The Union and Alejandro Bedoya finally agree on a new one-year deal
The team's longtime captain will be back for another season, but expect him to play less. He'll also take up a new role in the team's front office, pitching in with marketing and player development.
It took many months for the Union and Alejandro Bedoya to agree on a deal that brings the team’s longtime captain back for one more year. But they finally did, on Monday, and on Thursday, the deal was officially announced.
Bedoya will play this year, but that won’t be all he does. He’ll take up a front-office role too, under a Major League Soccer program that allows teams to pick a player each year who can split his time on and off the field. It’s an ideal transition pathway for players nearing the end of their playing days.
The Union’s announcement didn’t say this year would be Bedoya’s last one playing. There are many other indications, though, that it will be.
“Philadelphia is my home, and the Union is my club,” the 36-year-old said in a statement. “This is the only Major League Soccer team I have ever played for and where I want to stay.”
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Bedoya’s desire to stay in Philadelphia is a feather in the city’s cap — and the team’s. His soccer life has taken him from his native northern New Jersey to South Florida to Boston College and pro teams in Sweden, France, and Scotland. He now lives in Fishtown with his wife and two children.
“The development and ever-evolving success of both the team and the organization from the first day I started here until now has been nothing short of incredible to witness,” Bedoya said, “and I’m grateful to be able to continue to contribute to both sides of the business going forward. I will continue to give everything I have to this organization, and I look forward to a successful 2024 campaign.”
If the decision was solely up to Union sporting director Ernst Tanner, Bedoya might not be back. He wants the Union’s many young players to play more and knew Bedoya was taking their potential minutes.
But Tanner knew Union manager Jim Curtin and a lot of players wanted their captain back, not least so that he wouldn’t go out on bad terms. Tanner listened to them, and now will hope Curtin listens to him about playing Bedoya less.
“Whatever is next in his career, look, he still wants to win a trophy here in Philadelphia — there’s no question about that,” Curtin told The Inquirer. “He’s the most competitive guy we have. But I do think now he is starting to transition into whatever is next, and we have to, as a club, be supportive of that.”
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The Union’s announcement described Bedoya’s new front office job as a combination of business and sporting-side work, from marketing and social media to influencing the team’s renowned development of young players.
“We are happy to have found a solution that works best for Alejandro and for the Union to bring him back to the club where he can continue to contribute to the team and in the player professional development role,” Tanner said. “His leadership and work ethic are still vital components to our team’s success, and his passion, commitment, and insights after serving in unofficial business and leadership capacities over the years will contribute greatly to his new role.”
Tanner also said: “We are confident that his contributions as a developmental mentor and a front-office specialist will benefit the overall organization and are grateful to be able to welcome him back.”
Left unsaid was how much gratefulness there might be that it’s in this role instead of a bigger one on the field. But it would have been a pretty bad PR look for Bedoya to be cast off too harshly. This takes care of that, and hopefully the future, too.
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