Chester – When the Philadelphia Union take the field Saturday night at Subaru Park, the focus won’t just be on the playoff race or the Supporters’ Shield standings. For Union head coach Bradley Carnell and Colorado Rapids boss Chris Armas, this weekend’s matchup marks more than just another MLS fixture; it’s a meeting between two longtime colleagues and friends whose coaching journeys were once closely aligned on the sidelines at the New York Red Bulls.
As the Union look to build momentum in their push for postseason positioning and Colorado aims to bounce back from an inconsistent campaign, all eyes will be on how these two competitive minds clash once more—this time leading different teams with very different stakes.
Saturday’s match will be a reunion of former colleagues for Philadelphia Union head coach Bradley Carnell and Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas. The two spent time together at the New York Red Bulls from 2017 to 2020, when Carnell arrived in New York from Orlando Pirates in South Africa’s Betway Premiership in 2017.
When Armas was dismissed in September of 2020, Carnell went on to serve as the interim head coach of the Red Bulls until November, compiling a record of 6-3-5 in 14 matches to lead New York to their 11th straight postseason appearance. The club then formally announced Gerhard Struber as the next head coach. Carnell remained on staff until 2022, when he left for Saint Louis.
When talking about what he learned from his former manager, Carnell shared that while they both learned a lot from each other, there was one main takeaway from their time together.
“One of the best things I’ve learned from Chris is how how he treats people and puts people first and that’s one of the things that I’ve always tried to take away with me. I’m really happy for him and he’s found a really good place where he can show who he is and and what he’s about as a coach.”
He also expressed how happy he is to see his former colleague succeeding in Denver and how they still keep in touch.
“I’m happy for all the success that he’s having there. So he’s brought stability to the club and we have some good banter back and forth and a couple of phone calls here and there, and we excited to see each other.”
But make no mistake about Saturday night: while both coaches share a connection, both are competitive and want to win. This will be Chris and Bradley’s second time coaching against each other. In their previous meeting on June 19th of last year, Chris’s side came out victorious 3-0 thanks to a hat trick by Djordje Mihailovic.
While Carnell is now coaching a different club, and it’s a new season in MLS with the Union sitting third in the Supporters’ Shield standings with 47 points and Colorado in 17th with 30 points, Bradley is aware of the challenge the Rapids pose on Saturday night.
“They are a hardworking team, they’re very tough to break down, and we have certain qualities that they also appreciate and respect. We just hope those come out more often than their qualities, but they are very strong up in the attack. Navarro and Mihailovic, you know, very lethal- good combination there with those two and they are feisty and they fight you for everything.”
Colorado Rapids forward Rafael Navarro has 8 goals and 1 assist in 23 games this year and will be a threat anytime he touches the ball in the box. Then there’s arguably Colorado’s greatest offensive weapon, Djordje Mihailovic, who on any given night can turn a game around with his passing and shooting. On the season, the American has 11 goals and 5 assists in 25 competitions.
“There’s often then the one-v-one responsibilities or then there’s the supply responsibilities- can we cut off supply chain to them and can we cut off, and then can we overload them? So, there’s different mechanisms and ways we can try and get at these guys because they have shown quality in one v one where they can be lethal.”
For the Union, they will be getting back MLS All-Star Game MVP Tai Baribo, who scored the game-winning goal in Wednesday’s 3-1 MLS All-Star win versus Liga MX. Baribo became the first Union player in club history to score in the All-Star Game and the first current Union player to win the MVP award (Chris Pontius won the award in 2012 as a member of D.C. United).
“It’s great, it’s a good display of players who do well and get rewarded and I’m so happy for him [Baribo] and happy for Jacob. I mean, Jacob played a little bit longer than I thought he should play or we agreed to play him. Kai from even in the all-star to starting, which just means how much he is valued and and he knows that as well now, I think. It just brings overall quality up and we get those guys those guys coming back with another good experience and the quality really high.”
Alongside Baribo, Union defenders Jakob Glesnes and Kai Wagner also joined the 2025 All-Star squad, with the latter representing the club in the starting XI. This marks the third All-Star appearance for both players—second most in team history behind Andre Blake, who holds the club record with four selections.
Outside of Ian Glavinovich, Ben Bender is listed as questionable ahead of tomorrow’s match. For Colorado, Connor Ronan is still listed as out, per MLS communications posted earlier on Friday.
All-time at Subaru Park, the Union have two wins, four draws, and two losses against the Rapids. They’ll be looking to avenge last year’s 1-1 draw in Leagues Cup, a match that saw Coatesville native, FC Delco and Union Academy product, and former Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen have an outstanding showing in penalties, securing third place and a CONCACAF Champions Cup berth in 2025 for Colorado.
The match is scheduled for a 7:30 PM kickoff from Subaru Park and will be available on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.
Main Photo Credit Courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
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