Bruno Damiani scores in Union debut; Cavan Sullivan gets first minutes of the season

When the Union were on the cusp of announcing Bruno Damiani’s signing, their social media manager couldn’t help making a few puns related to the famed song from Disney’s Encanto, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”

After scoring in his debut, Damiani admitted he hadn’t heard of the piece before coming here. But once he arrived, it didn’t take long for him to find out.

“Not in Uruguay,” Damiani said of his native country, “but here, all the people here know that movie.”

A few people in town might now start to know him, too. After taking the field as a 69th-minute substitute, Damiani started paying off his team-record $3.4 million transfer fee with the goal that capped Saturday’s 4-1 rout of FC Cincinnati at Subaru Park.

It wasn’t the prettiest finish, but it was a nice hustle play. Damiani was upfield when midfielder Danley Jean Jacques intercepted a pass near the center circle, and fed Quinn Sullivan on the right side. As Sullivan got going, Damiani ran up the middle, signaling to Sullivan and checking his run to stay onside behind Cincinnati (and former Union) right back Alvas Powell. Damiani got his timing right, Sullivan hit his cross right, and the striker landed a sliding finish.

» READ MORE: Tai Baribo’s hat trick powers the Union to a 4-1 rout of FC Cincinnati in their home opener

“It’s what I was looking for,” Damiani said. “I’m very happy, it’s just the beginning.”

It was also a rare occasion of a big-time Union signing having a successful debut. Mikael Uhre didn’t score until his sixth game with the team, and missed two in the middle of them with an injury. Dániel Gazdag debuted in May 2021, went to Hungary’s national team right afterward, then got injured and had to miss that summer’s European Championship.

Before then, Marco Fabián scored in his first Union game, was ejected in his second, then got an extra game suspension for the foul. Tranquillo Barnetta was famously called for a dubious penalty-kick foul 30 seconds into his first appearance.

Damiani had no such problems. And if he’s lucky, maybe the wind that blew through Subaru Park took a few ghosts out of the place.

The goal looked similar to ones that Uhre and Tai Baribo have scored for the Union, and that’s no coincidence. It means Damiani fits well into the style the Union want to play.

“I think we are the same type of players, that’s why the goals are similar,” Damiani said. “Because we make some similar runs, all the teammates know us and know how we play.”

» READ MORE: How different are the Union this year? The team they just beat knows best.

He could observe that again on Saturday, this time from a front-row seat. Baribo fired in a hat trick before Damiani tallied the night’s last goal in stoppage time.

When it was time to enter the fray, how did Damiani feel as he stood on the sideline?

“Well, first of all, I was very happy for our team, for how we were playing in that moment,” he said. “Happy for Tai, also, that he made three goals. Just looking at the [Cincinnati] centerbacks, looking at how they played, to enter and feel comfortable with the play and with the situations.”

Damiani has settled in well in his short time. It helps that he speaks quite good English, and can take care of the rest with his many teammates who speak Spanish. All the better, too, that some of them are also fans of maté, the herbal drink that is a staple across South America.

“I’m very thankful [for] all the teammates, because they receive me very well,” he said.

He had to wait a little while to get going, because of delays with his visa paperwork. Now that that’s settled, he can focus on the things he wants to do on and off the field.

“I was trying to do all the stuff,” he said, including trying to find a place to live. “I’m still in the hotel, that’s another thing that I want to get [sorted out]. But I feel more comfortable now. I‘m training all day with no excuses, so I’m good.”

» READ MORE: Inside the play that symbolized the Union’s potential in their impressive season opener

After not playing in the season opener, teen phenom Cavan Sullivan got his first run of the year when he entered as a substitute in the 82nd minute. Indiana Vassilev made his Union debut at the same time, and it seemed in the moment that the Union would switch their formation to a 4-2-3-1.

Manager Bradley Carnell said that wasn’t actually the intent, and that he wanted to keep the 4-4-2 with Vassilev playing as a second forward. But what mattered is that it worked, with Sullivan in a left-sided attacking midfield role. Quinn Sullivan moved to the right-sided attacking midfield spot, and provided the assist for Damiani’s goal from there.

As for Cavan, he didn’t do too much: seven touches and 4-of-6 passing. But the fans who came out to see him got what they wanted, and maybe they even enjoyed the rest of the game, too.

“He’s training really well,” Carnell said. “We have to bring him along in the right ways, but I’m prepared and brave enough to play him, and he’s brave enough as well. He’s got the edge, he’s got the charisma about getting some minutes, and I’m happy to get him out there tonight.”

» READ MORE: Amid the hype over Cavan, the Union’s Quinn Sullivan continues to make a name for himself