# 2012 Philadelphia Union season

The 2012 Philadelphia Union season was the third season of the team's existence, competing in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The team was initially managed by former MLS player Peter Nowak, in his third season with the club. In June, Nowak resigned and assistant coach John Hackworth was promoted to manager on an interim basis. Hackworth was officially made permanent head coach in August, making him the second head coach in the club's history.

## 2012 roster

As of August 28, 2012.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Chris Konopka |
| 2 | DF | COL | Carlos Valdés (Captain) |
| 3 | DF | USA | Chris Albright |
| 4 | DF | MLI | Bakary Soumaré |
| 5 | MF | USA | Greg Jordan |
| 6 | MF | PAN | Gabriel Gómez |
| 7 | MF | USA | Brian Carroll (Vice-Captain) |
| 8 | MF | COL | Roger Torres (on loan from América de Cali) |
| 9 | FW | USA | Jack McInerney (GA) |
| 11 | MF | USA | Freddy Adu (DP) |
| 12 | FW | USA | Chandler Hoffman (GA) |
| 13 | MF | USA | Michael Lahoud |
| 14 | MF | USA | Amobi Okugo (GA) |
| 15 | MF | USA | Gabriel Farfan |
| 17 | FW | CRC | Josué Martínez |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | GK | USA | Zac MacMath (GA) |
| 19 | FW | USA | Jack McInerney |
| 20 | MF | USA | Jimmy McLaughlin (HGP) |
| 21 | MF | USA | Michael Farfan |
| 22 | MF | USA | Justin Mapp |
| 24 | DF | CRC | Porfirio López |
| 25 | DF | USA | Sheanon Williams |
| 26 | MF | TRI | Keon Daniel |
| 27 | MF | USA | Zach Pfeffer (HGP) |
| 28 | DF | USA | Ray Gaddis |
| 29 | MF | USA | Antoine Hoppenot |
| 30 | MF | USA | Krystian Witkowski |
| 31 | FW | MEX | Cristhian Hernández (HGP) |
| 32 | GK | USA | Chase Harrison |
| 44 | MF | USA | Danny Cruz |

## Match results

Win  Loss  Tie

### MLS regular season

The Union finished 10-18-6 overall, 7-8-2 at home, 3-10-4 on the road.

### MLS Reserve League

The Union Reserves are 4-4-2 overall, 3-1-1 at home, 1-3-1 on the road.

## League table

Conference
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 42 | 27 | +15 | 63 | MLS Cup Conference Semifinals |
| 2 | D.C. United | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 58 | MLS Cup Conference Semifinals |
| 3 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 57 | MLS Cup Conference Semifinals |
| 4 | Chicago Fire | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 57 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 5 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 53 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 6 | Columbus Crew | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 52 | |
| 7 | Montreal Impact | 34 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 45 | 51 | −6 | 42 | |
| 8 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 36 | |
| 9 | New England Revolution | 34 | 9 | 17 | 8 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 35 | |
| 10 | Toronto FC | 34 | 5 | 21 | 8 | 36 | 62 | −26 | 23 | |
Overall
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | San Jose Earthquakes (S) | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 72 | 43 | +29 | 66 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 2 | Sporting Kansas City | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 42 | 27 | +15 | 63 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 3 | D.C. United | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 58 | |
| 4 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 57 | |
| 5 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 57 | |
| 6 | Chicago Fire | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 57 | |
| 7 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 51 | 33 | +18 | 56 | |
| 8 | LA Galaxy (C) | 34 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 59 | 47 | +12 | 54 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 9 | Houston Dynamo | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 53 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 10 | Columbus Crew | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 52 | |
| 11 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 43 | |
| 12 | Montreal Impact | 34 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 45 | 51 | −6 | 42 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 13 | FC Dallas | 34 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 42 | 47 | −5 | 39 | |
| 14 | Colorado Rapids | 34 | 11 | 19 | 4 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 37 | |
| 15 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 36 | |
| 16 | New England Revolution | 34 | 9 | 17 | 8 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 35 | |
| 17 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 8 | 16 | 10 | 34 | 56 | −22 | 34 | |
| 18 | Chivas USA | 34 | 7 | 18 | 9 | 24 | 58 | −34 | 30 | |
| 19 | Toronto FC | 34 | 5 | 21 | 8 | 36 | 62 | −26 | 23 | |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | Pts | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 34 | 36 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 37 | 45 | −8 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 15 | 25 | −10 |
Last updated: October 27, 2012 Source: Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Stadium | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | L | L | L | T | W | W | L | L | L | T | L | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | L | T | T | L | T | T | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | L |
| Position | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Staff | Nation |
| Manager | John Hackworth | United States |
| Assistant coach/Goalkeeper Coach | Rob Vartughian | United States |
| Assistant coach/Reserve Team Head Coach | Brendan Burke | Ireland |
| Head Athletic Trainer | Paul Rushing | United States |
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Steve Hudyma | United States |
| Strength and conditioning Coach | Kevin Miller | United States |
| Team Coordinator | Josh Gros | United States |
| Equipment Director | Tim Cook | United States |

