Real Madrid game is part of Union's brand-building

Thursday, May 19, 2011
Posted: 11:08 a.m.Updated: 5:33 p.m.

By Dave Zeitlin
CSNPhilly.com Contributor

Last July, then-Philadelphia Union president Tom Veit stood in the bowels of Lincoln Financial Field as players from the most well-known soccer team in the world passed him by. A smile was plastered on his face.

Earlier that summer evening, the Union had played a very respectable game against Manchester United before falling, 1-0, to the English Premier League giants in a highly publicized exhibition. And heres what Veit had to say in the games immediate aftermath:

I think we got a lot of converts tonight. From the beginning of the game to the end of the game, you heard some people change sides and start cheering for us. I think theres room in everyones heart for a few teams. And when you live in Philadelphia, Philadelphia should be your first team.

Veit is no longer with the club, but the Unions mission of trying to convert people into Union fansall while spreading the Philadelphia Union brandremains at the forefront.

Such was the idea when the club announced another game against a world superpowerReal Madrid. The Union will face Cristiano Ronaldo, Kak and the rest of the La Liga stars on July 23 at Lincoln Financial Field.

The game is scheduled just three days after Everton F.C. of the English Premier League comes to PPL Park for another high-profile exhibition match.

Its another step in the process, Philadelphia Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz said in a phone interview on Thursday, shortly after the friendly vs. Real Madrid was officially announced. It takes a long time to build a brand. The Real Madrid brand is 100 years old; our brand is two years old. But these are the types of things we have to do.

While naturally, more established teams like Manchester United and Real Madrid dont need to do the kind of thing that Sakiewicz refers to as brand building, the Union are still a young franchise in a relatively young league.

Major League Soccer may be growing but the Union CEO knows there are plenty of people out there who still dont respect American soccer. And if those same people go to a game just to watch Real Madrid play, he hopes theyll be convinced that the Union are worth watching in the future, even when they dont face world powers.

These kinds of games are great opportunities to show people that think our football is subpar, that it isnt, said Sakiewicz, adding that part of the agreement is for Real Madrid to bring all of their top players. Last year we beat Celtic, we beat Chivas de Guadalajara and we only lost to Manchester United, 1-nil. And these teams want to play us now. That must mean our football is pretty good.

There are soccer fans everywhere, the Union CEO continued. There are a lot of Union fans in Philadelphia. There are a lot of Seattle fans in Seattle. There a lot of Toronto fans in Toronto. But I also think there are a group of fans that havent given Major League Soccer an opportunity. I think if they do, theyll come out and quickly realize our football is pretty good.

For basically the same reason, Union manager Peter Nowak skipped a game against the Galaxy last week to go to his native Poland, where he played in a charity game and gave a lecture in front of many high-ranking European soccer officials about the growth of Philadelphia Union and Major League Soccer. Nowak and Sakiewicz both believe doing things like this is a vital part of bringing talented, foreign-born players to MLS, all while boosting the leagues credibility and appeal around the world.

Again, that was an opportunity for our organization to put the Union in front of some very influential European soccer peopleit was all part of the brand building, Sakiewicz said. The goal is to build one of the most admired American soccer brands. Its not just a European strategy but a global strategy. That includes South America, Asia, Africa. Its no secret we have some pretty exciting and talented South American players on our team, and the Union are quite well known in some parts of that continent because of that. Thats all part of it.

Some people may have thought it was odd that Nowak didnt coach in a game to take this trip to Poland. Others may have been confused why the Union would reschedule a league game against Seattle to Oct. 8 to make room for the Real Madrid exhibition.

But in both cases, the Union opted to look toward their long-term strategy over short-term needs. Besides, Sakiewicz maintains, neither Nowaks absence nor the scheduling change affected the competitive balance in any way. Thats how much faith he had in assistant coach John Hackworth running the team while Nowak was gone.

So, in many ways, the franchise is operating on two fronts: winning games and winning support. And getting teams like Real Madrid to come to Philadelphia only helps in the process.

Its a long-term, multi-year strategy that takes a lot of time, Sakiewicz said. Part of the strategy is to play big international opponents like Real Madrid. Another part is having a great stadium to play in. Another part is having a passionate fan base, which we have. Another part is having a world-class youth development system, which weve established.

A lot of these things you must do to become one of the most admired American soccer brands. In Year Two, were on our way to doing that.

Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com and writes a weekly Union column for CSNPhilly.com. You can e-mail him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.