Finding MLS-ready defenders in the late rounds of the SuperDraft has become something of a Philadelphia Union specialty. Richie Marquez and Jack Elliott have both earned significant minutes after they were plucked from obscurity on draft day. Another club that had success with a late-round defender? Bob Bradley's Chicago Fire. In 2001, the current LAFC head coach brought in a big, lanky, hard-nosed kid from Villanova to fortify a defense that needed to support the best attack in the league. "I had some really good contacts in Philadelphia that told me he was a smart player, he was good with the ball, he was a good passer, his size, defensively, and so I was excited that we could bring him to Chicago," Bradley told me this week.
Curtin ready to coach against the man that drafted him
