EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Earnie Stewart is a few months removed from his previous role as sporting director of the Philadelphia Union, but the team is still near and dear to his heart.
Stewart, who spent two-and-a-half years in the role before becoming the first U.S. men’s national team general manager on June 6, is taking great pleasure in the Union’s success of late.
That the Union are currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with one loss in their last seven games and back in the U.S. Open Cup final is no surprise for Stewart.
“I’m happy for Jim [Curtin] and his coaching staff that they kept to [the same pathway] because that’s the hard part. People are on the outside saying change needs to happen and this needs to happen,” Stewart told reporters at a round table discussion Thursday at MetLife Stadium. “That gives me a lot of pleasure to see they’re doing really well.”
Stewart said the seeds of this year’s success were planted a year ago even though the results might not have been there.
“I saw it coming to fruition all along,” he said. “I realize soccer is very simple that winning and losing kind of determines how things are. When you win, it’s very good and if you lose, it’s very bad. There’s like no gray area.”
Stewart said he saw a determination from the team after opening last season with an eight-match winless streak that had many fans calling for Curtin’s head. Three consecutive wins followed.
“For me, I’ve seen this come along last year already when we went through this phase of eight games where we didn’t necessarily win games or not lose every single game,” Stewart said. “Rebounding from that and getting back to winning ways and people doing their jobs was for me already very fulfilling because that gave me the sense that the club could move on because once you hit rock bottom and you keep going.”
The Union won just one of their first six games this season. But Stewart wasn’t concerned because of the way the Union was playing.
“Actually at the beginning of this season we were playing really well, but sometimes we have to put the ball in the back of the net,” Stewart said. “As long as you keep creating chances, you’re going to be in good shape. You’re going to have moments you miss goals, miss chances, but as long as you keep taking those opportunities there’s going to be a time where that changes around.”