PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Members of the Philadelphia Union, the top seed in Major League Soccer, captured two awards this week ahead of their first-round playoff match next week. Jim Curtin is the Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year, and Andre Blake is the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
Curtin's Union finished with the best record in the league.
Captain Alejandro Bedoya broke the news to his head coach during a team meeting, in a moment the organization captured on video.
"Like Coach always says, what does he always say? 'With team success comes individual accolades.' He's Philly Philly through and through. So on behalf of everybody here ... let’s congratulate Jim for being the Coach of the Year."
Curtin’s immediate reaction was subdued.
"I don’t like surprises, so I am caught off guard a little bit," he said as he chuckled through his Union branded mask. "I don’t want to give a speech."
Defender Ray Gaddis stood and offered his support.
"We had a coach with the league shutting down (in March due to the pandemic), who kept us together," Gaddis said. "Behind every great team is a great leader. Our leader is Jim Curtin."
At a press conference Tuesday, Curtin gave credit to all facets of the organization and put the emphasis on teamwork.
"Those individual awards -- while, yes, they're nice -- they’re just a true reflection of just how much the Philadelphia Union has grown and how much we are a true team," he said.
"I’m really, really lucky," he continued. "Fortunately I had a group of players that went out on the field and performed each and every day."
One of those players is goalkeeper Andre Blake, who also won Goalkeeper of the Year in 2016.
"It’s been a while, so it’s kinda really good to have that feeling again. And for some reason, this one feels a lot better," Blake said. "I’m just very happy that I can do this for the fans and my teammates and the entire Union organization."
If Blake recovers well enough from a fractured hand, the hope is he will play in the Union’s first playoff match next Tuesday night at Subaru Park.
They don’t yet know who their opponent will be.
Videos courtesy of the Philadelphia Union.