2008 DC United season preview

By: jon | March 21st, 2008

luci

Well, after avoiding doing this for 2 weeks, I think it’s finally time that I have to do this. So, here you go peoples, the super brilliant season preview written by yours truly.

Nuts and Bolts — If you’ve watched any MLS since about 1996, you’d know that (aside from a few dark years) DC United has been one of the most successful teams in league history. Last year, we started off very poorly, and there were calls coming from the internets for Tom Soehn to go away. But then wins started rolling in, and we ended up with the Supporter’s Shield. In every other league in the world, that would mean we were the undisputed best, and the team would ride off into the sunset with a big trophy. But since we’re backwards here in the good old US of A, that wasn’t it. We had “playoffs”. All I’m gonna say is, I didn’t have a team I disliked before then, but afterwards, Chicago was on notice. And they still are. Don’t think I haven’t forgotten!

The star: Who is our star? I wouldn’t say we have a STAR, we have many valuable pieces that without, I don’t think the team could find success. We’ll start at the top. 2007 Golden Boot winner, Luciano Emilio. Every good team needs a poacher that wants to score goals, and do nothing else. And that’s Luci. If it’s a 2 on 1 with the keeper from 3 yards (as you saw against Harbor View), Luci’s going for it. Jaime Moreno (THE ALL TIME LEADING SCORER IN MLS HISTORY) is a shadow of his former self, or at least I can say that after he got hurt after 15 minutes in the first leg of CONCACAF. Stretch it out, man. There’s the obvious choice, Marcello Gallardo. After seeing him in person, I’m a believer in this guy. He’s not going to score more than 5 or 6 goals, but as long as the teams plays the ball on the ground through the middle, he’s going to be a star.

DP or not? And how will that affect the team?- See above. We got one, and he’s fabulous.

The newcomers: Half of the team. First and foremost, Gallardo. We’ve already talked about him.
My favorite signings were the Flying Gonzalos (Martinez/Peralta). These guys are SOLID in the back line. I’m talking Vidic-Ferdinand, Terry-Carvalho tight. I have a feeling if we’ll be beat in the season, it’ll be on the wings. But that won’t happen too often because Namoff and Burch are also excellent.
Franco Niell, the midget wonderstriker, will be called upon often, but hopefully will not start. I don’t think he has the size or strength to compete in the MLS, and will most likely just aggravate me by flopping all over the place.
Zach Wells is not overly impressive or flashy, but will get the job done. I’ve come to think that goalkeeper in the US is an easy position to fill, as long as you don’t put Jay Nolly in there.
Jose Carvallo, a goalie we signed because his mom said so, could be good, but I’ve never seen him. But his Mom said he was, so he probably is.
Quevas Kirk, who we aquired in a sneaky trade with LA, will provide good depth and speed when he’s on the field, which will be rarely.
Santino Quaranta, reaquired, will be a star this year. Mark my words. Then there are the draft picks, Ryan Cordiero, Dan Stratford, and random signings who I don’t have much to say about, like Pat Carroll, Jeremy Barlow, possibly Cesar, Jeff Curtin…etc, etc. Maybe when the season actually starts, I can talk about these people.

Keep an eye on: Santino Quaranta. Acquired for almost nothing, people have never disputed his talent. He has senor USMNT caps at 18 for god’s sake. If he keeps focused and healthy, he’s going to tear this league up.

We’ll win the league if…? Jaime can contribute at least 3/4 of what he usually does, Gallardo stays healthy despite the hacking he’s going to receive, Increased secondary scoring from the midfield and bench forwards (I’m looking your way, Kpene), and Emilio and Fred play the way they’re capable, we will absolutely win the league. Playoffs….I don’t know.

We’ll be in trouble if…? Jaime continues to fall apart, Ben Olsen doesn’t recover from offseason surgery, Quaranta starts goofing off and stops caring, Niell plays like he did against Harbor View every game, and Emilio doesn’t get the easy chances he needs to score.

You might not know… I already mentioned one but…
1) Our backup keeper, was recommended to the front office by his mother.
2) If we had kept Brian Carroll in the offseason, we’d have three freaking Carroll’s on our team (Still have Pat, and Jeff).
3) Luciano Emilio has a really crappy website that never gets updated, fails at being bobbyboswell.com.