MLS Season Preview: Philadelphia Union

With the MLS season set to begin on Friday, theScore runs down everything you need to know about each team heading into the league's 20th campaign. Here, we go to the City of Brotherly Love for a look at the Philadelphia Union.

Significant upheaval has been a staple of the Philadelphia Union's offseason plans in recent years, with the roster represent something of a revolving door.

Head coach Jim Curtain, who assumed full-time duties late last year after having the interim tag removed from his title, recognized that. It's no coincidence the Union enjoyed a much quieter winter following their sixth-place finish in 2014.

“I understand some of the frustrations with things and some of the personnel moves that have gone on in the past,” Curtin said in a recent interview. “But we’re trying to get it right. It will take a little bit of time, but I think you’re slowly starting to see a roster form that we can be proud of. Until we win, we’re going to have to deal with the negativity. That’s something we signed up for.”

That lack of frenetic activity has allowed the club to fly somewhat under the radar heading into the new campaign, but with Curtin now at the helm for an entire season and able to build off the structure he already put in place last year, Philadelphia are being tipped by many as an underdog that could find themselves in the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history.

To do so, they'll need last season's core, led by captain Maurice Edu and the likes of Andrew Wenger and Vincent Nogueira, to be the catalysts.

2014 season: 6th in Eastern Conference

Playoffs: Did not qualify

Head coach: Jim Curtin

Stadium: PPL Park

Season Opener: Saturday, March 7: Philadelphia Union vs. Colorado Rapids (PPL Park) - 4 PM EST

Key Arrivals

Fernando Aristeguieta (FC Nantes - loan), Steven Vitoria (Benfica - loan), C.J. Sapong (Sporting KC)

Key Departures

Carlos Valdes (Nacional - loan), Amobi Okugo (Orlando City), Zac MacMath (Colorado Rapids), Pedro Ribeiro (Orlando City), Leo Fernandes (New York Cosmos - loan)

Player(s) to Watch: Fernando Aristeguieta, C.J. Sapong

For all of their inactivity in the offseason, Philadelphia's big splash came in the form of Aristeguieta, the 22-year-old striker who joins the club on loan from French side FC Nantes.

"He's a guy that I see as an MLS-effective type," Curtin said of the Venezuelan. "He can run, he's big, he's fast, he's strong — he has all of those things. But he also has good technique too, maybe because he's playing in Europe. All of these things added up to a player that checked a lot of the boxes for us."

Hopefully the most important box for a striker, scoring ability, is a box that isn't left unchecked come the end of the season.

If he does struggle with the transition, Sapong will get an opportunity to assume the lead role at the top of the attack. If given the chance, the 26-year-old will need to prove that he bears resemblance to the player who captured the 2011 Rookie of the Year award, and not the one who scored only six goals in his last two seasons with Sporting Kansas City

Keep an eye on: Steven Vitoria

Projected Starting XI

(4-3-3) Rais M'Bolhi; Ray Gaddis, Steven Vitoria, Ethan White, Sheanon Williams; Maurice Edu, Vincent Nogueira, Cristian Maidana; Sebastien Le Toux, Andrew Wenger, Fernando Aristeguieta 

Season in a Sentence

Despite a quiet offseason, Jim Curtin is preaching a playoff berth to his team, hoping that continuity with his roster and a couple intriguing additions in attack will be enough to get the Union into the post-season for just the second time in franchise history.