Credit Philadelphia Union
Defender Oguchi Onyewu has just signed for the Philadelphia Union, as a discovery signing. The 6’4″ defender boasts a long history throughout Europe, and with the USMNT. He has 69 caps with the national team, where he played in both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. In that time he has scored 6 goals.
In all Onyewu has over 350 professional appearances. He has played all over, such as in France, with FC Metz; in Belgium, with Standard Liege winning the Belgium league cup twice; in England with Newcastle; in Portugal with Sporting CP; and in Italy with AC Milan, where he even got time in a Champions League match.
Sporting Director Earnie Stewart had this to say about Onyewu, “[He] is a big, physical presence who brings experience and veteran professionalism, important traits that we believe will be an asset for our group of young defenders.” The backline currently has an average age of 25 years old. 36 year old Onyewu will certainly be a driving force in the midfield, and will likely also get major minutes in 2017 unless Josh Yaro or Ken Tribbet prove they deserve to start alongside Richie Marquez. Along with that Onyewu will provide great depth at center back, which was something that was desperately needed in 2016.
