Photo by SDCorum

Written by DCist contributor Pablo Maurer

With last year’s late-season meltdown on their minds and their first match scheduled for late February, D.C. United players braved the cold this past week for their first pre-season training sessions of 2012. On Thursday they kicked around at the Greenbelt Sportsplex, while on Wednesday and Friday they were at Long Bridge Park, a new field-turf equipped facility in Arlington County. First teamers attended the Wednesday and Thursday sessions, while Friday’s practice — in blustery, near-freezing conditions — brought together mostly trialists and reserve players.

Just days before leaving for a 10-day camp in far-warmer Bradenton, FL, D.C. United’s coaching staff wanted to gauge the team’s fitness level and get a look at the 11 trialists and three supplemental draft pics who had been invited into camp. By this morning, the team had whittled the crew down to 6. Among those are some interesting possibilities.

One is Jed Zayner, the team’s 2010 defender of the year, who suffered from hamstring and knee problems in 2011 and wasn’t picked up after last season. If healthy, Zayner will probably make the roster as a backup or compete with Daniel Woolard for the left back spot. D.C. will probably also look to bring one of the two remaining goalies into the fold, adding depth behind Joe Willis and starter Bill Hamid, who on Saturday received his first cap and will likely miss time as Jurgen Klinsmann’s preferred backup for the USMNT.

“Don’t worry guys, we’re going to have a team,” quipped head coach Ben Olsen to reporters on Wednesday. “I know you are all very concerned, but we will have a team.”

But with several roster slots still open, what kind of team remains uncertain. Perhaps the most exciting addition to the team’s ranks this year is first-round draft pick Nick DeLeon, who is nursing a quad injury picked up at the MLS combine but was still with the team for their initial training sessions.

“I want to be a playmaker, try and make a name for myself,” DeLeon told DCist after Friday’s weight-room session. “I do eventually want to get on the national team, so if I have a good year here that’d be a good stepping stone for that.” DeLeon also mentioned that he intends to apply for Trinidadian citizenship, to “keep options open” as to which national team he ends up playing for. DeLeon’s father is a D.C. sports veteran as well, having played for the NASL Washington Diplomats and Darts in the 1970s.

Few players have been signed in the offseason and D.C. United has seen a fair number of departures, declining options on defenders Marc Burch and Clyde Simms. Longtime veteran Santino Quaranta was also let go, provoking him to announce his retirement from the pro game, though signed on to play in a new Indian league. The team also declined to pick up striker Charlie Davies, who returned to Ligue A side Sochaux. It added Brazilian forward Maicon Santos and acquired Houston Dynamo midfielder Danny Cruz in return for partial allocation money, while veteran defender Robbie Russell arrived in November from Real Salt Lake. Along with second-year starter Perry Kitchen, who will likely play a defensive mid role, he’ll look to anchor D.C. United’s defense.

Midfielder Chris Pontius’s broken leg last year was a fairly devastating blow to D.C. United’s playoff hopes. Pontius has continued his recovery, though, with bone marrow removed from his hip and injected into his broken tibia. His return is slated for the first week in March, though he told DCist after training this week that it may actually be a bit sooner than that. He continues to rehab on an AlterG treadmill, but hopes to be working himself into drills at some point during the team’s Florida visit. Designated player Branco Boscovic will also make his return after missing nearly all of last season with a knee injury. Asked about Boscovic’s recovery, veteran forward Josh Wolff reported that he’s “very impressed with where Branco is. Having torn both my knees I know what that process is like. It almost makes you a bit more grateful for the opportunity to play. This year, he’s hammered away both of his fitness tests.”

Last year also saw the signing of Dwayne DeRosario, who caught fire immediately upon his arrival in D.C., tallying 13 goals and seven assists in just 18 games with the team and becoming the first player in league history to win the MVP award while playing for a team that didn’t make the playoffs. The team still hopes to work out a contract extension for DeRosario, who is only signed through the end of the 2012 season.

D.C. United will begin this season with the stadium debate looming larger than ever over their heads. MLS commisioner Don Garber has recently ramped up pressure for the team either to find a suitable facility in the D.C. area or relocate. He also has recently taken jabs at the political situation in the District and implied that it has made it harder for the team to work out a deal with the city. In the meantime, the team continues to try and renegotiate its lease on RFK, which is more expensive to operate than many of the leagues newer soccer-specific venues. Several other options have arisen locally, but it’s still up in the air whether anything tangible will ever come of them.

Still, the team remains optimistic about the upcoming year, despite the distraction. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that this team is going to compete and have real opportunities to make an impact in our division,” Wolff told the assembled media on Friday. “I’m sure the staff are excited, and the players are excited to get going as well.”