2009 MLS Preview: D.C. United

By: travis | March 8th, 2009

Starting March 4, and continuing up until March 19, I’ll be previewing every team prior to the First Kick of the 2009 season. I’m going in alphabetical order, with a final season prediction coming at the end of everything. My goal? To make sure that every team is covered here at MLS Offside, with each team blog going into much further detail than I will.

On the heels of a disappointing 2008, D.C. United rang fewer changes during this past offseason. They took advantage of two first round draft picks and brought in a number of rookies to bring some youth into the squad. Marcelo Gallardo returned to Argentina and the two Gonzalos left as well. United brought back Christian Gomez, the 2007 league MVP in a trade with Colorado in a move that will hopefully recapture one of United’s most successful runs. Let’s have a look at what’s in store in D.C.

2008: 11-15-4, 37 pts, sixth in the East.

Services acquired: Christian Gomez, Chris Pontius, Rodney Wallace

Left the building: Joe Vide, Marcelo Gallardo, Gonzalo Martinez, Gonzalo Peralta, Ivan Guerrero, Zach Wells

Coach: Tom Soehn is entering his third season at the helm.

All Eyes on Me: The return of Gomez, a proven commodity in this league, should be huge. He fell out of favor in Colorado last season due mostly to a clash of styles he had with coach Gary Smith. There’s a bit of a question over how old he is and if that will hold him back, but I think he’ll pick up where he left off at the end of 2007, directing a strong and efficient United attack.

Player(s) to Watch: Does Ben Olsen have a healthy set of ankles? His leadership and work ethic was sorely missed last season — he only played a grand total of 15 minutes last year and is in the process of a comeback attempt. Any positive contribution Olsen can make on the pitch this season would be a great boost to the Black-and-Red. Forward Luciano Emilio burst onto the scene in 2007 with a 20 goal season. Last year he played well but didn’t tally quite as many goals. His compatriot, Fred, brings a spark to the offense that needs to be on the field — which means he needs to be healthy. Bryan Namoff is the veteran head that will need to lead the defense, as aside from him, the backline consists of a number of younger players.

Young Guns: United has quietly started to stockpile a decent group of younger players. Their two first round draft picks, Rodney Wallace and Chris Pontius should give United a boost in depth — not sure how much playing time they’ll get, but as the season progresses look for Soehn to give them a shot. Santino Quaranta had his the best season of his career last year and will be looking to build on that. It’s strange that he can still be considered a young player despite already playing eight seasons in the league. That’s what happens when you debut at the age of sixteen. United’s 2008 draft pick Andrew Jacobson returns to D.C. after spending a year in France and will back up Clyde Simms in a defensive/holding midfield role. Simms was a real iron man for D.C. last year and will probably appreciate the rest every now and then.

Bottom Line: The pressure is on in the nation’s capital for this team to make a return to the playoffs. The defense is a big question, with a number of young central defenders competing for time. Last season the team conceded 51 goals — second highest in the league, beating out only L.A. If new acquisition Dejan Jakovic is the steadying presence they hope for than things could go well. This team just needs to stay healthy, and the fact that they won’t have SuperLiga or Champions’ Cup matches to worry about must be a huge relief. Depending on how well the defense comes together and how healthy this team stays (the preseason game against RSL was not a good omen) will dictate what happens in 2009 for one of MLS’ most successful franchise.