Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Random thoughts
I'm sitting in the RFK press box -- unusually well-populated tonight, especially for a Wednesday game -- watching the rain beat down on the field as thunder rolls around the rim of this old concrete salad bowl. Tonight's DC United-Houston Dynamo match has already been delayed a half-hour and may get pushed off further if the deciders-that-be do not see the thunderheads clearing with sufficient speed.
The pitch down below me has gotten a thorough soaking and standing water is visible along the east touchline and in all four corners as well, so you can imagine United officials being in no hurry to let 22 grown men tear it to shreds without a bit of drainage time. There was never going to be a huge crowd in attendance tonight, but the weather has truly sorted the hard-core from the wannabes and I've got to be impressed with the soaked but spirited Barra Brava contingent banging away on their drums as they wait in the tunnels above section 235.
A couple quick, random United notes as the two teams come out for a quick warmup before the late kickoff...
*With Gonzalo Peralta back from his wife's childbirth and Mediate and MacTavish now getting full consideration as central defenders, Tom Soehn has as many options in defense as he ever has before. Peralta's size and physicality makes him hard for Soehn to leave out of the first XI, but some people -- the Examiner's Craig Stouffer, for one -- think McTavish and Mediate played well enough together in New England to deserve more time.
The biggest loser out of all this: Marc Burch, who has hit on hard times after being such a revelation at left back last season. He's one of the only left-footers on the team and when he's on the field, he gives the squad the width they lack from Fred and Gonzalo Martinez. But Soehn clearly has some issues with his play right now and has used Martinez on the left instead -- a choice made easier by the veteran Colombian's composed, steady performances. Burch can't be happy right now, and in fact he popped off a bit at goalkeeper Zach Wells during training early last week, getting himself a tongue-lashing from assistant coach Mark Simpson.
*Soehn downplayed the possibility of Fred missing Saturday's road match in Chicago on account of his wife Debora's imminent delivery, but her due date is June 9 and I have a feeling that the gregarious Brazilian will do what it takes to make sure he's there for the birth of his first child, just like Peralta did. Oh, and I asked both men about the significance of their children being born in the United States, thus making them automatic U.S. citizens...Peralta said it didn't really matter, but Fred was a bit more effusive.
The pitch down below me has gotten a thorough soaking and standing water is visible along the east touchline and in all four corners as well, so you can imagine United officials being in no hurry to let 22 grown men tear it to shreds without a bit of drainage time. There was never going to be a huge crowd in attendance tonight, but the weather has truly sorted the hard-core from the wannabes and I've got to be impressed with the soaked but spirited Barra Brava contingent banging away on their drums as they wait in the tunnels above section 235.
A couple quick, random United notes as the two teams come out for a quick warmup before the late kickoff...
*With Gonzalo Peralta back from his wife's childbirth and Mediate and MacTavish now getting full consideration as central defenders, Tom Soehn has as many options in defense as he ever has before. Peralta's size and physicality makes him hard for Soehn to leave out of the first XI, but some people -- the Examiner's Craig Stouffer, for one -- think McTavish and Mediate played well enough together in New England to deserve more time.
The biggest loser out of all this: Marc Burch, who has hit on hard times after being such a revelation at left back last season. He's one of the only left-footers on the team and when he's on the field, he gives the squad the width they lack from Fred and Gonzalo Martinez. But Soehn clearly has some issues with his play right now and has used Martinez on the left instead -- a choice made easier by the veteran Colombian's composed, steady performances. Burch can't be happy right now, and in fact he popped off a bit at goalkeeper Zach Wells during training early last week, getting himself a tongue-lashing from assistant coach Mark Simpson.
*Soehn downplayed the possibility of Fred missing Saturday's road match in Chicago on account of his wife Debora's imminent delivery, but her due date is June 9 and I have a feeling that the gregarious Brazilian will do what it takes to make sure he's there for the birth of his first child, just like Peralta did. Oh, and I asked both men about the significance of their children being born in the United States, thus making them automatic U.S. citizens...Peralta said it didn't really matter, but Fred was a bit more effusive.
"Yes, it’s good, good for her future," he said. "She can decide [which identity she chooses] later, but definitely [we'll raise her] as a Brazilian first."
*I continue to be impressed with Santino Quaranta's comeback this season. Having earned a reputation as a "problem child" in his first stint with United, he's been a committed pro this time around and if anyone has a chance to fill Ben Olsen's inspirational role in the D.C. locker room, it's Tino. How easily we forget what a veteran Quaranta really is -- he's only 23 but has been in this league for eight years, and that sort of experience matters. It has certainly helped him in 2008.Comment posted by Charles Boehm @ 2:42 PM 
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