Curtin gets Union job permanently, begins setting offseason agenda

AFTER ANNOUNCING the long-expected decision to make Jim Curtin the club's permanent head coach, Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz yesterday said ownership continues to evaluate the optimal technical management structure for moving forward.

Sakiewicz didn't commit to hiring a general manager or sporting director, but said to anticipate "lots of announcements over the next 3 months."

"Players, staff, structure," Sakiewicz said, "forward thinking, and I hope everybody's excited about it."

Finally shedding the interim tag he held since June 10, Curtin will lead the Union's first team "in all aspects," Sakiewicz said, and "along with his staff, he will be fully responsible for all player identification, recruiting, signings, transfers and trades."

Citing Curtin's shared passion in bringing a winning MLS team to Philadelphia, his background with the franchise and the city and understanding of its fan base, Sakiewicz described his new coach as the "perfect fit" to lead the first team.

"The title shifts from interim to head coach, but the message is the same," Curtin said. "I'm here to win and get this team back in the playoffs, where we belong."

Curtin, only 35, becomes the youngest head coach in MLS. An Oreland native who matriculated at Bishop McDevitt and Villanova, he played in MLS from 2001 to 2009, predominantly for the Chicago Fire.

In Curtin's 23 games leading the Union after John Hackworth's firing, the team was 11-6-6.

"For the fans that will question a 35-year-old, a young coach, that's natural," Curtin said. "I ask you to give me an offseason, give me a full offseason, and see what we come up with it. I can promise you we're going to work 24/7 to bring in great players to improve a roster that's already very strong."

Regarding the roster and crucial offseason decisions that loom, Curtin also touched on several topics:

* The Union is definitely interested in keeping Maurice Edu, acquired in January on loan from Stoke City with an option to purchase.

"I want him back," said Curtin, adding he envisions Edu as a center back rather than a midfielder. "His impact in the midfield was good. His impact as a center back was more. Just look at the results: We won a lot of games when he played center back. That's when we did our most damage. It opened his eyes a little bit. I've told him that national-team picturewise, he could be a center back in this next World Cup cycle. He's that talented."

* Free agent Amobi Okugo apparently will head overseas to give his longstanding goal of playing in Europe a try. Curtin said the Union will make an offer to the 23-year-old midfielder, to that it could retain his MLS rights, but the coach expects the team's longest-tenured player to cross the pond.

"It's a great opportunity for him," Curtin said. "He's a guy who's good enough to play over there."

* Curtin intimated that goalkeeper Andre Blake, this past year's No. 1 overall draft pick, is a candidate to get loaned out to garner more playing time.

"Zac [MacMath] is a guy who had his best season," Curtin said. "He has value in our league. He's respected in our league. We'll see on that one. I don't want to reveal too much but there's interest in Zac."

As far as Rais M'Bolhi, Curtin said the Algerian World Cup veteran is "motivated to come back and prove to our fans that he is that world-class goalkeeper."

* The top priority is to acquire a striker. Technical director Chris Albright already has made a couple of trips overseas for that purpose, Curtin said. The coach also said he'd wants players next season who are bigger, faster and stronger.

"I know that sounds cliché, but a lot of times when you look [during] the national anthem and our group's lined up next to the other team, we're a lot smaller than the other team," he said. "I think we need to get bigger, a lot faster and a little bit stronger on the ball, so we're not getting pushed around a little bit."