Hope springs eternal even with sides at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Here is a fun fact about sports journalism: no one likes writing about bad teams. Spending hours upon hours watching matches, interviewing upset players, and spending time in the trenches is not as much fun when a team’s fortunes are down. Now many will take that as a sign that we are partisan and that there is some grand conspiracy to promote Major League Soccer teams even when they are down. Nope. Sorry, Ted. Journalists want to watch a good match as much as a fan.
The dilemma comes in when trying to provide nuance for the current state of affairs. It is fairly easy to write 800-1000 words shitting on a team’s performance week in and week out. Likewise it is also fairly easy to overly pontificate about a club’s good fortunes. The difficulty lies within the gray area, picking out little things to watch without sounding like a homer or an asshole.
So here’s what we are going to do with D.C. United over the next couple of paragraphs. We are not going to waste words going on ad nauseum about management, the new stadium, Nigel De Jong, or the future of Ben Olsen. By this point you have likely read quite enough about those subjects over the past week from every blog that recycles every rumor from someone else. Rather we are going to talk about the team and where they are heading for the rest of the season. Sound good? Excellent!
1.)Where will Bruno Miranda fit in with this squad?
It has been quite a long time since D.C. United had a Bolivian player on their roster. Although the days of Jaime Moreno and Marco Etchverrey are long gone the club is hoping that they have struck gold once again from the South American nation with Bruno Miranda. The 19-year old was signed on loan on Friday from Club Universidad de Chile and will be available for the side through 2018.
Miranda just recently broke through with Universidad during the 2017 Clausura, making three appearances for the side. He has also made three appearances for the senior Bolivia national team. At 19 he is not exactly a seasoned striker, something that United seemed to be interested at the start of the summer transfer window. But he does seem to possess some skills that D.C. have sorely needed namely speed and quality, consistent passing. Without a consistent attacking threat to deflect off of, opponents have double and sometimes triple-teamed midfielder Luciano Acosta. Injuries to Patrick Mullins and Patrick Nyarko have hampered United’s abilities in the attacking third and have been the primary reason for their decline. Miranda should help at least alleviate some of the pressure off of Acosta.
The big question though is his size. At 5’11 and 145 pounds one has to wonder how he will hold in a league like Major League Soccer where defenders are known for taking liberties with their physical play. Olsen will likely want to put Miranda alongside Acosta to start getting the two used to one another. While that will make them likely one of the fastest 1-2 attacking combinations in the league it will put D.C. at a physical disadvantage.
But with Miranda, Acosta, Steve Birnbaum, and Ian Harkes (although he will be out for the next 4-6 weeks) United have a young corps of players to build around. For a club that has focused heavily on veterans the past 3-4 seasons it is a welcome change.
#2 Can Steve Birnbaum regain his form?
Prior to this season Birnbaum was considered to be one of the top center-backs in Major League Soccer. But he has struggled this year as United’s main center-back and he has not adjusted that well to his new responsibilities. He has seemed out of sync with his passing and his decision-making at times gets caught out of position, in particular on the counter-attack. Not having a consistent center-back partner seems to be causing a majority of his issues. In last week’s 4-0 loss against Minnesota United Birnbaum did not seem to know where Bobby Boswell was at times on the pitch. Good strikers will pick up on those communication errors like Minnesota did.
While having more consistency from D.C.’s other pieces will help Steve’s game, in the end it is up to him to get the back four together. At 26 and with United States Men’s National Team aspirations it is up to him to build a solid unit. None of these players are new to Olsen’s system and they certainly have played their fair share of matches with another. Birnbaum has to make that next step as a leader of this side or their defense will continue to falter.
#3 Who will step up in the defensive midfield?
It has not been a good week for D.C. United defensive midfielders. With Rob Vincent’s knee problems forcing him out indefinitely and Harkes being sidelined for the next 4-6 weeks with an ankle injury it appears that D.C. are running out of players to sit in front of the center-backs. Jared Jeffrey and Marcelo have also not exactly lit the world on fire either, further complicating matters.
In the immediate future, this is Jeffrey’s spot to lose. Olsen seems to trust him and given the many other question marks on the pitch he likely won’t want to rock the boat. Jeffrey has been with United for five seasons and while he is quality role player to have against more athletic attackers he gets torched. Homegrown Player Chris Durkin has shown in limited minutes with the senior team that he has made progress in his second professional season. United supporters have been clamoring for him to get additional minutes. The question is now will Olsen give him that chance?
DC United
