfortable and good on the ball," he said. "You see a lot of Bob's ideas and he's actually giving young players an opportunity. He doesn't get brought up enough as a guy who is willing to give young players a chance.
"He did it in Chicago when I was there as a player with DaMarcus Beasley and Carlos Bocanegra. He has real belief and trust in young players. There's no better coach to develop young talent. And you see with Toronto a lot of good young homegrowns, a lot of real potential on the field in guys that are playing big minutes for them."
Bradley, for his part, remembers Curtin as a "smart player and a very good guy."
"I'm not surprised to see him move into coaching and doing really well, because (of) his understanding of the game … I'm proud of him."
And Bradley is relishing the chance to test his young team against Curtin and high-flying Philadelphia (5-0-1). Toronto (2-2-2) is unbeaten in its last three games (2-0-1) and has won its last two home outings.
"If you look at the first six (Toronto) games, there's been some good moments. There's been some good goals," Bradley said after training Friday.
"There are still things that are improving and need work. But the chance now at home to really step up and play a big game against a top team, it's really important for us. And with that we need as many guys as possible at their best (Saturday) night."
Philadelphia, the lone unbeaten side in the league, goes into weekend play atop the Supporters' Shield standings. The Union have won a franchise-record five straight, including four consecutive clean sheets which matches a club mark set in 2017.
Curtin's team has not conceded a goal in 418 minutes — since Lassi Lappalainen scored for Montreal in a 2-1 loss March 5 at Olympic Stadium. It's the longest goalless streak in MLS this season.
Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake, whose last appearance at BMO Field was in the 4-0 Jamaica loss on March 27 that clinched a World Cup berth for the Canadian men, comes into the game with a miserly 0.33 goals-against average.
Blake has given up just two goals in 540 minutes this season.
In contrast, Toronto 'keeper Alex Bono is giving up nearly two goals a game, with a 1.83 goals-against average. TFC has conceded a goal in a club-record 18 straight home matches, the fourth-longest streak in league history (including playoffs) and the longest since Kansas City allowed a goal in 23 straight home matches in 2002-03.
With 16 points from its first six matches, Philadelphia has matched the third-best start to a season in MLS history (Sporting KC in 2012 and the Los Angeles Galaxy in 1996 both had 18 points over the same time period).
"The guys have confidence right now," said Curtin. "We recognize we're in a good run of form but also still have lot of things we can improve on and get better at. It's still very early in the season."
A win Sunday and Philadelphia, whose career regular-season record stands at 147-147-105, can move above the .500 level all-time. The Union entered the league in 2010, three years after Toronto, whose record stands at 155-202-132.
Sergio Santos has six goals in six games against Toronto. The Brazilian forward has a total of 18 goals in 69 career regular-season MLS games.
Philadelphia is unbeaten in three straight matches against Toronto (2-0-1) and has lost just one of the last five meetings (3-1-1) between the two. Prior to that run, Toronto was unbeaten in 11 straight matches against Philadelphia (9-0-2, including playoffs).
Toronto will be without Mexican international defender Carlos Salcedo, suspended after receiving a red card in last weekend's 2-2 draw at Real Salt Lake.
Wingback Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and midfielder Noble Okello and Ralph Priso are out injured for Toronto.
Bradley says forward Ayo Akinola, who has been sidelined since last July when he injured his knee playing for Canada at the Gold Cup, would dress. However, Bradley made it clear he planned to be cautious with minutes for the 22-year-old.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2022
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
