Notes:

During the typical day down here journalists meet the various teams over at the IMG academy around 7 PM, immediately after the teams eat dinner.  Normally everyone eats in a secluded dining room.  However tonight a couple dozen players and coaches filled a smaller room, one with a TV tuned to Fox Soccer Channel for what most called the “real Super Bowl this weekend . . . Argentina’s Super-Classico Boca versus River Plate.

The question of which players are physically ready is answered.  During the Saturday afternoon practice the team went through timed runs, basically circling the field at a set pace.  There must be some disappointment by the brain trust as several of the foreign players recently signed showed signs struggling throughout the runs (see Quotes)

Quotes:

Head Coach Tommy Soehn
- In general, four days into the pre-season, what are your thoughts on the team?

“Some of the hard part is getting the fitness levels all up to the same.  The spectrum goes from high to low.  Some of the guys that we just acquired aren’t where we need them to be.  The soccer play is going to lack.  I think in this first two weeks of training we’re going to focus on the fitness and not worry about the results because we need to get some guys where they need to be.”

- In a previous interview (see WJFK podcast “Interview with Head Coach Tommy Soehn”, dated 01/17/08) DC United was going to first key on the CONCACAF Tournament (note:  a tournament for the 2007 champion teams found in the USA, Mexico, and throughout Central America and the Caribbean) that starts in one month.  Does the lack of fitness change your priorities at the start of this year?

“No, those are our first matches . . . our first tournament.  The focus is all on CONCACAF.  Obviously as we approach the MLS season, which overlaps the CONCACAF season, we’re going to focus on that as well.  We’re counting on doing well in CONCACAF that’s always been a priority of ours.  There would be nothing better than a team from Major League Soccer to represent at the World Club Championships in Tokyo this year.”

- Can you, will you comment on the status of Christian Gomez and Greg Vanney’s status?

“Not at this time.”

- What about the five new foreign signings – Gallardo, Martinez, Peralta, Niell, and Carvallo?

“I’ll start out of the back, start with Peralta.  When I scouted him, he was a guy that with his size, he’s an immediate impact.  I think the things that intrigue me the most is his leadership skills, how he directs traffic back in the defense.  I felt that we’ve been missing some of that – a guy that can really organize, and that’s one of his better qualities.  He’s actually pretty well spoken in English, so he’s adjusting pretty quickly.”

“Martinez is a guy who played internationally (36 games for Colombia, club teams in Colombia, Paraguay, and Italy), a lot of experience in big games.  He’s got the athleticism that I think we’re looking.  We’re so early in game though, I think all of these guys have a ways to go to get them up to their proper levels of fitness.”

“Carvallo is a young keeper that we knew had a green card.  I think the competition between him and Zach Wells will be much closer than it was last year between Troy Perkins and Jay Nolly.  That’s important to me because I felt that we had that competitive nature everywhere else.”

“Gallardo, not much to be said there.  He’s been a winner everywhere he’s been (Argentina World Cup Squad in 1998 and 2002, club teams in France and Argentina).  Not just a winner, but championships.  I’ve been around him enough to know that when he wants to turn it up, he can turn it up.  He’s a special player and he’s going to be great, not only for DC United, but for the league.”

“Franco Niell I watched quite a few times.  He’s a guy, again, struggling for fitness, but when he gets there he’s energetic.  He’s got a really quick burst of speed.  And for a little guy he plays very big, he wins a lot of head balls for goals as he did in the first pre-season game.  He’s got two good feet.  The thing that makes him tough to defend are those slashing runs.  Between Jaime (Moreno) and Gallardo, his runs are going to get rewarded.  When I watched him at Argentina Juniors, I don’t think they had a creative guy to reward him for those runs.  I think on our team he’s really going to benefit from those, which translates to goals.  And he’s a goal-scorer.”

- What about some of the younger players that you drafted?  You lost Jacobsen to a French club.  How disappointing was that?

“That was disappointing, and I think we’re finding more and more of that.  The rest of the world is figuring out that we have good players here . . . .”

