CHESTER >> As he sat on the dais Thursday at PPL Park before a backdrop bearing a two-day old logo, Brendan Burke sported the warm grin of someone coming home.
That was the motivation 22 months ago when Burke, after nearly a decade coaching and playing in the Philadelphia area, left the Union staff for Boston, a move precipitated by an illness in the family and portrayed by the Union under the guise of pursuing new opportunities.
But nearly two years later, with the Union forming a USL team in the Lehigh Valley and looking for a coach attuned to the developmental imperatives such a position presents, Burke was the first person Union manager Jim Curtin thought of.
“When Jim reached out, I said, ‘yup. Tell me where to be and when to be there,'” Burke said at a press conference introducing him as Bethlehem Steel FC’s first manager.
Burke’s job, however, consists of far more than just constructing a starting lineup each weekend. His is a multifaceted role at the pivot of the organization’s player identification strategy, which is why the club searched for someone familiar with the Union’s objectives in that realm.
“As a family member, he intimately understands every element of our club and our player development pathway,” Union minority owner Richie Graham said. “He understands how high of a priority it is to have really strong integration between our academy, our USL and our first team. During his time at Reading, he showed that he has a lot of skill for identifying and developing talent.”
In Bethlehem, Burke will connect the other two entities of the Union’s three-pronged approach. His team will train with the first team at PPL Park, where players will be partitioned each week into those making the matchday 18 and those shuttled to Bethlehem for game time in USL.
Burke will also interface with the Union Academy in Wayne, monitoring the progress of the club’s top prospects and evaluating which are worthy of fleshing out the Steel roster weekly. With Steel being hailed as the bridge between academy and first team, Burke is the toll taker.
It’s a big job, but Burke isn’t starting at square one, like a true outside hire would.
“I enjoyed my time here the last time I was here, and when Jim called me about this opportunity, there was zero hesitation on my part,” Burke said. “I’m looking forward to working with all the good people around the city of Philadelphia, and honestly the tradition and history behind Bethlehem Steel has me very excited.”
Burke’s stint in Philadelphia soccer predates the Union. He coached at Union affiliate club Reading United AC for six successful seasons starting in 2008, churning out scores of draft picks and professional players in the Premier Developmental League’s supplement to the collegiate season. Four Union players – Andrew Wenger, CJ Sapong, Leo Fernandes and Ray Gaddis – grew under Burke’s tutelage in Reading.
Burke’s duties with the Union expanded when he was named a first-team assistant coach in 2011 under Peter Nowak. He served alongside Curtin in that capacity, heading the reserve team and contributing to scouting for the draft and other signings.
Burke, a graduate of Boston College, left in Jan. 2014 to become the associate head coach at Northeastern University. He never lost contact with the Union, and with expansion of the club’s youth infrastructure long in the works, Burke kept tabs on the process.
That detailed knowledge is part of what attracted the Union to Burke.
“The biggest word I’ll use is trust,” Curtin said. “We trust each other. We’ve worked together for a while now, and that’s the biggest thing.”
Equally important is the fact that Burke is ready to hit the ground running with ideas how to stock Steel FC with talent. Having seen every level of the American pyramid – stretching all the way to coaching six- and seven-year-olds at the Player Development Program run by Graham’s YSC Sports, as the owner fondly recounted Thursday – he understands the differing requirements of players from academies, colleges and PDL programs to achieve the ultimate aim of MLS productivity with the Union.
Burke outlined plans to construct “a veteran core” for the USL squad, which will include Union roster players loaned out on weekends as well as USL veterans with winning pedigrees who will provide the framework within which academy players can grow.
Burke indicated that the Union’s long drought of Homegrown player signings could end, in a manner of speaking. “I think you’ll see some of our guys in the coming weeks and months possibly sign with Bethlehem right out of the academy,” he said.
Just as Curtin leaned on his relationship with Burke to lure him back to Philadelphia, so too will Burke rely on his connections to former pupils to bolster the Steel roster.
“There’s going to be a lot of players over the next few months that I’ve coached in the past that are going to be hopefully reaching out and coming home as well,” Burke said. “And I think the relationship with our first-team players was an important part of the process for me in deciding whether or not this was going to be the perfect opportunity, and that’s what I think this is.”
