Before Extra Time – Page 4 – Soccer ramblings from RVA

Before Extra Time: soccer ramblings from RVA

Drafts and a trialist?

The SuperDraft and the Supplemental Draft are now over, which has added four additional players to DC United’s roster. United’s draft haul includes two attacking midfielders and two defenders, which leads me to hope that United is in deep discussions with international forwards that will be signing this week.

The two attacking midfielders were the first and last draft picks that United had in the two day draft: Nick DeLeon from Louisville and Matt Kuhn out of Drake. Both can play on the wing or more centrally, although it seems as though DeLeon is more comfortable on the wing and Kuhn is more comfortable in the center of the field. For coverage on Nick DeLeon, I recommend the always excellent Black and Red United, who picked up a nice interview with him. Joe Mauceri likes the pick of Kuhn, and says that while he played central attacking midfielder at Drake, he can also fill in at left midfielder and left back.

DC United also picked up two defenders in the draft: defensive midfielder Lance Rozeboom out of New Mexico and center back Charles Rodriguez out of UNC-Charlotte. Rozeboom is a slightly curious pick, as he would be competing with Perry Kitchen, Conor Shanosky, and Kurt Morsink. Kitchen will likely be gone during Olympic qualifying, but I wonder if this is an indication of Shanosky’s standing with the United coaching staff. Or, they might have just rated him the highest out of who was left and drafted value instead of need. Charles Rodriguez captained UNC-Charlotte’s national runner up squad this fall, and I enjoyed his exuberance at being drafted by United. Center back is obviously a position where DC United needs more players and Rodriguez, while not the most physical, apparently has great soccer IQ. I like the draft picks overall, as long as an international forward (or trade for an established MLS starter at the very least) is coming.

Also, a newspaper out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi is reporting that William Carey University goalkeeper Carl Goody is on trial with DC United. Goody was scouted by Pat Onstadt during Carey’s run in the NAIA Tournament and was selected a first team All-American at the National Soccer Coaches Association convention this past week. There are quotes from Goody’s coach, who said that “He [Onstadt] liked what he saw of Carl and was interested in getting my opinion and also learning about Carl’s plans after graduation.” And, for those who are snooty about NAIA, there was at least one NAIA player taken during the actual Supplemental Draft today.

January 17, 2012
SuperDraft preview

DC United only has one pick in today’s MLS SuperDraft, so they better make it count. Last year, United got solid contributors with all of its picks in both the SuperDraft and the Supplemental draft: a key starter in Perry Kitchen, and quality role players in Joe Willis, Chris Korb, and Blake Brettschneider. This year, however, United has only one pick in the two round SuperDraft and three picks in the four round Supplemental Draft. Both of the picks that are missing this year were traded for players who are not currently on the team’s roster. United traded their second round pick this year in the trade for Jed Zayner, currently out of contract but invited to camp, and traded their first round supplemental pick this year in the 2009 trade for Julius James, currently a starter for the Columbus Crew.

All of that said, it will be their pick at the top of the draft that defines whether it is a success or a failure. United will certainly be looking to get a Generation adidas player, and hopefully they can pull off a coup similar to the one that netted them Perry Kitchen. There are four players that I have seen most often projected to be taken by DC United: UNC midfielder Enzo Martinez, Creighton fullback Tyler Polak, UCSB midfielder Luis Silva, and Maryland forward Casey Townsend. Black and Red United have done some nice profiles of these players (and more!), so I recommend you check them out if you haven’t already.

Martinez and Silva are both attacking midfielders, which is not a position of dire need for United. Dwayne DeRosario and Branko Boskovic will begin the season as the top two on the depth chart at the position, with both of them likely to start, if healthy. However, Boskovic’s contract only runs through the middle of the summer, and the options in center midfield drop off after those two players. Martinez is the Generation adidas player, meaning he would cost less, but Travis Clark considers Silva the more MLS ready of two and the one who is ready to fight for a starting spot now. United obviously needs the more MLS ready player now, and so I would prefer Silva over Martinez.

Tyler Polak is another name that has been linked to United. He is a fullback out of Creighton, who usually plays left back and was one of the catalysts for his team. However, he has not had a very good Combine and that seems to have made his draft stock slip somewhat. He is another member of the Generation adidas class and United do need a left back to challenge or supplant Daniel Woolard; I like Woolard as a spot starter, but United need some more offensive potential out of the left back position. Even though he hasn’t had the best Combine, I would have no problem with United taking Polak.

