Brandon McDonald plays the ball upfield during United’s 1-0 loss against the Crew on Saturday. Photo courtesy of dcunited.com
After a relatively quiet December and January, things have started to heat up for D.C. United, who are presently training in Bradenton, Florida. The past week or so has seen a flurry of activity both on and off the pitch, so here’s a round-up of some United news you may have missed.
United dropped their pre-season opener to Columbus on Saturday morning. Crew trialist Sercan Guvenisik’s 66th minute penalty kick would be the only goal in a spirited affair that saw the black-and-red take the field without five of their regular starters. Bill Hamid, Dejan Jakovic and Dwayne De Rosario continue to be absent on national team duty, Andy Najar remains on loan with Anderlecht and Chris Pontius was rested as he continues to nurse a groin injury.
Details on the game are pretty scant, as no stream of the match was available and we’ve been left turning to Twitter for an account of the action, but it looks like Ben Olsen gave minutes to every single player available, including all six of United’s trialists. The second half saw the debut of United’s biggest off-season acquisition, 20-year-old Brazilian forward Rafael. He was paired up top with 16-year-old Michael Seaton, United’s newest homegrown product.
“There were a bunch of instances where guys weren’t on the same page,” Olsen commented after the match. “The rhythm was off, but this is normal and it happens every time. It gives us a good idea of what we need to work on. Overall, the energy and commitment level from the guys was exactly what we wanted.”
United will next face Swedish side Malmö FF at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Nick DeLeon has reportedly been called up by Trinidad and Tobago. Several media outlets in Trinidad and Tobago are reporting that United midfielder Nick DeLeon has been offered a call-up for a series of friendlies in February. DeLeon, who’s father Leroy also played for the “Soca Warriors”—and also the NASL Washington Diplomats—received a similar call-up last pre-season, during T&T’s Olympic qualifying campaign, but declined it.
Trinidad and Tobago will use the friendlies to prepare for this Summer’s Gold Cup, since they’ve already crashed out of World Cup Qualifying. DeLeon, who likely wants to keep his eligibility for U.S. selection open, wouldn’t be “cap-tied” to the Caribbean nation if he played in this series of friendlies, but would be if he ended up representing T&T in the Gold Cup.
More importantly, what the hell is up with Nick DeLeon’s hair and beard? It’s like he’s the Amish Sisqo or something. Sheesh.
UPDATED: DeLeon has declined T&T’s invite once again, per the Post’s Soccer Insider.
The black-and-red have added Syamsir Alam and Casey Townsend to their squad. Alam, a 20-year-old Indonesian attacking midfielder will join the team on a year-long loan from Belgian second-division side C.S. Visé. This isn’t the first time that United have sought out talent in Indonesia, as co-owner Erick Thohir (who just happens to be Indonesian) made it clear upon acquiring the team that he would encourage the club to search for talent in that particular part of the world. Andik Vermansyah, the “Indonesian Messi,” had a brief training sting with DCU last year, but never signed with the club.
Here’s a highlight video Visé put together of Alam, who’s also represented Indonesia internationally (at the youth level) and also plied his trade in Uruguay and the Netherlands.
United also picked up former Maryland standout and fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft Casey Townsend, who comes to D.C. by way of Chivas USA—who are in the process of offloading many of their players in an attempt to become an almost entirely Mexican/Mexican-American side. In return, the “goats” will get United’s second round pick in next year’s SuperDraft. It’s a quality move for United, and Townsend will likely find himself competing with Rafael and Lionard “where’s the goal again?” Pajoy for minutes up top.
United have entered into an affiliate agreement with the Richmond Kickers. Richmond has long been a destination for United players needing developmental minutes. Both Long Tan (who was actually released by the club this past weekend) and Ethan White saw minutes in RVA last year, and 16 other current and former DCU players have taken the field in Richmond at some point in time. As a part of the club’s new agreement with the Kickers, United will send a minimum of four first-team players—to be announced at a later date—on long-term loans to Richmond.
The United/Richmond deal is part of a greater plan tying MLS and USL Pro (the third tier in the American Soccer pyramid) together. USL Pro sides will play a pair of games each season against MLS Reserve teams—the MLS Reserve League has long been fraught with cancellations and postponements—and the games will count in both the USLP and MLS Reserve League standings.
Our friend Ben Bromley over at fan blog Black and Red United talked to Richmond Head Coach Leigh Cowlishaw about the arrangement, if you’d like further details.
In Brief: Dwayne De Rosario and Dejan Jakovic both started for Canada in their loss against Denmark on Saturday. The 4-0 drubbing follows last year’s embarrassing 8-1 loss to Honduras that eliminated the Canadians from World Cup qualification … Anderlecht has been impressed by the services of Andy Najar, who scored for the team in a reserve match on Friday. United, however, haven’t been impressed by the Belgian side’s attempts to purchase their right back, and have rejected two transfer offers. Najar is expected back in D.C. on Thursday … Venues for this years Gold Cup were announced this week, and RFK Stadium is not on the list despite submitting a bid. The venerable venue had hosted matches in back-to–back cups, but M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore got the nod this time … The black and red also added a friendly to their preseason schedule, a February 20th encounter with the Philadelphia Union in Deltona, Florida.