## Squad information
### Squad breakdown

Ages are as of April 16, 2012 (the date of their season opener).
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (age) | Signed From |
| Goalkeepers ||||||
| 1 | Chris Konopka | GK | (1985-04-14) April 14, 1985 (age 39) | MLS Goalkeeper Pool |
| 18 | Zac MacMath | GK | (1991-08-07) August 7, 1991 (age 33) | University of Maryland |
| 32 | Chase Harrison | GK | (1984-04-02) April 2, 1984 (age 40) | Harrisburg City Islanders |
| Defenders ||||||
| 2 | Carlos Valdés | CB | (1985-05-22) May 22, 1985 (age 39) | Santa Fe |
| 3 | Chris Albright | RB | (1979-01-14) January 14, 1979 (age 46) | New York Red Bulls |
| 4 | Bakary Soumaré | CB | (1985-11-09) November 9, 1985 (age 39) | US Boulogne |
| 24 | Porfirio López | LB | (1985-09-10) September 10, 1985 (age 39) | Dalian Shide |
| 25 | Sheanon Williams | RB/RW | (1990-03-17) March 17, 1990 (age 34) | Harrisburg City Islanders |
| 28 | Ray Gaddis | RB | (1990-01-13)January 13, 1990 (aged 22) | West Virginia University |
| Midfielders ||||||
| 5 | Greg Jordan | CM/DM | (1990-04-05) April 5, 1990 (age 34) | Creighton University |
| 6 | Gabriel Gómez | CM | (1984-05-29) May 29, 1984 (age 40) | Indios |
| 7 | Brian Carroll | DM | (1981-07-20) July 20, 1981 (age 43) | Columbus Crew |
| 8 | Roger Torres | AM | (1991-07-13) July 13, 1991 (age 33) | América de Cali |
| 11 | Freddy Adu | AM/RW | (1989-06-02) June 2, 1989 (age 35) | Benfica |
| 13 | Michael Lahoud | MF | (1986-09-15) September 15, 1986 (age 38) | Chivas USA |
| 14 | Amobi Okugo | DM/CB | (1991-03-13) March 13, 1991 (age 33) | UCLA |
| 15 | Gabriel Farfan | LW/LB | (1988-06-23) June 23, 1988 (age 36) | Club América |
| 20 | Jimmy McLaughlin | LW/RW | (1993-04-30) April 30, 1993 (age 31) | Colgate University |
| 21 | Michael Farfan | LW/RW/AM | (1988-06-23) June 23, 1988 (age 36) | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| 26 | Keon Daniel | LW/RW | (1987-01-16)January 16, 1987 (aged 25) | Puerto Rico Islanders |
| 27 | Zach Pfeffer | AM | (1995-01-06)January 6, 1995 (aged 17) | FC Delco |
| 29 | Antoine Hoppenot | MF/ST | (1990-11-23) November 23, 1990 (age 34) | Princeton University |
| 30 | Krystian Witkowski | MF | (1990-08-17) August 17, 1990 (age 34) | Marist College |
| 44 | Danny Cruz | MF | (1990-01-03) January 3, 1990 (age 35) | D.C. United |
| Forwards ||||||
| 9 | Jack McInerney | ST | (1992-08-05) August 5, 1992 (age 32) | Cobb Futbol Club |
| 12 | Chandler Hoffman | ST | (1990-08-17) August 17, 1990 (age 34) | UCLA |
| 17 | Josué Martínez | ST/RW | (1990-03-25) March 25, 1990 (age 34) | Saprissa |
| 31 | Cristhian Hernández | ST/LW | (1993-10-30) October 30, 1993 (age 31) | Players Development Academy |
Last updated: August 28, 2012. Source: Philadelphia Union