Finally, mlssoccer.com’s mock draft projects United to take Casey Townsend, a forward out of Maryland. He is not a stereotypical target forward, but more a goal poacher who is also good in the air. He scored 17 goals and notched two assists for Maryland this year, and has 43 goals in his college career. Unlike the rest of the top forwards in the draft pool, Townsend will likely still be on the board at number 7. United badly need a finisher other than DeRo, and it looks like Townsend is the best one in the draft. While I would be happy with any of the other players selected, the one that I want the most is Casey Townsend.

January 12, 2012
Malmo FF friendly seemingly official

A quick update to a previous post about Malmo FF: A Swedish newspaper is claiming that the friendly between Malmo FF and DC United is now official, scheduled from February 2 in Bradenton, Florida. They also state that Malmo will play the Columbus Crew on February 8 as well, before returning to Sweden. What gives this report more heft is that Malmo have now put the two matches against MLS teams on their official website. I still haven’t heard anything from any MLS or US people, but I’m sure something will come out soon.

January 12, 2012
United to play Sweden’s Malmo FF during the preseason?

Welp, here is another rumor, hot off the rumor mill. A Swedish newspaper in the city of Malmo, Sydsvenskan, is reporting that Malmo FF will play DC United and the Columbus Crew during the preseason, possibly on February 4 and 8. Malmo finished fourth in the Allsvenskan last season, and would be coming over at the beginning of their training for the upcoming season. They are the current team of former Sounder Erik Friberg and were the first club of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

This past summer, Malmo was knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round by Rangers, and are most likely one of the few Swedish teams that anyone in the United States have heard of. A lot of American commentators like to portray MLS as equal to the various Scandinavian leagues, and so this will be a fun exercise and a good early season test for United. If they win, it would give them a lot of confidence, and if they lose, its not a big deal. Just a warmup for the Carolina Challenge Cup, right?

As of yet, I have not heard anything else about Emiliano Dudar or any other possible DC United transfers or loans. As always, if I hear more about anything, you all will be the first to know.

January 7, 2012
The schedule gods were (mostly) kind
All of the MLS schedules for the regular season came out yesterday, and DC United’s broke fairly favorably. Below is the breakdown of how many times United plays each team:
- 1 game: The entire Western Conference (Galaxy, Whitecaps, Sounders, Timbers, Chivas, Dallas, Rapids, Earthquakes, RSL)
- 2 games: Chicago Fire, Sporks
- 3 games: Revolution, Impact, Red Bulls, Dynamo, Toronto, Union, Crew
Out of five playoff teams from last year, United plays one of them home and away (Sporks), plays two home games against the Red Bulls and Crew, and plays two away games against the Dynamo and Union. Also, having three games against each of Toronto, Montreal, and New England is a boon for any playoff team. United have the dubious honor of being the first team to play the Dynamo in their new stadium, which will be rocking. The last five games of the season are not a cakewalk for United, but they are not impossible either, having to play Chivas, Timbers, Toronto, the Crew, and Chicago in their last five games. That is a fairly decent stretch run for the team, provided that they are in a position to make the playoffs. In fact, in the last two months of the season, United only plays three games against teams that went to the playoffs last year.

The first month of United’s season, however, features almost half of their matches against the Western Conference. After opening against the Sporks, they play the Galaxy, Whitecaps, Dallas, and the Sounders four weeks in a row, before coming back to the Eastern Conference to play New England. This early stretch will be a good test of the type of team United will be, especially if they can compete with the class of the West. The other five Western Conference teams are spread out across the season, ending with the Timbers at the end of September.

United also plays one game on an international date, 22 August, versus the Chicago Fire. As was announced along with the schedule, that means that both United and the Fire agreed to let the match be put on that date. Looking at Fifa’s international calendar, I understand why: 22 August is the only match day during that break, and the break is only for friendlies, not for World Cup qualifiers or other official action. United got a solid schedule on a team that hopes to make the playoffs next year; now, they need to get the players they need into the squad and start acting on that hope.

Other than the schedule, United continues to be quiet. All of that speculation about Emiliano Dudar has not manifested itself into anything yet, and I have heard nothing more about other international signings for United. Hopefully the front office can make some signings official before the SuperDraft next week so that they can focus on other areas of need. As always, I will bring you anything I hear about potential transfers, no matter how ridiculous the rumor.

