CHESTER, Pa.– No matter how much success a professional sports team in Philadelphia achieves, the underdog mentality is always present.
Philadelphia Union midfielder Haris Medunjanin, who had his contract option for the 2019 Major League Soccer season picked up Thursday, embraces and exemplifies that exact attitude, which fans in the City of Brotherly Love have come to enjoy.
“Yeah, because this is like the underdog city, right? I always felt in my career like an underdog,” Medunjanin said. “You always feel like you to need improve yourself, like you need to show yourself two, three more times than other players so I feel maybe that’s why I feel like home here.”
In the one-and-a-half seasons he’s been in blue and gold, Medunjanin has provided stability to the defensive midfield position, where the Union value someone who’s talented on the ball. And he’s added veteran leadership to a squad aiming to build from the academy up.
“It’s just going further with what we want to achieve, and one, we want to be a possession-based team,” Union sporting director Earnie Stewart said. “I think that’s now shown for a lot of the last two and a half years, and our view is that the No. 6 position, that needs to be a player that is very comfortable on the ball, that can read the game exceptionally well and therefore this signing is important and critical to us.”
Medunjanin came to the Union as an unknown to casual fans of the European game, but in the eyes of Stewart, he was the perfect fit with a wealth of experience from the Netherlands, Spain, Israel and Turkey, as well as international experience with Bosnia and Herzegovina, who he played for in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Stewart knew Medunjanin’s game very well, and while he’s not surprised with the consistency he’s provided on the field, the 33-year-old exceeded expectations from an outside perspective.
“I don’t want to say, ‘exceeded,’ because then it’s almost like we got him and we were hoping he’d do well,” Stewart said. “We knew the player that Haris was and what his capabilities were, and he’s shown that in Holland, he’s shown it in Spain, he’s shown it in Israel, and he’s now shown it in MLS.
“Once you’ve done something in the past, it doesn’t give guarantees for the future, but it gives a pretty good indication of what people are capable of. Once again, I don’t want to say, ‘wow, he’s exceeded those expectations,’ because I think Haris is who he is and he’s done exceptionally well.”
As the No. 6 in the Union’s 4-2-3-1 formation, Medunjanin is the fulcrum of the team’s pressing system and how it plays out of the back.
When the Union look to control the possession battle, Medunjanin drifts in between the centerbacks to dictate time on the ball, while he’s also capable of spraying balls from side to side to stretch play and surging forward when the opportunity presents itself in the middle of the field.
Medunjanin’s also serves as a mentor to the young players throughout the Union roster.
“I’ve really enjoyed having him around,” Union defender Keegan Rosenberry said. “He’s been a great mentor to me in terms of pulling me aside and talking through things. Any of the guys that have seen stuff in other leagues and other countries, the international stage, it’s a really cool opportunity to learn and pick their brains a little bit. For us, off the field, just the locker room in general, he’s been a great leader, a great guy that shares his experiences — and he’s got some quality on the field as well. He helps us in a lot of ways and I think everybody is happy to have him back for another year.”
One of the main examples of how Medunjanin’s helped the young core grow is his relationship with centerbacks Auston Trusty and Mark McKenzie, who constantly receive advice from the Bosnian midfielder.
“A lot of young guys have potential,” Medunjanin said. “It’s different, the soccer over here and the soccer in Europe. I always try to explain to them, over here they don’t have the pressure like they would have in Europe. So, I try to explain to them every game is important and you can’t look in the past.
“I spoke with my central defenders, Trusty and McKenzie. I told them it was a nice game against Vancouver, but then you let in four goals against LAFC and everyone forgets about (Vancouver). You always need to be 100 percent focused every game, because if we relax like 1 or 2 percent, everybody can beat us. You always need to prepare in your mind like it’s your last game. You need to improve yourself every game, and you try to teach them. You see they’re always training and want to be better so that’s good, you know.”
As for the future, Medunjanin could see himself staying with the Union until the end of his career, and he’ll know when the right time is to start shifting into another role.
“Yeah, why not? Like I said, if I feel fit, if I feel healthy, why not?” Medunjanin said. “I will continue as long as I can, and when I see that I can’t run anymore and everybody is passing me, then I know it’s time to stop and maybe go on the bench and then maybe go inside a little bit. I think I’m smart enough. I know my body and how I feel, and I will be the first guy to say that.”