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The Union signed Oka Nikolov, from German team Eintracht Frankfurt, to add depth and experience in goal.
Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath makes a save during 3-0 win over the Columbus Crew at PPL Park earlier this month. Coach John Hackworth said MacMath is still the starter despite the acquisition of Oka Nikolov. (Times Staff / ERIC HARTLINE)
CHESTER ? The central theme of Philadelphia Union manager John Hackworth?s roster philosophy is the notion of competition.?
Wednesday, the club shored up one of the major areas in which that level was lagging.?
The Union came to terms with free-agent goalkeeper Oka Nikolov, who has played for the last 22 years with German side Eintracht Frankfurt. Terms of the deal between the club and the 39-year-old ?keeper were not disclosed, per league policy.?
The acquisition is pending receipt of a visa for Nikolov, who holds dual German and Macedonian citizenship and has been capped five times by the latter national team. He?s not available to play for the Union until the MLS summer transfer window formally opens July 9, making the July 12 meeting with Chivas USA the first match he?d be eligible for.?
?He is first and foremost a fantastic person,? Hackworth said Wednesday at his weekly press conference. ?Something we believe very strongly in is the character of the people we bring into our club, and he certainly epitomizes that. I met with him and was impressed with him as a person as much as his playing record. The fact that he was at Eintracht Frankfurt for so long and is in high regard there says volumes about him as a person and as a player.??
The nuts and bolts of Nikolov?s role with the Union aren?t fully clear, but certain aspects are. First and foremost, there?s the effect on No. 1 goalkeeper Zac MacMath.?
?Zac?s absolutely, 100 percent still the starter,? Hackworth said. ?No question about that.?
A large part of Nikolov?s role is also pre-determined, as he?ll come in to serve as a mentor for MacMath, who will turn 22 later this summer and is in his second year as a full-time starter, and backup Chris Konopka, who at age 28 is still in the long-term plans of the Union, according to Hackworth.
But part of that mentorship will be to push both players on the pitch for playing time. Like anyone else, Hackworth has explained to Nikolov that he will have to prove himself to the team and earn whatever minutes may come his way. But his addition is ultimately as a player, not a coach, and the expectation is that he?ll play some role on the pitch beyond merely sharing his experiences.?
?I wouldn?t bring a guy here just to be a practice player in most situations,? Hackworth said. ?But the reason that Oka is coming here is to prove that he can still play at this level in this league. It?s a challenge that he has set out for himself very clearly, but I also think he understands the role and what this means for our club. If Oka plays so well and he deserves it, he?s going to play. But he?s going to have to do an awful lot in our coaching staff?s opinions to unseat our whole feeling about the potential of Zac MacMath and how good he is and how good he can be given the proper pressure even from within the team to improve and make himself better.? Continued...
Nikolov may have a lot of miles on the odometer, but that doesn?t mean his career is done. The veteran showed that in recent months at Frankfurt, the club he?s been at since 1991 ? the year MacMath was born. After 18 seasons and 379 league appearances in the first team ? including leading the club to the final of the domestic cup, the DFB Pokal, in 2006 ? Nikolov presided over a large part of the 2010-11 campaign in which Frankfurt was relegated from the Bundesliga.?
He helped them return to Germany?s top flight the following year by finishing second in the 2.Bundesliga but was replaced as the starter in 2012-13 by young goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, a rising star in the German youth ranks.?
Nonetheless, the veteran returned to a role on the bench, and when Trapp was injured with eight games left in the season, Nikolov stepped in ably. He went 3-2-3 in Frankfurt?s stretch drive, including results in the last five matches (2-0-3) to cap a Cinderella season that saw the club qualify for the Europa League by finishing sixth in the Bundesliga.?
It?s the kind of quality that has Hackworth thinking that Nikolov can bring out the best from MacMath. The Union manager is quick to point out the difference between this instance and the last time the Union signed an aging goalkeeper from a German club ? then-39-year-old Faryd Mondragon from Cologne to be the No. 1 for the 2011 season.?
While MacMath is the unquestioned starter at this juncture, that could change. The Union are tied for the third-most goals allowed in MLS with 24 and are the only one of the 10 teams in playoff position to have allowed more than 20. Among regular goalkeepers, MacMath ranks third-last in goals against average (1.60) and fifth-worst in save percentage (66).?
Hackworth, though, is confident that by having Nikolov follow the same blueprint as the other veteran arrivals to the youthful core of this team, the pressure on MacMath can be harnessed and kept in check.?
?It?s certainly a concern, but I think our coaching staff has a lot to do with the players? confidence and where they feel they stand,? Hackworth said. ?For instance, if Oka?s first chance is July 12 and I fly him in and the next day I start him, yeah if I were Zac, I?d be pretty rattled about it. But that?s not the way we?re going to approach this at all. ? Zac knows the situation. He knows he?s still No. 1. He knows that we still believe in him, we trust in him and he?s got a long and hopefully as illustrious a career as Oka has.?
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The Union?s lone injury concern for Sunday?s visit from New York Red Bulls (5 p.m., ESPN2) is Kleberson, who is working his way back to fitness after a hamstring injury. Hackworth called it a ?slow process? and listed him as questionable for the match. Fellow midfielder Michael Lahoud is back in full training after a sports hernia injury and is likely ready for selection.?
For more on the Union, visit Matthew?s blog at uniontally.blogspot.com. ?
Source: http://delcotimes.com/articles/2013/06/19/sports/doc51c271b88a8f3748706523.txt
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