Six years in, the Philadelphia Union’s plan to have players go from Academy to first team has finally come to fruition. There’s still work to do, however.
While most of us might have seen it as a meaningless midseason friendly, we were actually witnessing a promising bit of Philadelphia Union history when Derrick Jones was substituted in at the half of the match against Crystal Palace FC. With those 45 minutes, Derrick Jones became the first player to go from the Philadelphia Union Academy, through Bethlehem Steel FC, and on to the first team.