Philadelphia Union Set for 2025 Preseason in Spain and Florida
The Union return to Europe for the first time since 2011, facing top clubs from the Czech Republic and Denmark before heading to Florida for their annual preseason camp.
Chester, Pa. — After several MLS teams announced their preseason schedules in recent days, the Philadelphia Union joined the fray on Friday, January 10th, revealing their plans to kick off the preseason with a two-week training camp in Marbella, Spain. The Union will play matches against SK Slavia Prague (Czech First League) on January 19th at 9:30 a.m. ET and Aarhus Gymnastikforening (Superliga, Denmark) on January 26th at 9:00 a.m. ET.
This marks the Union’s second European trip and their first return to the continent since 2011, when they faced Greek clubs Ergotelis F.C. and Chersonissos F.C. in Heraklion, Greece.
SK Slavia Prague is currently leading the Czech First League and ranks 29th in the Europa League standings. They are three points away from a playoff spot to advance to the next round, with two group-stage games remaining.
Slavia Prague is a seven-time winner of the Czech First League, second only to league leaders Sparta Prague, who have claimed the title 14 times. Slavia has also lifted the Czech Cup seven times, again trailing Sparta Prague, which has won it eight times.
Aarhus Gymnastikforening (AGF) is currently fourth in the Superliga. The club has won the Danish Football Championship five times, though they have not secured the title since the league's rebranding to the Superliga in 1991. AGF’s best finish in the modern era came in the 1995-1996 season when they were runners-up to Brøndby. They have also won the Danish Cup nine times, tied with F.C. Copenhagen for the most wins. AGF’s most recent Cup victory was in the 1995-1996 season, when they defeated Brøndby 2-0 in the final.
When the Union face AGF on January 26th, it will mark a special occasion for Philadelphia Union forward Mikael Uhre, as it will see him reunited with his former teammate and brother-in-law Frederik Brandhof. The two played together for two seasons at Skive IK in Denmark’s second-tier 1.Division during the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 campaigns.
After the 2015-2016 season, Uhre left Skive IK to return to his boyhood club SønderjyskE until January 2018, when he moved to Brøndby. During his two seasons back with SønderjyskE, he made 77 appearances in all competitions, scoring 13 goals and assisting eight in 5,445 minutes. Uhre spent four seasons with Brøndby before his move to the Philadelphia Union in January 2022. During his time with Brøndby, he appeared in 123 games in all competitions, scoring 48 goals and assisting 13 in 7,184 minutes.
Brandhof stayed at Skive IK for two more seasons after Uhre left the club, and in April 2017, he made a big move to FC Midtjylland, signing a four-year deal until June 2021. However, Brandhof’s playing time was extremely limited at Midtjylland, as he was loaned out to Skive IK. He made just one appearance for Midtjylland, which came against Dalum IF in the Danish Cup on September 26, 2018. In January 2019, Brandhof was sold to Viborg FF. During his three seasons at the club, he made 72 appearances in all competitions, scoring 12 goals and assisting nine in 6,001 minutes. Brandhof left Viborg in the summer of 2021 on a free transfer to join AGF. During his time with AGF, he has appeared in 94 games in all competitions, scoring three goals and assisting seven in 4,286 minutes.
According to transfermarkt, this will mark the first time Uhre and Brandhof will play against each other at the professional level. Even though the match is a friendly and won’t count as an official game, it will be a special moment for the two brothers-in-law as they face off on the field.
Mikael Uhre has faced AGF 15 times in his career, scoring four goals and providing one assist.
Both matches will take place at the world-renowned Marbella Training Center, which has seen teams like Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund, and Inter Milan all train at the facilitates in the past.
SK Slavia Prague announced that their match against the Union on January 19th (9:30 am ET) will stream live on CT Sport+ via a single-camera setup.
After the club returns from Spain on January 27th, the club will briefly be in market before heading down to Clearwater, Florida for their 11th consecutive preseason on Sunday, February 2.
While in Clearwater, the Union will play familiar preseason opponent, FC Cincinnati, on Friday, February 7 at Joe DiMaggio Sports Complex, time to be communicated.
Thanks so much for all of the details about Uhre's connection to AGF! My connection to Slavia Praha is a stretch: in 2012, when my son, Ezra, was on a college trip to Prague, he noticed that during some of the group's free time there was a game, AC Sparta Praha v FK Viktoria Žižkov. All on his own, he organized tickets and an outing to the game--football zealot that he was. I was really proud of him for taking the initiative.