### Statistics

Statistics are from all MLS league matches.
| No. | Player | Pos. | Apps | Starts | G | A | | | Acquired | Salary | Cap Number |
| 2 | ValdésCarlos Valdés | DF | 34 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Signed | $268,000 | $268,000 |
| 3 | AlbrightChris Albright | DF | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Signed | $55,000 | $55,000 |
| 4 | SoumaréBakary Soumaré | DF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Signed | $280,000 | $280,000 |
| 4 | CaliffDanny Califf* | DF | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Signed | $275,000 | $275,000 |
| 5 | JordanGreg Jordan | MF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SuperDraft | $44,000 | $0 (off-budget) |
| 6 | GomezGabriel Gómez | MF | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | Signed | $294,702.50 | $294,702.50 |
| 7 | CarrollBrian Carroll | MF | 34 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | Trade | $168,000 | $168,000 |
| 8 | TorresRoger Torres | MF | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | Signed | $119,285 | $119,285 |
| 9 | McInerneyJack McInerney | FW | 26 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | SuperDraft | $140,166.67 | $0 (GA) |
| 10 | MwangaDanny Mwanga* | FW | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | SuperDraft | $356,250 | $350,000 |
| 11 | AduFreddy Adu | MF | 24 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Signed | $519,000 | $200,000 (DP) |
| 12 | HoffmanChandler Hoffman | FW | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SuperDraft | $91,000 | $0 (GA) |
| 13 | LahoudMichael Lahoud | MF | 23 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Trade | $84,571 | $84,571 |
| 14 | OkugoAmobi Okugo | MF/DF | 28 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | SuperDraft | $173,000 | $0 (GA) |
| 15 | FarfanGabriel Farfan | MF/DF | 23 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | Signed | $46,200 | $46,200 |
| 16 | PerlazaJorge Perlaza* | FW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Trade | $115,000 | $115,000 |
| 17 | MartínezJosué Martínez | FW | 18 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Signed | $71,062.50 | $71,062.50 |
| 20 | McLaughlinJimmy McLaughlin | MF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Signed | $57,000 | $0 (HG) |
| 21 | FarfanMichael Farfan | MF | 33 | 32 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0 | SuperDraft | $94,700 | $94,700 |
| 23 | PajoyLionard Pajoy* | FW | 20 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | Signed | $195,000 | $195,000 |
| 24 | LópezPorfirio López | DF | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Signed | $125,087.50 | $125,087.50 |
| 25 | WilliamsSheanon Williams | DF | 28 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | Signed | $90,500 | $90,500 |
| 26 | DanielKeon Daniel | MF | 23 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Signed | $59,410 | $59,410 |
| 27 | PfefferZach Pfeffer | MF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Signed | $70,000 | $0 (HG) |
| 28 | GaddisRay Gaddis | DF | 19 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | SuperDraft | $33,750 | $0 (off budget) |
| 29 | HoppenotAntoine Hoppenot | MF | 26 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Supplemental Draft | $44,000 | $0 (off budget) |
| 30 | WitkowskiKrystian Witkowski | MF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Supplemental Draft | $44,000.04 | $44,000.04 |
| 31 | HernándezCristhian Hernández | FW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Signed | $54,375 | $0 (HG) |
| 38 | HerdlingKai Herdling* | MF | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Loan | $94,002 | $94,002 |
| 44 | CruzDanny Cruz | MF | 13 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Trade | $106,500 | $106,500 |
| | | | | | 36 | 23 | 55 | 5 | | | |
* = Not currently part of team.
Last updated: October 27, 2012. Source: Philadelphia Union

### Goalkeepers

| No. | Player | Apps | Starts | Record | GA | GAA | SO | | | Acquired | Salary | Cap Number |
| 1 | KonopkaChris Konopka | 1 | 1 | 0–1–0 | 1 | 1.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Signed | $44,000 | $44,000 |
| 18 | MacMathZac MacMath | 32 | 32 | 10–17–5 | 43 | 1.34 | 8 | 2 | 0 | SuperDraft | $135,000 | $0 (GA) |
| 32 | HarrisonChase Harrison | 1 | 1 | 0–0–1 | 1 | 1.00 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Signed | $44,000 | $44,000 |
| 88 | RoweBrian Rowe* | 0 | 0 | 0–0–0 | 0 | N/A | 0 | 0 | 0 | Emergency Loan (MLS GK Pool) | $33,750 | $0 |
| | | 34 | 34 | 10-18–6 | 45 | 1.32 | 8 | 3 | 0 | | | |
* = Not currently part of team.
Last updated: October 27, 2012. Source: Philadelphia Union

