What They're Saying: Two New Union Faces

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We're not going to pretend we know much about either Faryd Mondragon or Carlos Valdes, but we do know how to link to stories with more information if you're interested in learning more about the two Colombian players the Union welcomed to Philadelphia with a nice little ceremony at Fado yesterday (I'm still waiting for the Phillies to have their Cliff Lee welcome home ceremony at Good Dog).

While it sounds as though these two veterans will help to shore up two problem areas for the Union from last season, our guess is their name recognition won't factor for much with casual fans or be enough on the back of the jersey to counter the Bimbo on the front and help to boost merch sales. But will their presence on the pitch lead to a few more wins and possibly a shot at a second-season playoff bid? That's probably the more important question.

CSNPhilly.com has the quotes from Union leader Peter Nowak: “With Faryd and Carlos, I believe that will be enough to really shutthis door defensively and stop conceding so many goals,” said Unioncoach Peter Nowak, during the team’s official press conference at FadoIrish Pub in Center City. “We know that defense was an issue in the pastand we wanted to make sure that in every game we make it tough for theother team to score goals.”

The Delco Times outlines where exactly Mondragon has played throughout his career: "An experienced goalkeeper hails from Cali, Colombia and has played insome of the world’s most recognizable leagues. He began his professionalcareer in 1990 with Deportivo Cali of the Colombian First Division, andsubsequently joined several other Colombian teams before landing withArgentinean First Division club Atletico Independiente in 1995. Afterhis time in Colombia and Argentina, Mondragón moved to Europe where hestarred in Spain’s La Liga (Real Zaragoza FC, 1999), the French Ligue 1(FC Metz, 2000-‘01), the Turkish First Division (Galatasaray S.K.,2001-’07, won titles in 2002 and 2006), and finally the Bundesliga (FCCologne, 2007-’10)."

Bob Grotz notes how the Union fans have a tendency to get a tad overexcited: "The way the fans carried on Thursday at Fado Irish Pub, you would havethought the Philadelphia Union just agreed to terms with David Beckham,not Faryd Mondragon, the 39-year-old goalkeeper from Colombia."

Philly Socer Page has a photo gallery (see photo above) of yesterday's affair at Fado.

Finally, and a bit unrelated, but the Brotherly Game notes that our favorite name on the Union may not return. So long, Fred?

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