Philadelphia Union's Matt Real is loaned to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
The 24-year-old will join the USL team until 2024.
CHESTER, Pa. (April 18, 2024) – The Philadelphia Union announced today that the club has loaned homegrown defenseman Matt Real to Switchbacks FC of the USL until 2024.
Real signed with Union as a homegrown player in 2018 after spending time with Bethlehem Steel FC in the USL. He played in 50 games for Real over six seasons, making his debut against Colorado on March 31st. During that time, the former Union academy player and YSC graduate recorded his two goals and four assists, and his overall passing rate was 75.95%.
Internationally, Real was selected for the 2018 United States Men's U-20 National Team training camp and was subsequently named to the United States U-20 roster for the 2018 Concacaf U-20 Championship as the team's captain. He was also selected to play on the U.S. national team for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, appearing as a substitute in two group stage games. Real made additional appearances for both the U16 and U18 youth national teams.
Born in the United States to a Brazilian father and Italian-American mother, Real made 50 appearances for the Union, primarily as a left-back, scoring four goals.
Philadelphia Union promotes John Scheer to director of academy and professional development
Former Scouting Director oversees all youth development and strengthens integrated approach
CHESTER, Pa. (April 18, 2024) – The Philadelphia Union today announced that John Scheer has been promoted to Director of Academies and Professional Development. Scheer's new role comes from his previous role as director of scouting, where he will oversee the Union's entire player development pathway. In addition to overseeing the team, staff and players from Union Junior Academy to Union II, he will focus on maintaining and strengthening the club's methodology and unified approach to executing player development strategies.
“John's path from the academy to the professional team speaks volumes not only to his breadth of athletic ability, but also to the effectiveness of his leadership,” said Union Sports Director Ernst Tanner. “He adopted our playing style and philosophy early on, and his implementation of our principles will be critical to the consistency we need in our youth development.”
“I am excited to continue to expand my role at the Philadelphia Union. The comprehensive system we have in place to streamline our efforts from the academy to the first team and apply consistency throughout It is a key pillar of our competitive strategy and essential to our success as an organization, and I look forward to watching the development of the next generation of professionals here at the club.” “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Ernst Tanner, Jay Sugarman, Richie Graham, Jim Curtin, and Tommy Wilson. They all led the way in making the Philadelphia Union one of the leaders in player development in the United States. It opened up a lot of people.”
Mr. Scheer first joined Union Academy in March 2018 as Director of Talent Identification and is responsible for discovering many of Union Academy's top talents and accelerating the club's growth into one of the best development pipelines in Major League Soccer. Led the scouting activities. Due to the success he brought to the academy, Scheer was promoted to director of scouting for the Philadelphia Union. He continued to leverage his knowledge of the American market, and his role focused on discovering American top team talent while expanding and leading the club's scouting efforts internationally. He has had continued success in guiding players who have completed their playing path from the academy to the first-team roster into the pros.
Union Academy named Best MLS Academy of 2023 by USSoccerCollective.com
