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Three former Union players will broadcast Saturday’s game vs. Toronto FC

Sébastien Le Toux, Maurice Edu and Carlos Ruiz will all be back at Subaru Park to work for Apple. It will be Ruiz's first visit to Philadelphia since he played for the Union in 2011.

Carlos Ruiz celebrates one of the six goals he scored in 14 games for the Union in 2011.
Carlos Ruiz celebrates one of the six goals he scored in 14 games for the Union in 2011.Read moreRon Cortes / Staff file photo

Update: Pablo Ramírez had to miss Saturday’s game because he’s under the weather. Alejandro Figueredo stepped in to call the Spanish play-by-play instead.

Former Union striker Carlos Ruiz hasn’t been to Philadelphia in a long time. But he hasn’t forgotten the tumultous nine months he spent with the Union in 2011, one of five MLS teams and 10 clubs worldwide the Guatemalan played for in his famed career.

Ruiz was known as “El Pescadito” (The Little Fish) back then, and as one of MLS’s great pests. He still hears the nickname in his travels as a broadcaster for Apple TV and the other outlets he’s worked for since hanging up his cleats.

His time with the Union lasted just 14 games before a Mexican second-division team bought him. That left some fans sore — and some who didn’t know soccer well back then didn’t like some of his on-field antics.

Still, Ruiz scored six goals here, including one that’s still one of the Union’s all-time greats: a 35-yard smash of a loose ball against Chicago at home. And his last action here was another memorable occasion, a Union vs. Real Madrid exhibition at Lincoln Financial Field.

» READ MORE: The Union break ground on a $55 million expansion of their practice facility, and promise more for Chester

“I didn’t play even one year, [but] the experience was amazing,” Ruiz told The Inquirer this week. “I think I left being the leading scorer of the team [at that point in the year, which he was]. So I remember what’s good.”

On Saturday, Ruiz will return to his old home for the first time since he left to call the Union’s game with Pablo Ramírez, Univision’s former top play-by-play voice who was one of Apple’s biggest hires.

“It’s a masterclass every weekend,” Ruiz said. “I worked with him before when he was at Univision, but I never had this experience with him traveling together, going to the stadium together, how the people recognize him.”

Ruiz and Ramírez won’t be the only recognizable faces in Subaru Park’s broadcast booths on Saturday. Remarkably, Ruiz will be one of three former Union players calling the action for Apple. Former captain Maurice Edu will call the game in English with Keith Costigan; and Sébastien Le Toux, the Union’s all-time leading scorer, will call the game in French with Gavino de Falco.

There will also be a radio broadcast on 97.5 The Fanatic, with Dave Leno and Jonathan Yardley on the call. Because it’s a Union home game, the radio call will be available as an audio overlay on Apple’s broadcast.

» READ MORE: After decades at Univision, broadcaster Pablo Ramírez starts a new era with MLS and Apple

This weekend’s free games on Apple TV

Apple and MLS offer six games free each week, with each team in the league expected to average 14 free games over the season.

Five are on Saturday: New England Revolution vs. Sporting Kansas City (7:30 p.m.), New York City FC vs. FC Dallas (7:30 p.m.), Colorado Rapids vs. St. Louis City SC (9:30 p.m.), Real Salt Lake vs. San Jose Earthquakes (9:30 p.m.), and Seattle Sounders vs. Minnesota United (10:30 p.m.).

The sixth is on Sunday, and it’s the weekend’s TV game: Atlanta United vs. Chicago Fire (4:30 p.m., FS1, Fox Deportes).

If you have Apple TV+ but not MLS Season Pass, you can watch the “MLS 360″ live highlights show for no extra charge.

We still don’t know when the Union’s next free game will be. MLS and Apple have only announced the free games through the end of April, and the Union don’t have any — though they have a bye on the last weekend of the month.

The Union’s next game on traditional TV is Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal series opener against Los Angeles FC at Subaru Park (9 p.m., FS1, TUDN).

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin faces his mentor, Toronto’s Bob Bradley, at a crucial time for him and the Union

This weekend’s MLS announcer schedule

Saturday, April 22

Charlotte FC vs. Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m.: Tony Husband and Ross Smith in English; Diego Pessolano and Luis Gerardo Bucci in Spanish

FC Cincinnati vs. Portland Timbers, 7:30 p.m.: Kevin Egan and Kyndra de St. Aubin in English; Jose Hernandez and Pablo Mariño in Spanish

CF Montréal vs. New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.: Blake Price and Greg Sutton in English; Moisés Linares and Jaime Macías in Spanish; Frédéric Lord and Vincent Destouches in French

New England Revolution vs. Sporting Kansas City, 7:30 p.m. (free): Callum Williams and Lori Lindsey in English; Juan Arango and Carlos Suárez in Spanish

New York City FC vs. FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m. (free): Tyler Terens and Devon Kerr in English; Alejandro Figueredo and Francisco Pinto in Spanish

Orlando City vs. D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.: Andres Cordero and Jamie Watson in English; Sergio Ruiz and Miguel Gallardo in Spanish

Union vs. Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m.: Keith Costigan and Maurice Edu in English; Pablo Ramírez and Carlos Ruiz in Spanish; Gavino de Falco and Sébastien Le Toux in French

Houston Dynamo vs. Inter Miami, 8:30 p.m.: Eric Krakauer and Lloyd Sam in English; Raúl Guzmán and Sonny Guadarrama in Spanish

Nashville SC vs. Los Angeles FC, 8:30 p.m.: Jake Zivin and Taylor Twellman in English; Sammy Sadovnik and Eduardo Biscayart in Spanish

Colorado Rapids vs. St. Louis City SC, 9:30 p.m. (free): Chris Wittyngham and Danielle Slaton in English; Jorge Perez-Navarro and Marcelo Balboa in Spanish

Real Salt Lake vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 9:30 p.m. (free): Max Bretos and Brian Dunseth in English; Bruno Vain and Andrés Agulla in Spanish

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Austin FC, 10:30 p.m.: Mark Rogondino and Heath Pearce in English; Adrian Garcia-Márquez and Mariano Trujillo in Spanish

Seattle Sounders vs. Minnesota United, 10:30 p.m. (free): Adrian Healey and Cobi Jones in English; Francisco X. Rivera and Diego Arrioja in Spanish

Sunday, April 23

Atlanta United vs. Chicago Fire, 4:30 p.m. (free): Nate Bukaty and Tony Meola on FS1 in English; Steve Cangialosi and Danny Higginbotham on Apple in English; Rodolfo Landeros, Álvaro Izquierdo and Martín Zuñíga on Fox Deportes in Spanish; Ramses Sandoval and Tony Cherchi on Apple in Spanish