- You have to be frustrated with the luck DC United has had over the last two season with its young players going overseas – Perkins, Jacobsen, Arguez, . . .

“Unfortunately, you can’t control that.  These guys are looking for opportunities.  Unfortunately, there are more and more opportunities because the rest of the world is figuring out that our soccer is getting better.  They can get these young kids for practically nothing for their pay scales.”

- Is it going to create a problem with the depth?  The team also lost players moving down to the United Soccer League looking for starting positions at lower level divisions?

“I think that’s what you use this time for, you evaluate some of the guys you’ve brought back and you evaluate some of the young guys and see if they can fill some of the needs you’re going to have.  In the same process, we’re still looking to see if they don’t work out, then we’ve got some other ideas in mind.  That’s a constant process.  We’re going through that now.”

- I know that it is only the fourth day of pre-season, but to think, does this group give you that feeling that you will have another championship team?

“Yeah, but we’re far away from it.  We have five or six weeks to our first game.  You watched the run today, there are some guys who struggled, and I’ve got to fix that.  The focus is going be on fitness for the first two weeks.  We didn’t have that luxury last year because we had our first game two weeks into the year.  It’s going to have to place of results right now because that’s the biggest need.  We’re looking to get ready for the CONCACAF tournament, so they’re going to run.”

- Tactically are you looking at the same philosophy as last year?

“That’s going to sort itself out when you get into the training.  We’ve got about six weeks to work that out and we’ll start moving pieces around to see what best suits the team.  We don’t have all the pieces here yet.  Fred is still coming in.  Zach Wells is still coming.  Bennie (Olsen) hasn’t trained yet.  Those are key guys missing.  Along the way we’ll experiment and figure out what best suits us with the personnel we have.”

- Other than the physical fitness, what is the next big hurdle for the team?

“Like I said, our goal is CONCACAF and making sure we’re ready to play Harbour View.  They are an athletic team and a fit team.  If we don’t come ready . . . . We need to take the proper steps to make sure we’re ready for a game like that.  Then hopefully we advance.  The likelihood is that Pachuca (Mexico) will advance, and that’s a great test right away – going into that environment.  I think we grew up last year a little bit.  We’ve added some outside veterans to give us a little more seasoning in these types of tournaments.”

- Can we expect anymore big player acquisitions?

“You never know.  Everything is possible.”

Forward, Jaime Moreno (all-time leading goal scorer in MLS)

- How are things going so far in the pre-season?

“Good so far.  It’s only the fourth day of the season, and everything looks good.  Everyone is excited.”
“I don’t think the results of the last two games mattered to us.  It is too soon to make comments on how we’re doing.  I think the coaches knew something like that would happen.”
“We’ve got to find the way to get an understanding with the new guys.  Also, they’ve got to get used to the level of MLS.  It’s going to take some time.”

- How do you feel about Christian Gomez leaving DC United?

“It’s sad to see Christian leave.  He’s a grown man and he’s got to make decisions for him and his family.  We’re definitely going to miss him, but you’ve got to move on.  We all have families and things to take care of.  And this is all part of the business of soccer.  Unfortunately we’re not going to have Christian here, but we wish him all the best.”

- On the other hand, DC United is bringing in its first Designated Player, Marcello Gallardo (played in two World Cups for Argentina, as well as top teams in Argentina and France).  How do you feel about that development?

“He’s similar to Christian, maybe a little different, but not much.  He has a lot of experience and is smart.  We hope he brings his best to the league and to DC United.”

- With your first impressions of the new veteran players that were brought in and the new young players, do you feel that this team is better than last year’s team?

“It’s too early to say something like that.  But, I know that my first impressions are that every time I’ve stepped on the field in practice it is always a battle.  It’s been kind of crazy.  People come here and they learn pretty quick what kind of team we are all about.  That’s what we want and we’re going to keep working towards that.”

- What are your personal goals for the season?

“As a forward it is always to score goals for the team.  Score goals, win games, win championships and cups.  That’s why I’m here and why I love this game so much.   I’m going to work hard.”

 - John Dyson