Also, only 50 days until the first games of the Carolina Challenge Cup! Who says MLS has a long offseason?
January 6, 2012
Two United Academy Products to the U-20 USMNT

Hello to any new followers my Emiliano Dudar story have brought! Hope you all are as excited for the upcoming DC United season as I am.

But the real United news today are the team’s two academy products that have been brought into Tab Ramos’ U-20 United States Men’s National Team. The two are center back Jalen Robinson and left midfielder Collin Martin. Robinson was a member of the 2011 Milk Cup team that played in Northern Ireland this past summer and is rated as the 13th best prospect in the country for 2012 by Top Drawer Soccer. Martin is rated the 39th best prospect in the country for the 2013 class and was the high scorer for the U-16 team the year before. United’s academy teams have been playing a 4-3-3, installed by former Ajax product Soony Silooy and in line with the style of play being installed in the youth national teams.

These players are in addition to academy players Patrick “Paddy” Foss and Brad Vorv, each of whom who have excited fans by featuring in the final two Reserve League games this November. Foss spent the summer at the residency program in Bradenton, Florida, also scored a hat trick in April against the Chinese U-17 national team. And that is still not to mention forward Marcus Salandy-Defour, who has been a part of the youth national teams in the past and paced the U-18 team’s attack throughout the summer.

Some of these players will be signed before going to college or after one year at college; to let all of them get away would be a travesty. And with their Homegrown signings so far, United has done nothing to hint that they will not do what it takes to get these kids under contract if they believe that they will make good pros. My “bold” prediction is that at least one of these players will be signed for the upcoming season; maybe they won’t have a Najarian impact, but then again, who could?

Also seen as I was looking through various Academy rosters: Denis and Cristhyan Najar. I’m sure by the time both of them are on the senior team, Andy will be gone, but how cool would it be to have three Najars spearheading the attack? And for two people who know far more about the youth national teams and club teams than I, follow Joe Mauceri and Travis Clark on Twitter.

January 3, 2012
Emiliano Dudar rumored to be in talks with #DCU?

Just after talking about United’s long dark winter of doing nothing, I stumble upon a rumor that Emiliano Dudar, an Argentine central defender, is rumored to be in talks with DC United. The report comes out of the Swiss newspaper Berner Zeitung, out of the Swiss capitol of Berne, and Dudar currently on the Swiss team BSC Young Boys, based in Berne. According to Wikipedia, he is 6’3″ and was placed in a medically induced coma for a day in 2010 after colliding with a teammate. He seems to have moved around a decent amount recently, often spending one season on a team before moving on.

Ben Olsen is the United coach who scouted Switzerland and England, and so this signing would be based on his observations of the player. I like what Olsen has done with the team so far, and, given Kevin Payne and Dave Kasper’s recent track record of international signings, its a welcome change.

Here is his introduction video from when he joined BSC Young Boys in 2009, with some video of him running around:

If I hear anything more, I will let you all know. Let the silly season commence!

January 1, 2012
United’s long, dark winter

This post has been sitting around in my drafts for a couple of weeks now, but it hasn’t changed. The silly season is currently in fully effect for the teams with plenty of money, but the majority of the teams have gone silent. DC United is currently in a holding pattern, having not taken any players in either stages of the re-entry draft, having only added one player so far this offseason, and having just released eight players. However, the coaching staff has not been idle; various members of the front office and coaching staff have visited all of the continents except Australia and Antarctica (and given the last player to come from Australia, that’s a good thing). There has been some concern out there that doubts United’s ability to sign good players from overseas, and this is concern that is definitely warranted. Over the past two years, United has only gotten 86 appearances out of players who were signed from abroad, which averages just under 11 caps per player. Two players that were signed from abroad, Cristian Castillo and Rodrigo Brasesco, were cut before the season in which they were signed even ended. There is not much optimism that the front office will get it right in the future.

And yet, I am an eternal optimist. If I wasn’t, I would probably be crushed by roster issues, stadium issues, the team moving issues, etc. I do have faith, as Ben Olsen continues to put his stamp on this team, that the overseas signings will improve. There will also be a one or two signings from the Academy as well. And there will be a solid contributor from the draft as well. But training camps open in 15 days, and there have been no rumblings about possible DCU signings. Its time to start getting new players under contract and into this team.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the United Mania guys said that the team needs four new starting level players, in addition to squad players. They have currently acquired one of those: Robbie Russell. The team still needs another fullback, a creative attacking midfielder, and a target forward. Dave Kasper said in November that the team hoped to announce more signings in the coming weeks; hopefully those materialize in the next few days.

