Philadelphia Union captain Alejandro Bedoya spoke to the media ahead of Sunday's game at Atlanta United.
Sunday's fixture will be played in front of a capacity crowd at the Mercedes Benz Stadium. Despite the challenges already in front of the Union, Bedoya is relishing the opportunity to play in front of a hostile crowd.
"It's going to be great, and I can't wait. Atlanta has shown to have a great supporter culture and fanbase for their team.
"As an opponent and the away team, you live off of that energy as well. You want fans to get in your ear and heckle you. We feed off that energy too, and we want and like that. Any sport is not the same without fans."
The Union are back in action after a three-week break due to international football. Although some think a break that long can be harmful to a team's rhythm, the Union skipper knows how vital it will be for them in the long run.
"This long break does break a little bit of that momentum, but I think we needed it. That was one of the toughest stretches of my career with seven games in 19 days."
A player that has been gaining a lot of attention over the last three weeks is Leon Flach. Flach was named in the preliminary squad for the USA ahead of the Gold Cup, and since joining the Union in March, his stock has not stopped rising.
Bedoya was full of praise for what the 20-year-old has brought to the team but emphasised that there is no stand out player in this Union squad.
"What Leon [Flach] has provided for us is a lot of pressing cues, defensive work, and he's shown the composure on the ball to be good with his passing and spacing.
"We're a full team of 11 guys, and there's not just one player that's the focal point of our attack or defence. Leon has added more to our team."
Jim Curtin was rewarded for his incredible work in midweek as he received a two-year contract extension.
The Union boss has been manager since 2014 and led the team on its meteoric rise to the MLS Supporters Shield title and the Concacaf Champions League semi-finals. Curtin's captain is delighted with the news of his contract extension.
"Jim's a great guy, and he's Philly through and through. He's very representative of what this club is all about, and he's got a great relationship with everybody in this club, with the way he treats the players on and off the field.
"Congratulations to him, and I'm very happy for him it's well deserved. The results speak for themselves, and ever since I've been here, we've kept improving, and he's done a terrific job."
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