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U.S. soccer team has ties to Union, Philly

There is a whole lot more than six degrees of separation surrounding tonight's U.S. soccer match at PPL Park in Chester.

PPL Park will welcome the U.S. men's national team for the first time tonight. (Ron Cortes/Staff file photo)
PPL Park will welcome the U.S. men's national team for the first time tonight. (Ron Cortes/Staff file photo)Read more

There is a whole lot more than six degrees of separation surrounding tonight's U.S. soccer match at PPL Park in Chester.

When the Stars and Stripes host Colombia (8 o'clock, ESPN2), many players and technical staff will have ties to one man: Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz.

While president and general manager of what used to be the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now Red Bull New York), Sakiewicz brought in current U.S. coach Bob Bradley (2003-05). U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard got his pro start in a MetroStars uniform, and later went to Manchester United in a multimillion-dollar deal brokered by Sakiewicz.

U.S. forward Jozy Altidore was drafted by the MetroStars in 2006, and played in the club's youth reserves. Altidore scored his 10th international goal in Saturday's 2-2 tie with Poland in Chicago.

FC Dallas midfielder Brek Shea, one of two MLS players on tonight's U.S. roster, was coached by Union bosses Peter Nowak and John Hackworth when both were U.S. youth coaches before coming to Philadelphia.

"I have a lot of satisfaction in that," Sakiewicz said in an interview with the Daily News. "In knowing that [in New York] we were smart in our hiring, smart in our recruiting, smart in our development, and I feel blessed to have had them all come through our system."

The connection extends to Philadelphia itself and the U.S. national team's recent success here. The U.S. is 3-1-0 in Philadelphia, the last victory a 2-1 win over Turkey at Lincoln Financial Field, before the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Philadelphia is one of 18 cities included in the U.S. bid for hosting the World Cup in 2022.

"We are excited to be back in Philadelphia," Bradley said. "Philadelphia is one of the cities involved in the bid and a chance to play at PPL Park with that in the shadows is a big deal."

Odds and endlines

While the talented U.S. roster has been exciting to watch, the buzz has yet to fully reach fans in the Delaware Valley. A lack of marketing from the U.S. Soccer Federation has led to only 7,000 in paid ticket sales. PPL Park seats 18,500. But in a sign that attendance is a problem elsewhere, yesterday's match at England's Pride Park Stadium between Brazil and Ukraine drew only 13,088, 39 percent of the 33,597-seat capacity . . . Eighteen of the 20 players on this U.S. roster play in Europe. Brek Shea and defender Heath Pearce play for FC Dallas . . . The U.S. is 3-9-3 all-time against the Colombians. An own goal resulting in a U.S. win in the 1994 World Cup was an unfortunate catalyst in the slaying of former Colombian captain Andres Escobar . . . The Colombians are coming off a 1-0 win over Ecuador at Red Bull Arena last Friday. *