Danny Mwanga Traded To Portland

Danny Mwanga in training with the Union. (Oregonlive.com)

The Danny Mwanga saga has come to an end. The Philadelphia Union have announced Mwanga has been traded to the Portland Timbers for Striker Jorge Perlaza.


A sad end for Mwanga in Philly, because he was never truly given a chance. The Union's first draft pick ever scored 20 goals in 61 appearances, but rarely played in 2012.


When asked if he was unaware of the trade by Union writer Chris Vito, Mwanga said "It was a surprise, yes."


It has been noted on numerous occasions that head coach Peter Nowak and Mwanga did not get along well. It usually ends up poorly for the player, a la Danny Califf.


Philadelphia also can't seem to carry large contracts, as the 20 year old was making 250k this year, and 500k next year.


The Union now only have three original players on their roster: Amobi Okugo (he has played minimally), Jack McInerney, and Roger Torres.  


He returns to Oregon, in which he played college soccer for Oregon State University.


Perlaza is 26 years old, and has been with Portland since 2011. He has scored 6 goals in 40 appearances. Before coming to the states, Perlaza played in his native country of Colombia.

Danny Califf On His Way To Chivas

Whatever remained of the core of the 2011 Union team, Peter Nowak is doing a pretty good job of trying to get rid of it. First the departures of GK Faryd Mondragon and star F Sebastien Le Toux. MF Justin Mapp was lost via expansion draft to the Montreal Impact.

Now, Centerback and Captain of the Philadelphia Union, Danny Califf, is on his way out. 

Since the beginning of the season, Nowak hinted a possible Califf move. SBN Union blog Brotherly Game reports the Union have accepted an offer for the 32 year old. 

Over the past few days, rumors have been swirling that Califf may be on his way to Chivas USA. In 65 appearances with the Union since 2010, Califf logged one goal, but was a stalwart in front of Chris Seitz, Mondragon, and now Zac MacMath. 

Danny Califf was also a fan favorite with the Sons Of Ben, commonly referred to as "Captain Ink" because of his multitude of tattoos. 

UPDATE: Danny Califf will be shipped to Chivas USA, in return for a player and allocation money. The trade has yet to be finalized, but will be in the upcoming days.

UPDATE: Danny Califf has officially been traded as a part of a 3 way deal between Philadelphia, New York, and Chivas. The Union will acquire Midfielder Michael LaHoud from Chivas USA along with Allocation Money for Danny Califf, according to Ives Galarcep.

In 62 games, the 25 year old LaHoud has scored 2 goals.

Hoffenheim Striker Herdling On Loan With Union

Herdling while playing in Germany.

The Philadelphia Union have announced they have struck a deal with Bundesliga team 1889 Hoffenheim to bring Kai Herdling to the Union.


Union Blog Brotherly Game reports that Herdling will be on loan until June 30th, but there is an option to extend the loan to December 31st.


The 27 year old appeared in 57 games for Hoffenheim, and scored 7 goals.


During his time with Waldhof Mannheim, Herdling scored 10 goals in 14 appearances.


With the acquisition of the German striker, Union coach Peter Nowak is left to answer questions about Danny Mwanga, who is due to make $500,000 next season.

PPL Park To Host MLS All-Star Game, Chelsea

In an announcement Wednesday morning, the MLS has announce PPL Park, home of the Philadelphia Union, will hold the MLS All-Star game.

As every year, the MLS All-Stars take on a European team as a warmup for their season.

This year English Premier League team Chelsea will participate.

Chelsea is led by striker Didier Drogba and John Terry, who was captain of the English national team.

The game will be played on July 25th.

Union To Take On Aston Villa In Friendly

As the Union have every season, they will host an elite foreign team. 


This year the Union will host Aston Villa at PPL Park on July 18th. Villa is a prominent English soccer team that play in England's top league, the English Premier League.


Aston Villa, located in London, are led by goal scorers Darren Bent and Emile Heskey. 


In the beginning of March, Union forward Danny Mwanga trained with Aston Villa for 10 days. 


Tickets go on sale at Philadelphiaunion.com at 4 PM on March 27th.

Time For Philadelphia To Follow The Union

Yes, Philadelphia has a soccer team. Don't worry, they have only been in existence since 2010. 


For a city that only likes winners, "The U" have done a pretty good job in only two years. In their second season, the Union, led by coach Peter Nowak, made it to the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs, but sadly lost to Houston. 


So why follow the Union you ask? 


The Union are loaded with some of the best talent in all of the MLS. New Union poster boy Danny Mwanga has scored 5 goals last year, and is looking to continue his strong play in the 2012 campaign. Expect him to start a majority of the games this season.


Twins Gabriel and Michael Farfan burst on to the scene last year for the Union, and their solid play has assured them a spot in the starting lineup for most of the year. Gabriel spent the 2011 season shoring up the defense along with Captain Danny Califf, while Michael razzled and dazzled fans with his great footwork, and this pretty goal against international powerhouse Real Madrid. 


If you are looking for a new face to cheer on this season, the Union have plenty of those. They had anything but a quiet offseason, signing speedster Forward Josue Martinez, as well as a veteran at Midfielder in Gabriel Gomez. 


However, the most intriguing new player has to be MLS Rookie Chandler Hoffman. After playing collegiately at UCLA, the Union selected him with their first round selection in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft. Hoffman set Pac-12 records while at UCLA for goals and points in a season. Although he will not start too often in his rookie season, he will be a spark plug off the bench. 


Not only do the Union have a great roster, but their fan base is arguably the best in the MLS. They call themselves the Sons Of Ben, and they are the official Union supporters group. You can find them chanting and singing in the River End of the Union's beautiful PPL Park. The SOBs, as they are commonly referred to as, help create an atmosphere that rivals those of supporter groups of soccer in England. 


The Union are set to take on the Portland Timbers at 9:30 tonight on ESPN2. Will you be watching?