The Philadelphia Union have lifted the Supporters’ Shield for the second time, and I bet they feel vindicated.
They last won it in 2020, their first major trophy, but it came from the shorter MLS is Back season after COVID. Fewer games, more localised fixtures – it wasn’t really an MLS season as we know it. In fact, the Supporters’ Shield Foundation didn’t want to give the trophy out at all. It was only after backlash from fans and players that they changed their minds.
There were no such concerns this time around though, since Philly earned the trophy with a game still in hand after a blistering season under new head coach, Bradley Carnell.
No one was expecting it. They didn’t even qualify for the playoffs last season, and they aren’t a star studded team. But this is why we love soccer, it’s a game where anything can happen.
Bradley Carnell: A New Coach and a New Mentality
Bradley Carnell arrived in January with little fanfare. He wasn’t a club legend, he wasn’t a famous ex-player, and he hadn’t achieved greatness elsewhere as a manager. But he came in with clarity.
After parting ways with Jim Curtin, the Union’s head coach for the previous 11 years, a calculated reset was needed. The fact that no one knew who Carnell was probably helped. He could get on with the job with less pressure and fly under the radar a little.
It didn’t take long to see the difference in how the team played. Yes, they made a few new signings, but Carnell was the driver behind the change. The press was higher, the back line was tighter, and the transitions were quicker. Opposition teams ended up trapped in their of half, and if they did break through Philly snapped back into shape so quickly it was hard to capitalise. A simple enough system, but it only works if the squad totally buy in and commit.
Carnell got that from his players. Philadelphia Union only conceded 33 goals all season – the best defensive record in the whole league. It wasn’t star signings that did that, it was a cohesive group of players who believed in their coach and his system, executing their roles consistently and relentlessly.
What he inherited was a side that had lost its identity. During Jim Curtin’s best years, Philadelphia Union had been a model of stability, but by the end of 2024 the energy as gone. The club finished 12th in the East Conference and 23rd overall. He had to rebuild without ripping everything up and remind his squad of the team they could be.
I don’t know what he said to them, but what followed was one of the most complete turnarounds MLS has seen in a long time. Tactically, there were changes, but it wasn’t radical. A bit of refining and modernisation, more flexibility, but he didn’t tear up the rule book. What Carnell did manage to do was change the atmosphere and the messaging at the club, and equally importantly, the mentality of the players, making them feel valued, invested, and buying into the new culture.
Winning Quietly in a Very Loud League
MLS has grown massively over the last few years, and global recognition is far beyond what it used to be. Marketing departments are all over star signings like Messi, Son Heung-min, and Thomas Müller. The world press report on the teams these players play for far more often than on the likes of Philadelphia Union, but their win just goes to show that identity and structure can still beat money and glamour.
It wasn’t easy either, it was a slog, with several other teams hovering within easy reach until late September. Inter Miami, Vancouver Whitecaps, LAFC, and Cincinnati were all threating for the number one spot, and at time it looked like any of them could take it.
“What they’ve done, what they’ve committed, what they’ve rebuilt, you just have to tip your hat to everybody here at the club.”@PhilaUnion prove doubters wrong with their 2025 Supporters’ Shield winning season: https://t.co/wORy2cFGx1 pic.twitter.com/dNDEXmqIg6
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 7, 2025
But Philly ground through tough games, often taking 3 points by a single goal. The only exception was when Vancouver absolutely tore them apart 7-0 in September, but they answered back by winning their next four games, including a 6-0 win against DC United.
As Bradley Carnell said himself:
“We’re not the superstars. I’m not the super coach. We don’t care — we fly under the radar. We make mistakes, we learn, and then we’re 66 points later.”
Philly weren’t chasing headline grabbing wins, they were content with winning quietly until people noticed their record, then, when the pressure began to ramp up, they stayed calm.
The game that secured them the trophy was a perfect example. After Uhre scored late on in the first half, it became a defensive masterclass. New York City had far more possession, but Philadelphia suffocated the game to grind out the win that secured the Supporters’ Shield.
MLS Cup: Can They Do the Double?
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Not many teams have managed to win both the Supporters’ Shield and the MLS Cup, but it has happened.
Can Philadelphia Union do the double? I’m dubious.
It takes a different approach to win the MLS Cup than it does to win the regular season. Philly’s defining principles of work rate, discipline, and belief are great for a season long competition, but the MLS Cup is a quick fire knock out competition, you have to put games to bed. Their regular season record will give them the home advantage, and their record at home is excellent, but I’m not sure it will be enough if they come up against those big goal scoring teams, especially later on when the energy is wild.
That said, I do think Philly can go on and achieve again next year. It feels like Bradley Carnell has built a solid foundation in 2025, but it doesn’t feel like the peak. With a few solid signings and the momentum from the Supporters’ Shield win, Philadelphia Union could go into the 2026 season with a solid chance of more silverware. If they manage a decent MLS Cup run that’s even better.
I’m not saying they can’t win the MLS Cup as well, I’m just saying it is a different beast.