January 1, 2012
#DCU offseason in full effect

In a recent episode of The Best Soccer Show, Jason and Jared lamented the fact that there was no time to properly digest and reflect on the accomplishment of the LA Galaxy, to put them into historical context, and really look back upon the season that was. For those of us who are fans of teams that didn’t win the MLS Cup, however, it allows us to move forward with the shiny optimism that a new season brings. And while there were no DC United players taken in the expansion draft (the most likely scenario all along), the offseason has kicked into high gear this week.

We learned today that United has decided not to review the contracts of Clyde Simms, Santino Quaranta, Steve Cronin, Jed Zayner, Brandon Barklage, Joseph Ngwenya, Marc Burch, Devon McTavish, and Kurt Morsink. The fact that Burch and Ngwenya will likely not be on the team next year is music to the ears of most fans. McTavish, Barklage, and Zayner are all recovering from severe injuries that have limited throughout the season and are not likely to be contributors going forward. Morsink and Cronin simple are not MLS level players at this point; they would probably be served better with a move to NASL. None of the first seven cuts are really that surprising.

However, the fact that both Santino Quaranta and Clyde Simms will likely be gone next season is a bit of a surprise. Unless I’ve miscalculated, the longest tenured players on the team will now be Dejan Jakovic and Chris Pontius. With Quaranta and Simms, it comes down to economics. Simms lost his spot to Perry Kitchen, and $180k is far too much for a backup. For Quaranta, a player making 110k per year cannot be a sub (at least not for a team like DCU), no matter how super he is. Were he making 68k, Quaranta would still be on this team. Although Goff has now just posted that DCU did not try to negotiate ‘Tino’s contract to a more reasonable number. If true, that is crappy on their part: Quaranta has been a model United player and keeping him at a reasonable number would be useful. Still, another sign that Olsen is breaking from the past and remaking the team the way he wants to make it.

With a third of the team about to leave, though, some replacements are obviously necessary. The first major addition this offseason has been the trade for Robbie Russell, right back from Real Salt Lake. United’s fullbacks have definitely needed an upgrade, a Russell is a solid defender with championship experience. Also, Dave Kasper said today that they anticipate they will be able to announce “additional acquisitions in the next several weeks.” Sounds like some overseas signings to me. Let’s hope that they work out better than recent ones.

November 29, 2011
United’s trade bait list
The protected lists for tomorrow’s expansion draft have been released, and while United’s list includes some no brainers that will be key contributors next season, it also includes some players that could be trade bait to the right club.
- Protected: Charlie Davies, Dwyane DeRosario, Dejan Jakovic, Perry Kitchen, Chris Korb, Brandon McDonald, Chris Pontius, Clyde Simms, Joe Willis, Josh Wolff, Daniel Woolard
- Homegrown (protected): Bill Hamid, Andy Najar, Conor Shanosky, Ethan White
- Available: Brandon Barklage, Blake Brettschneider, Branko Boskovic, Marc Burch, Steve Cronin, Austin da Luz, Stephen King, Devon McTavish, Kurt Morsink, Joseph Ngwenya, Santino Quaranta, Jed Zayner
The most interesting protected players for DC United have to be Charlie Davies and Clyde Simms, both players who lost their starting spots by the end of the season and are protected likely because of their perceived trade value. The guys on the United Mania podcast posited that United needs four new starting level players: two fullbacks, a creative midfielder, and a target forward. Could United swing a deal with Montreal for one of the unprotected fullbacks for Simms or Davies?

I see a Charlie Davies trade being more likely later on in the offseason, when United has had more time to talk to Charlie and Sochaux about what they want to do. Any time before that and they’re not going to get much value out of his rights. But if Davies does want to stay in MLS, or if Sochaux want him to stay here another season, I could see him being worth a starter to the right team.

Finally, I saw someone out there saying that Santino Quaranta is likely to be taken. I don’t see that happening; at this point, Quaranta is who we thought he is. He is a spot starter and good sub to have off the bench, but not someone you really want starting for your team. The two players I think are most likely to be taken are Blake Brettschneider and Austin da Luz. Out of the two, I would prefer to keep Brettschneider, as he gives United something that they do not currently have, while da Luz gives them something similar as to what Quaranta provides. In the end, I do not see any United player being picked.
November 22, 2011