# 2020 Philadelphia Union season

The 2020 Philadelphia Union season was the club's eleventh season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The team was managed by Jim Curtin, his seventh season with the club. The Union's season began on February 29, 2020, and was scheduled on end in October or November 2020, depending on their regular season performance. On March 12, 2020, MLS suspended the season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Originally planned to be a 30-day suspension, the league remained suspended until July 9, 2020, when competition resumed with the MLS is Back Tournament. The tournament ran through August 11, 2020, with the remainder of the season, under a truncated format, continued through November 8, 2020.
The 2020 season saw Philadelphia win their first major trophy in club history, by capturing the Supporters' Shield for the best regular season record. Philadelphia finished 14–4–5, averaging 2.04 points per game. Outside of MLS regular season play, the club was eliminated in the Conference Quarterfinals of the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs, losing to New England Revolution. In the MLS is Back Tournament, Philadelphia reached the semifinals of the tournament before losing to eventual champions, Portland Timbers. The Union were also slated to participate the 2020 Leagues Cup and the 2020 U.S. Open Cup, but both competitions though were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## 2020 roster

    As of October 10, 2020
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 | Matt Freese (HGP) |
| 2 | MF | GUY | Warren Creavalle |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Jack Elliott |
| 4 | DF | USA | Mark McKenzie (HGP) |
| 5 | DF | NOR | Jakob Glesnes |
| 7 | FW | USA | Andrew Wooten |
| 8 | MF | VEN | José Martínez |
| 11 | MF | USA | Alejandro Bedoya (Captain) |
| 12 | GK | USA | Joe Bendik |
| 13 | MF | USA | Cole Turner (HGP) |
| 14 | MF | USA | Jack de Vries (HGP) |
| 15 | DF | CMR | Olivier Mbaizo |
| 17 | FW | BRA | Sergio Santos |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | GK | JAM | Andre Blake (GA) |
| 19 | FW | JAM | Cory Burke |
| 20 | FW | COD | Michee Ngalina |
| 21 | MF | USA | Anthony Fontana (HGP) |
| 22 | MF | USA | Brenden Aaronson (HGP) |
| 23 | FW | POL | Kacper Przybyłko |
| 24 | MF | SVK | Matej Oravec |
| 25 | MF | BRA | Ilsinho |
| 27 | DF | GER | Kai Wagner |
| 28 | DF | USA | Ray Gaddis |
| 32 | DF | USA | Matthew Real (HGP) |
| 35 | MF | CPV | Jamiro Monteiro (DP) |
| 78 | DF | FRA | Aurelien Collin |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes |
| December 23, 2019 | 8 | MF | José Martínez | Zulia F.C. | $325,000 |
| January 1, 2020 | 13 | MF | Cole Turner | Philadelphia Union II | Homegrown signing |
| January 1, 2020 | 14 | FW | Jack de Vries | Philadelphia Union II | Homegrown signing |
| January 10, 2020 | 35 | MF | Jamiro Monteiro | FC Metz | $2,000,000; DP signing |
| January 19, 2020 | 24 | MF | Matej Oravec | DAC Dunajská Streda | Undisclosed fee; TAM signing |
| January 31, 2020 | 5 | DF | Jakob Glesnes | Strømsgodset | Undisclosed fee; TAM signing |

### Out

| Date | No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes |
| November 20, 2019 | 6 | MF | Haris Medunjanin | FC Cincinnati | End of contract |
| November 20, 2019 | 10 | MF | Marco Fabián | Al Sadd SC | Declined contract option |
| November 20, 2019 | 16 | DF | R. J. Allen | | Declined contract option |
| November 20, 2019 | 26 | DF | Auston Trusty | Colorado Rapids | $300,000 TAM (2020) $300,000 GAM (2021) $150,000 GAM (2021) |
| November 20, 2019 | 33 | DF | Fabinho | | Declined contract option |
| November 26, 2019 | 9 | MF | Fafà Picault | FC Dallas | $300,000 GAM (2020) $75,000 GAM (2021) |

### Loan out

| Date | No. | Pos. | Player | Loaned to | Fee/notes | Source |
| February 6, 2020 | 19 | FW | Cory Burke | SKN St. Pölten | 5-month loan | |

## Staff

    As of February 8, 2020
| Position | Staff | Nationality |
| Head coach | Jim Curtin | United States |
| Technical director | Chris Albright | United States |
| Assistant coach | Oka Nikolov | Macedonia |
| Assistant coach | Pat Noonan | United States |
| Director of Goalkeeping | Phil Wheddon | United States |
| Head athletic trainer | Paul Rushing | United States |
| Team coordinator | Josh Gros | United States |
| Sporting director | Ernst Tanner | Germany |
| Academy director | Tommy Wilson | Scotland |

## Competitions
### MLS
#### League tables
##### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 1 | Philadelphia Union | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 44 | 20 | +24 | 47 | 2.04 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League |
| 2 | Toronto FC | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 44 | 1.91 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League |
| 3 | Columbus Crew SC (C) | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 21 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and CONCACAF Champions League |
| 4 | Orlando City SC | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and Leagues Cup |
| 5 | New York City FC | 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 37 | 25 | +12 | 39 | 1.70 | Qualification for the playoffs first round and Leagues Cup |
* ↑ As Supporters' Shield winners
* ↑ Canadian clubs could not qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League through the MLS regular season or playoffs.
* ↑ As 2020 Canadian Championship finalists (awarded by Canada Soccer)
* ↑ As MLS Cup 2020 champions

##### Overall

2020 MLS overall standings :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
| 1 | Philadelphia Union (S) | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 44 | 20 | +24 | 47 | 2.04 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 2 | Toronto FC (V) | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 44 | 1.91 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 3 | Sporting Kansas City | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 39 | 1.86 | 2021 Leagues Cup |
| 4 | Columbus Crew SC (C) | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 21 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | 2021 CONCACAF Champions League |
| 5 | Orlando City SC | 23 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 40 | 25 | +15 | 41 | 1.78 | 2021 Leagues Cup |
* ↑ As Supporters' Shield winners (USA2)
* ↑ As 2020 Canadian Championship finalists (awarded by Canada Soccer) (CAN1)
* ↑ As 1st, Western Conference (MLS1)
* ↑ As MLS Cup 2020 champions (USA1)
* ↑ As 4th, Eastern Conference (MLS2)

#### Match results

Only matches numbered in the left column apply to the season standings

### MLS is Back Tournament
#### Group stage
##### Group A standings

Group A results :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Orlando City SC (H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 2 | Philadelphia Union | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 3 | New York City FC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | Advanced to knockout stage |
| 4 | Inter Miami CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 0 | |

##### Group A results
#### Knockout round
### U.S. Open Cup

Due to their final standings for the 2019 season, the Union were scheduled to enter the competition in the Fourth Round, to be played May 19–20. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic, however, forced the U.S. Soccer Federation to cancel the tournament on August 17, 2020.