Happy Tuesday. The soccer world lost another legend on Monday with the death of Franz Beckenbauer and the Union are signing another player for the second team. Less than a week until preseason begins.

In the email today:

1. 🇩🇪 RIP Der Kaiser

World Cup champion and former Bayern Munich and New York Cosmos star Franz Beckenbauer has died at the age of 78.

Known by the nickname Der Kaiser (The Emperor), Beckenbauer won the 1974 FIFA World Cup with West Germany as a player and the 1990 FIFA World Cup as manager of West Germany, a feat accomplished by just two others: Mário Zagallo with Brazil and Didier Deschamps with France.

Beckenbauer is credited with inventing the modern libero or sweeper role as a defender who was able to play out of the back and contribute to the attack while also serving as the last line of defense closest to the goalkeeper.

His unique role can be seen in game footage from one of the three times he played at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia in his first stint with the Cosmos in the North American Soccer League from 1977-1980.

The game is from the 1979 season.

Though his name doesn’t come up a lot in the early going of a scoreless game his influence in the build-up increases as the game wears on into the second half still scoreless. Beckenbauer’s touch and grace even as a 33-year-old on the Astroturf at The Vet is hard to miss.

2. ☀️ Union to Play Flamengo in Tampa Bay

The Philadelphia Union may actually have a ticketed (and streamed?) game this preseason, after all.

They are reportedly in line to play Brazilian club Flamengo in a friendly at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies. It would be the first meeting between the two club’s senior sides. The Union U17s beat Flamengo at the Generation adidas Cup in April 2022.

3. 🍴 Tweet of the Day: Spork Billington III

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Moving for Messi

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• If you aren’t subscribed to the wonderful newsletter The Women’s Game by Philadelphia’s own Meg Swanick why not? In the latest issue, Meg wrote about Sam Kerr’s unfortunate ACL injury and noted a staggering disparity in ACL injuries between the men’s and women’s game. ACL injuries impact women three to six times more often than men. 

• As transfer season heats up it’s easy to lose track of where local players and former Union players are going. We’re keeping track on a local player tracker.

• The United Soccer Coaches Convention is this week in Anaheim. Todd Lewis (The Free Kick) and Kyle Almoney and Jillian Almoney (The One Team We Agree On) will be there participating on Media Row so be sure to follow them for updates.

• Joe Tansey is back on the Philadelphia Union beat for 2024 for year two of his Union Soccer Blog. Subscribe and support local independent soccer journalism.

• Randy Meneses, a 19-year-old from Ecuador, appears to be signing with Philadelphia Union II.

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