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Your Philadelphia Union remain tied atop Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference with seven games left to play.

That’s a “big f****** deal,” as Joe Biden once said, because the Union haven’t enjoyed a top-five finish since 2011, when Peter Nowak’s second-year squad ended the year in 3rd place on 48 points.

The team’s 2019 success has resulted in a shift in the Philadelphia sporting landscape, and in a recent conversation with head coach Jim Curtin on 97.5 the Fanatic, Anthony Gargano declared that Philly is now a 5 for 5 sports town.

Listen for yourself:

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What a jam-packed weekend it was both at home and abroad. Your team, your town, your Philadelphia Union remained in first place in the Eastern Conference. Plus, the English Premier League – which you can now legally bet on in Pennsylvania – saw the season got off to a rip-roaring start, including the debut of a Pennsylvania kid. Let’s get to it.

Hershey Native Pulisic Debuts for Chelsea

For those who might recall, back around New Year’s Day, Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga agreed on a $73.1m transfer of American Wunderkind -and Hershey, PA native- Christian Pulisic to EPL juggernaut Chelsea FC, making him the most expensive American transfer of all time. Pulisic finished off his 2018-19 campaign with Dortmund before joining his new club this summer. While Pulisic was is great form heading into his squad’s opening day game, new manager Frank Lampard opted to bring the American off the bench in the 58th minute:

The @cpulisic_10 era begins.

Watch on NBCSN or Stream: https://t.co/8GGtqBY5LS pic.twitter.com/M8PQgmzn8g

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 11, 2019

Of the decision to bring Pulisic on as as substitute, Lampard said:

Christian Pulisic is 20 years old and he’s come across from Dortmund. He will be a fantastic player for the club. He has got great ability. You saw little moments with his acceleration on the ball, but I have also got other options in midfield and in those areas, and I don’t want to stick Christian straight into the fire without trying to help him along the way. It was one of those games where I felt it was better to start with Ross [Barkley] and Mason [Mount], who have been very strong in pre-season, and bring Christian on. If the game had carried on at 1-0, or we were back in the game as we should have been, he would have been a great injection. In the end it was difficult for him because the game went quickly away from us.”

In the end, it didn’t matter much as Chelsea fell in a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford.

There’s plenty more from Pulisic and the Philadelphia Union after the jump, including Pulisic endearing himself to Philly fans, except for choosing Sheetz over a local convenience store:

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The Philadelphia Union sit atop Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference at the season’s midway point.

In years past, mid-table Union teams probably would have sat back, stood pat at the transfer window, and looked for winter reinforcements. This year, it was easy to justify a summer addition considering how well the squad is currently playing.

So in comes Andrew Wooten, a 29-year-old striker whose father was an American military member stationed in Germany. As such, he has dual citizenship – Germany through his mother and the United States via his father. That means he comes to the Union not requiring an international slot, nor did the team have to pay a transfer fee, since Wooten was out of contract with SV Sandhausen in the 2.Bundesliga.

For those reasons, it was a move that made a ton of sense right off the jump, and I didn’t even mention that the Union really could use a consistent goal-getter up top, since the scoring burden has been shared by numerous players this year.

I spoke with Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now, a previous guest on the “Always Soccer in Philadelphia” podcast and somebody who has followed Wooten’s career for a long time now.

Here’s our conversation:

Brian Sciaretta: I think it’s a very good pickup; you know what’s interesting about Andrew when you look at his career, generally he’s been playing for bad teams but still scoring goals. He’s been safe at Sandhausen and his year at FSV Frankfurt, but generally he’s been in relegation fights throughout his career. He made his debut actually in the Bundesliga for Kaiserslautern when they were in a relegation fight, which was unsuccessful. When I spoke to him last, which was at the end of last season, you kind of got the sense that he wanted to play for a winner in the worst way, that he wanted to play for silverware. He always wanted to come home and play in the States. I think a chance to go to a team where he can play and be part of a winner checks a lot of boxes and I think he’s going to heavily motivated to show his stuff here.

Crossing Broad: It’s kind of crazy to me, actually I need a minute to process the fact that someone would want to come play for a winner, and that winner would be Philadelphia Union… But in a way you don’t need any coaxing I guess, it’s easier to justify this signing or go up the chain and tell Jay Sugarman, ‘hey we’re in 1st place, let’s go for it here.’

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