## Honors and awards
### MLS Goal of the Week

| Week | Player | Report |
| 18 | Jack McInerney | Archived July 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |

### MLS Team of the Week

| Week | Player | Report |
| 7 | Michael Farfan Carlos Valdés | Archived April 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 10 | Lionard Pajoy | Archived May 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 15 | Amobi Okugo | Archived June 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 16 | Carlos Valdés Head coach: John Hackworth | Archived June 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 18 | Freddy Adu Michael Farfan Jack McInerney Head coach: John Hackworth | Archived July 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 19 | Amobi Okugo | Archived July 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 21 | Carlos Valdés | Archived August 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 24 | Carlos Valdés | Archived August 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 26 | Brian Carroll | Archived October 8, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |
| 29 | Freddy Adu Amobi Okugo | Archived September 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |

### MLS All-Stars 2012

| Position | Player | Notes |
| DF | Carlos Valdés | Don Garber's Pick |
| MF | Michael Farfan | Ben Olsen's Pick |

## Player movement
### Transfers
#### In

| Date | Player | Number | Position | Previous club | Fee/notes |
| November 23, 2011 | Nizar Khalfan | 22 | MF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Acquired in 2011 MLS Waiver Draft |
| December 7, 2011 | Josué Martínez | 17 | FW | Saprissa | Free |
| December 12, 2011 | Jimmy McLaughlin | 20 | MF | Colgate University | Signed As Home Grown Player |
| December 21, 2011 | Gabriel Gómez | 6 | MF | Indios | Free |
| December 22, 2011 | Porfirio López | 24 | DF | Dalian Shide | Free |
| January 12, 2012 | Chandler Hoffman | 12 | FW | UCLA | 2012 MLS SuperDraft, 1st Round |
| January 12, 2012 | Greg Jordan | 5 | MF | Creighton University | 2012 MLS SuperDraft, 2nd round |
| January 12, 2012 | Ray Gaddis | 28 | DF | West Virginia University | 2012 MLS SuperDraft, 2nd round |
| January 17, 2012 | Tom Brandt | | DF | University of Pennsylvania | 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, 1st Round |
| January 17, 2012 | Krystian Witkowski | 30 | FW | Marist College | 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, 2nd round |
| January 17, 2012 | Antoine Hoppenot | 29 | FW | Princeton University | 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, 3rd round |
| January 17, 2012 | Brandon Zimmerman | | MF | Santa Clara University | 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft, 4th round |
| January 31, 2012 | Roger Torres | 8 | MF | America de Cali | Loan made permanent |
| February 8, 2012 | Lionard Pajoy | 23 | FW | Itagüí Ditaires | Free |
| February 13, 2012 | Chris Albright | 3 | DF | New York Red Bulls | Free |
| February 21, 2012 | Chase Harrison | 32 | GK | Philadelphia Union | Free |
| March 2, 2012 | Chris Konopka | 1 | GK | MLS Goalkeeper Pool | Free |
| March 5, 2012 | Cristhian Hernández | 31 | FW | Players Development Academy | Signed as Home Grown Player |
| May 17, 2012 | Michael Lahoud | 13 | MF | C.D. Chivas USA | Traded along with allocation money for Danny Califf |
| June 6, 2012 | Jorge Perlaza | 16 | FW | Portland Timbers | Traded for Danny Mwanga |
| June 26, 2012 | Bakary Soumaré | 4 | DF | US Boulogne | Free, acquired via the MLS allocation process |
| August 16, 2012 | Danny Cruz | 44 | MF | D.C. United | Traded for Lionard Pajoy and an international roster slot |

