The Philadelphia Union opened up their 2017 Major League Soccer season with a scoreless draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place. After a very busy offseason, Philadelphia revealed a brand new lineup featuring Academy standout Derrick Jones, Bosnia and Herzegovina international Haris Medunjanin, and English striker Jay Simpson.
Despite only being one game, Sunday’s draw gave a small glimpse into the tactical questions surrounding the Union this season.
Under Jim Curtin, Philadelphia has mainly employed a double pivot in front of their defensive backline. It was a formulaic combination of a number six, a central defensive midfielder such as Brian Carroll or Warren Creavalle, and a number eight, a box-to-box midfielder like Alejandro Bedoya last season.