Julián Carranza is thrilled to return to Subaru Park, now with Necaxa to face the Union
The longtime fan favorite is back in town for the first time since leaving two years ago, and he made it clear a piece of his heart remains in Chester.
The Leagues Cup still doesn’t capture many Union fans’ imaginations, between its newness and the perennial sense that it’s a cash grab for MLS. But there’s going to be a storyline on Sunday night many around Subaru Park have been looking forward to.
Julián Carranza is back in town for the first time since his departure from the Union two summers ago, to lead Necaxa against his old club (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). The striker, now 26, moved to Mexico in January after 18 months in Europe didn’t go how he hoped.
“I had a lot of experiences over there, in the Dutch League [with Feyenoord], also in the English Championship [with Leicester City],” he said in a news conference Saturday morning at the stadium. “So I’ve grown a lot, mentally and obviously fútbol-istically. … A lot of things happened in those two years, and I’m really happy that happened, and I’m really happy to be here as well.”
If absence makes the heart grow fonder, an absence of goals from current strikers Bruno Damiani and Ezekiel Alladoh has made Union fans especially fond of their former star. Carranza scored 43 goals in 95 games here, tied with Mikael Uhre for No. 3 in club history. (Sébastien Le Toux’s 56 and Dániel Gazdag’s 72 are the top two.)
It’s only fair to say Carranza wasn’t missed as much last year, when Uhre and Tai Baribo led the way to the Supporters’ Shield. But this year’s squad has missed exactly the kind of skill set Carranza brings: pace, precision, and creation off the dribble at the right moments.
“He is a very important player for us: he is our goleador, our center-forward,” said Necaxa assistant coach Marcos Villano, who will stand in on the bench Sunday with manager Martín Varini suspended for a red card in Thursday’s 2-0 loss at the Chicago Fire. “Beyond just his goal-scoring ability, he is vital to our style of play, the way he drops deep to link up with the midfield. So he is incredibly important, and we’re fortunate to have him on our team.”
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Club officials aren’t going to say publicly that the team could use him right now. Certainly not in the way fans have begged the team on social media to not let him leave the building Sunday night. But his old teammates know what he means to the Union’s history books.
“I love him, he’s my brother, but on the field, there are no friends,” midfielder Jesús Bueno said. “What can I say? He made history in the club, he is a fantastic player, I think that he fit in very well with the team. And no matter what happens with him in his career, I wish him the best.”
Quinn Sullivan called Carranza “a great dude, and he’s a warrior. I know he’s going to want to a goal back here again, and it’s our job to stop him from doing it.”
Nor was Carranza going to say aloud that he’d like to return eventually. He has six goals in nine games for Necaxa, after all, including a goal in each of Los Rayos’ first three games of the Liga MX season that kicked off in late July.
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Still, it sure tugged at the heartstrings when he said Saturday morning: “It feels special to be back home. I feel like since I got here yesterday, there’s been a lot of memories coming back to my head.”
Carranza keeps in touch with a lot of former colleagues, too. He name-dropped Bueno, Sullivan, and Alejandro Bedoya. And on Thursday, he commented on Bedoya’s Instagram post teasing the Union’s new third jersey that’s coming soon: “Save one for me.”
It didn’t take long for fans to jump on that.
Then came Saturday morning, with not just Carranza’s words but hugs and handshakes for all the familiar faces. He said he’d head to the Union’s training facilities afterward to see more friends and his old locker.
“I still talk to everyone — Paulie [Rushing, the team’s longtime head athletic trainer], the physios, players,” Carranza said. “I’m still very attached to this institution, especially because of the great things that we lived here.”
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He remembered, too, how he didn’t really get to say goodbye when he left. That was partly because of how the deal with Feyenoord came together, but also because he didn’t want a public send-off, even though he could have had one.
Now the time will finally come for Union fans to salute him, however many are in the stands Sunday night.
“I feel like it’s going to be special,” he said. “I think me and the fans, we had a really good connection all my time here. So hopefully tomorrow, they can show a little bit and yeah, I’ll be grateful.”