#### Out

| Date | Player | Number | Position | Destination club | Fee/notes |
| November 23, 2011 | Justin Mapp | 22 | MF | Montreal Impact | Expansion Draft |
| November 23, 2011 | Juan Diego González | 3 | DF | | Waived |
| November 23, 2011 | Thorne Holder | 24 | GK | | Waived |
| November 30, 2011 | Stefani Miglioranzi | 6 | MF | None | Contract option declined / Retired |
| November 30, 2011 | Chase Harrison | 31 | GK | Philadelphia Union | Contract option declined |
| January 19, 2012 | Levi Houapeu | 12 | FW | | Contract option declined |
| January 19, 2012 | Ryan Richter | 23 | MF | Charleston Battery | Contract option declined |
| January 19, 2012 | Morgan Langley | 26 | MF | Harrisburg City Islanders | Contract option declined |
| January 19, 2012 | Joe Tait | 2 | DF | Darlington 1883 | Contract option declined |
| January 19, 2012 | Veljko Paunović | 16 | FW | None | Retired |
| January 30, 2012 | Faryd Mondragón | 1 | GK | Deportivo Cali | Released; free transfer |
| January 31, 2012 | Sebastien Le Toux | 9 | FW | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Traded for allocation money |
| February 1, 2012 | Kyle Nakazawa | 13 | MF | Los Angeles Galaxy | Traded with a 2nd round 2013 MLS SuperDraft pick for a 2012 international roster slot |
| February 6, 2012 | Tom Brandt | | DF | Harrisburg City Islanders | Not offered a contract |
| February 6, 2012 | Brandon Zimmerman | | MF | | Not offered a contract |
| February 22, 2012 | Nizar Khalfan | 22 | MF | Young Africans SC | Waived |
| May 17, 2012 | Danny Califf | 4 | DF | Chivas USA | Traded for Michael Lahoud and allocation money. |
| June 6, 2012 | Danny Mwanga | 10 | FW | Portland Timbers | Traded for Jorge Perlaza |
| August 16, 2012 | Lionard Pajoy | 23 | FW | D.C. United | Traded with an international roster slot for Danny Cruz |
| August 28, 2012 | Jorge Perlaza | 16 | FW | Millonarios | Released; free transfer |

### Loans
#### In

| Start Date | End Date | Player | Number | Position | Loaned from | Fee/notes | Ref |
| April 16, 2012 | June 19, 2012 | Kai Herdling | 38 | MF | TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II | Loan until June 30, with option to extend until December 31. Terminated early. | |
| May 26, 2012 | May 27, 2012 | Brian Rowe | 88 | GK | MLS Goalkeeper Pool | Emergency loan | |

#### Out

| Start Date | End Date | Player | Position | Loaned to | Fee/notes |
| April 19, 2012 | April 22, 2012 | Chandler Hoffman | FW | Harrisburg City Islanders | Made appearances in 2 games |
| April 19, 2012 | April 22, 2012 | Antoine Hoppenot | FW | Harrisburg City Islanders | Made appearances in 2 games |
| June 22, 2012 | August 26, 2012 | Greg Jordan | MF | Harrisburg City Islanders | Loan extended to end of USL PRO season on July 19. |
| June 22, 2012 | August 26, 2012 | Jimmy McLaughlin | MF | Harrisburg City Islanders | Loan extended to end of USL PRO season on July 19. |

## Miscellany
### Allocation ranking

Philadelphia came into the 2012 season thirteenth in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club's ranking.
On June 25, the Union traded their position in the allocation ranking plus allocation money and their first round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft to Vancouver Whitecaps FC for the top position in the allocation rankings and a second round pick in the 2013 Draft. The Union then used the Allocation ranking to sign Bakary Soumaré.

### International roster slots

The Union have nine MLS International Roster Slots for use in the 2012 season. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated eight international roster spots per season, but the Union acquired a ninth from Los Angeles in exchange for Kyle Nakazawa. This ninth slot would eventually be traded to D.C. United along with Lionard Pajoy for Danny Cruz and reverts to the Galaxy at the end of 2012.
Philadelphia Union International slots :
| Slot | Player | Nationality |
| 1 | Roger Torres | Colombia |
| 2 | Carlos Valdés | Colombia |
| 3 | Keon Daniel | Trinidad & Tobago |
| 4 | Josué Martínez | Costa Rica |
| 5 | Gabriel Gómez | Panama |
| 6 | Porfirio López | Costa Rica |
| 7 | Cristhian Hernández | Mexico |
| 8 | VACANT | |
NOTES:
* Bakary Soumaré was born in Mali but is not considered an international player as he is a permanent resident of the US.
* Freddy Adu, Antoine Hoppenot, and Michael Lahoud were born in Ghana, France and Sierra Leone, respectively, but are all American citizens.

### Future draft pick trades

Future picks acquired: *2013 MLS SuperDraft second round pick (natural selection) from FC Dallas for Andrew Jacobson.
Future picks traded: *2013 MLS SuperDraft second round pick (natural selection) and Kyle Nakazawa to Los Angeles Galaxy for an international roster slot. Future picks swapped: *2013 MLS SuperDraft first round pick, allocation money, and the twelfth position in the MLS Allocation Order to Vancouver Whitecaps FC for a 2013 SuperDraft second round pick and the first position in the Allocation Order.