Union forward Julián Carranza has found a home with Philly as the team hits new heights

What has happened to the Union this season defies a simple answer.

This is a team that started the season capitalizing on a hard-won reputation and character as a club that was difficult to score against, even at the expense, sometimes, of offensive output. Yes, they reached the Eastern Conference final last season, but then let their leading goalscorer, Kacper Przybyłko, go to the Chicago Fire, a rival conference squad. Perhaps it’s also not surprising that the Union had one game early this season that it won without anyone on their squad actually scoring.

Now the Union are scoring at a clip that almost beggars belief. Last game at home, six goals. Last game away, same scoreline. As in many situations, a combination of factors can take credit, but one of these is undoubtedly the team’s young Argentine striker, Julián Carranza, who spoke exclusively with The Inquirer.

“Soccer-wise, it was a good move,” Carranza, 22, said of going from Inter Miami to the Union on loan at the beginning of this season. “I’m taking advantage of every opportunity. It was a very good change for me.”

» READ MORE: Who is Philly’s next soccer star? The SWAG is trying to find him before he reaches the third grade

Carranza has 13 goals on the season for the Union, 10 more than he did in his two seasons with Inter Miami, where managerial changes and roster upheaval, not to mention league sanctions for breaking rules on player signings, left him adrift.

“I wanted to play and have more minutes on the field,” said Carranza. “That didn’t happen in Miami. It did here in Philadelphia. I’m grateful.”

There’s an alchemy to scoring goals that can’t be broken down to fundamentals like a jump shot or a smooth swing of a baseball bat. The spatial awareness and body control to track the movement of the ball, desperate defenders, an onrushing goalkeeper, the invisible offside line, and dimensions of the goal itself, all at full speed, is no easy feat. It’s also a test of nerves since players themselves will say smashing goals in practice is entirely different than replicating those moves in a match, especially in games that are high stakes. A striker usually needs confidence bordering on arrogance to successfully shake off the numerous attempts that go awry, charging after each new opportunity with a full-throated belief that this time, yes, the ball has to definitely go in, almost willing it so.

Back in Argentina, Carranza developed his skills in the youth teams of Banfield, moving up to the senior squad while still a teenager, at one point under the managerial tutelage of Argentine legend Hernán Crespo. Carranza had a flair for producing in the fierce rivalry matches known as clasicós.

“It’s different in Argentina, where fans are a little crazy,” Carranza said, comparing the soccer culture of his homeland to that of the U.S. “They yell the whole game [in Argentina].”

It’s worth noting that Carranza would be the Union’s leading goalscorer in the last two Union regular seasons, but this year, he’s second on the squad to midfielder Dániel Gazdag, who has 16. Gazdag had four last season, but of course, that was before Carranza and Danish striker Mikael Uhre showed up. In almost all of the Union’s recent scoring plays, one or more of the three in the attacking corps is involved. Carranza leads the trio in assists with five. In a remarkable bit of generosity, Gazdag, the team’s designated penalty kick taker, let Carranza shoot a penalty kick chance earned by Olivier Mbaizo in the Union’s most recent win. Carranza buried the penalty and Gazdag went on to score another goal of his own, racking up three in a game for the first time in his career.

» READ MORE: Dániel Gazdag’s hat trick powers the Union’s latest rout, 6-0, over the Colorado Rapids

“As time goes on, with more training, practice and in the locker room, we get to know each other more,” explained Carranza of the chemistry and understanding between himself, Gazdag, and Uhre. “We find out who we are as people, as players. No one is selfish and we get along well. That’s the key thing, no one cares if they score or get an assist. We’re all happy.”

After all, what’s not to be happy about? The Union lead the Eastern Conference comfortably and the team even has a decent shot at winning another regular-season trophy, the Supporters’ Shield. For Carranza, after enduring semi-exile on the bench at Inter Miami, this season has been a sweet relief.

“I was always training well, whether I was playing or not playing,” Carranza said. “I kept preparing and I finally got the chance and now I’ve shown what I can do. We’re leading the East and I’ve proven myself to be deserving of a pick as a starter.”

The Union brass let their appreciation of Carranza be known, picking up his loan option even before the season ended, as manager Jim Curtin showed how much he valued Carranza’s contributions. The striker praised Curtin’s leadership.

“He was a player and that helps him understand us more,” said Carranza. “We’ve talked about ideas and he communicates well what he wants. As a manager, he gets along well with everyone.”

Since Curtin was once a solid defender himself during a long Major League Soccer career, it’s understandable defense became the base on which the team’s foundation was formed, but flipping the switch on turning defense into offense takes work-rate skill and passing savvy that the Union has taken to another level this season.

“We defend in a low block and we’re a good counterattacking team,” Carranza said. “We push the advantage of those counterattacks. We keep working and we know that if we do well, it will lead to good opportunities.”

It also helps to have players like Uhre, Gazdag and Carranza, who are hungry for goals.

“We have the personalities of attacking players and that’s part of why we’re now a team that scores a lot.”

Of course, with the playoff format of MLS, nothing is promised concerning the final outcome of becoming MLS Cup champions. Carranza was told by his Union teammates how the Eastern Conference final featured a decimated roster that eventually lost to New York City F.C., which ultimately raised the trophy.

“I’ve heard the story and I’ve seen the game,” Carranza said. “It was bad luck, even though they had a good game. It was a shame, what happened. Of course, the team was sad, because they had the chance to win it all. Against New York [this season], we went for revenge. If we meet them in the playoffs, we’ll have that energy like we still have in every game against them.”

As it did for NYCFC’s Valentín Castellanos [now at Girona], or the Union’s Brenden Aaronson [now at Leeds United], success in MLS can lead to transfer offers, but Carranza preferred to stay concentrated on the here and now.

» READ MORE: From Leeds to Philadelphia, Brenden Aaronson’s first Premier League goal is big news

“We don’t talk about [transfer possibilities] that much; we focus on the next game, not the distant future,” Carranza said, allowing that in some ways, life in MLS had certain perks. “In the U.S., you can have a normal life wherever you live. It’s nice to have a tranquil day where people don’t bother you much for autographs. It’s nice sometimes, but I’m sure the big stars are tired of that and here, people respect you and give you space.”

During the summer months of the season, Carranza has used most of his available free time to relax, or to visit the pool in his apartment complex or the gym. He vowed there was nothing that he missed about the glitz of Miami, saying he feels at home now with the Union. Comfort leads to quality play, apparently, since the squad is unbeaten this year in Subaru Park.

“In Philadelphia, we get a lot of support,” Carranza said, giving credit to Union followers. “Our supporters travel, and I don’t see that from a lot of other MLS teams’ fans. I love our fans.”

Gazdag won MLS’s Player of the Week award for his hat trick in the Union’s 6-0 win over Colorado on Saturday. It’s the first time Union players have won the award in consecutive weeks after Carranza won it the week before.