Caught in Possession

DC United officially welcomed four new South American players to the club this afternoon at RFK Stadium, having kicked off what promises to be a long and intriguing 2008 campaign with a light training session beforehand.

The event was somewhat eclipsed by some late-afternoon news out of RFK though, as official word of Marcelo Gallardo’s signing was announced. The Argentinean playmaker and World Cup veteran trained with United on Monday and is essentially a like-for-like replacement for disgruntled #10 Christian Gomez. More on him later…

For now, I think it’s worth focusing on the fact that United took a big step towards upgrading what has become the club's achilles heel in recent seasons, the center of defense, by acquiring Colombian international Gonzalo Martinez and his namesake from Argentina, Gonzalo Peralta. Martinez has the compact, muscular physique of a sprinter and if DC general manager Dave Kasper's repeated assertions of his pace are anywhere near accurate, the Black-and-Red rearguard will benefit from a significant upgrade in that department.

The other Gonzalo’s blond locks and goofy smile are enough to make one ponder a potential genetic link to American skateboarding legend Stacy Peralta. But in Monday morning’s lively intrasquad scrimmage – which featured two mini-goals per side in place of the regulation-sized woodwork, perhaps due to a ‘keeper shortage with Zach Wells still at U.S. national team camp – the tall center back moved along his side’s back line with a graceful economy and communicated confidently in both Spanish and, to a lesser extent, English.

And that’s clearly a trait United find most appealing in Peralta.

“One of the things that we really, really liked about him was his ability to direct traffic and lead in the back,” said Kasper.

Since Ryan Nelsen’s departure after the MLS Cup-winning season of 2004, the coaching staff has tried to plug Mike Petke, Facundo Erpen, Bobby Boswell and Greg Vanney into that ‘field general’-type of role in the center of defense, with mixed results – but more importantly, results that never really measured up to the quality on display elsewhere in the side. Could Peralta be the one to break that underwhelming trend? It’s early, early days but I’d give him a fighting chance.

Also on display was fellow Argentinean Franco Niell, who will be employed first and foremost as a striker to provide a contrasting style to incumbents Jaime Moreno and Luciano Emilio. At this early stage I feel compelled to share the admonition Kasper gave to media on Monday: his family name is pronounced “KNEE-el,” in contrast to the more familiar Anglo-Irish moniker shared by Messrs. Diamond, Armstrong, Cavuto et al.

Now, Niell really is as short as everyone is saying he is – setting him up for knee-jerk ridicule in the blogosphere, yes? – but it looks to me like a pronounced advantage. Whether attacking or defending, one-v-one soccer hinges on one’s quickness and center-of-gravity, and I’ve heard defenders of his era explain how hard it was to dispossess Diego Maradona – the Argentinean legend was devilishly quick, yes, but also diminutive enough to lay a hand on a challenger’s knee or thigh and pivot around them while they were still shuffling their feet to respond. I’m NOT comparing Niell to the legend but I do think the former Argentinos Juniors man could torture some of the league’s big, ponderous defenders with his skills set.

Peruvian netminder Jose Carvallo was also introduced on Monday, a player who has arrived in DC via the most unique saga of the lot. United was first alerted to him by his mother, an Ashburn, Va. resident whose status gives the club a most precious gift: an international player with a green card. Carvallo may not have the same impact as his fellow South Americans at first. But he’s spent some time with the Peruvian national side (let’s avoid, for now, a discussion of that proud nation’s sadly dysfunctional seleccion) and looks to be an athletic sort of ‘keeper who offers an interesting contrast to the tall, commanding Zach Wells.

Plenty more to talk about, but I’ll close for now and get back to the other work that’s patiently waiting for me. Check back for quotes, more notes, and an update on the ailing Ben Olsen in the next 12-16 hours or so…

Comment posted by Charles Boehm @ 3:33 PM