Less than one year after claiming the Supporters’ Shield for the best record in Major League Soccer, the Philadelphia Union are facing a full rebuild.
The Union brought back an old face and promoted someone new ahead of the second half of the season, which begins for them Wednesday against the New York Red Bulls in Chester, Pa.
Philadelphia (1-10-4, 7 points) went from first to worst in a matter of months and fired coach Bradley Carnell in May after closing the first half with a 6-4 loss to Inter Miami.
Ryan Richter, a Philly-area native who has coached in the Union’s system since 2018, was named interim head coach. The 37-year-old led their MLS Next Pro affiliate team in 2025-26. Wednesday’s rivalry meeting against New York will be his first match in charge.
“I’m focused on the team, on the game on Wednesday, and the stuff that I’m personally excited about, I’m trying to put to the side right now and just focus on the team’s performance and preparing the guys in the best way possible for the game,” Richter said.
The Union began reconfiguring their lineup by reacquiring defender Kai Wagner from England’s Birmingham City. Wagner played for Philadelphia from 2019-25 and was transferred to Birmingham City just seven months ago.
Richter said Wagner, who played in 204 contests for the Union, is available for selection.
“He’s fit, he’s ready to play and it’s not only Kai and the fans that want him out there, it’s the coaching staff and it’s his teammates that also want him out there.”
Also available is midfielder Quinn Sullivan, who could make his season debut following a torn ACL last September.
The Red Bulls (6-5-4, 22 points) are much closer to where they’d like to be, having gone 3-0-1 in their final four games before the break. Jorge Ruvalcaba scored four of his seven goals in that span, while 18-year-old Julian Hall paces the club with nine.
New York head coach Michael Bradley made sure his team is prepared for a challenge despite the Union’s record. He reflected what’s probably the prevailing feeling in MLS after the World Cup break: this week will feel like a fresh start.
“I think for Philadelphia, for any team in the league that isn’t or wasn’t so satisfied with the first half of the season, I think they’ll have used the summer preseason in the best way possible,” Bradley said, “and they will start with a renewed sense of energy and optimism and they’ll have made a point to themselves, internally, that this can be the new beginning.”
–Field Level Media
