In front of a national television audience on Thursday night, DC United once again gave a working demonstration of the problems that have plagued them since the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
By J Hutcherson
WASHINGTON, DC (May 8, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- DC coaching has a limited tolerance for anything bordering criticism. There's something to be said for the 'us against everybody else' approach, but probably not two months into the season.
Minus their designated player and facing warranted criticism, they decided to try and stand up the Chicago Fire. Physical play is the polite way of describing that kind of marking, and DC seemed almost surprised to get it returned.
What separated Chicago and DC was patience and individual positional play.
Chicago did what good teams do, holding possession, working chances past the low percentage opening, and making DC literally and figuratively pull for space. It's not about outclassing, just doing five or six things well over the course of a game. That does not guarantee a win, but it certainly positions better than treating every ball rolling down the wing like it will be the difference, lunging towards it, and hoping for the post-game quotes about work rate while shape is left behind.
DC United currently lacks the basic soccer intelligence to defend a play rather than the ball. Long-term fans might remember when this was the hallmark of MLS soccer. Panic chase all over the field, while a team like Chicago lets the meaningless balls go while setting up for the next move. It's the kind of thing that might make the crowd yell, but rarely results in quality chances.
Chicago left several balls wide of the box, giving up possession or simply falling over courtesy of the field. Yet their gaffs didn't have the panic that DC showed on the other end.
DC would send a ball in, have every player in the box marked, and seem surprised that someone couldn't turn it towards goal. Or it was the angle, the offsides flag, the official... anything but at best a 50/50 chance gone to waste. Chicago shook those off.
Justin Mapp's opener in the 39th was a team goal, the type that speaks to everything Denis Hamlett is doing right with a very talented squad. Chicago isn't afraid to let their skill players pull defenders with ghost runs while letting the play develop elsewhere. It's fun to watch even when it's not changing the score.
Chicago's superior control of the run of play helped, but their second goal was down to the offensive vision of Cuauhtemoc Blanco. It's a shame that Jason Kreis' video evidence got him nowhere with the League, because Blanco could easily produce his own filmstrip of the hack jobs other teams consistently throw at him.
DC was no exception. Though they might be naive enough to think stomping on him in the first half kept him under control, the reality is that Blanco was just waiting them out. DC should recognize that,considering the veritable honor roll of players they've had who used to do the same thing.
The continued reliance on the hard foul, whether or not it's actually called, and the return treatment from Chicago pushed Luciano Emilio out of this game. His runs were almost exclusively body-to-body, and he lacked the step and the position to change that.
His partnership with Jaime Moreno flat out failed on too many occasions. There was no connection, a divide between them in the attacking third that suggested wing play but ended up being disjointed runs.
For two players who have shown they can do as much as Blanco in changing a game, it remains one of the oddest stories of 2008. Even with Marcelo Gallardo, all the quality service in the world isn't going to give them the link they need. Without Gallardo, the DC midfield and even defenders were trying to do too much offensive work.
With their back towards goal, DC's attack seemed stuck looking for a high playmaker. They were willing to try that pass on multiple possessions, only to see it picked off or misdirected on the return.
Though he gets credit for directing his defense in that way only he can, Jon Busch didn't need to make the fingertip save or anything else that suggested more than the occasional ball crossing in front of goal.
Like DC has done consistently this season, they kept playing their game after the goals went in. It's a stubbornness that's almost laudable considering how some teams would turn themselves over trying to chase goals that will never come without an answer. In other words, chasing 2-0 might get you 3-1.
Instead, DC showed their relative strength in not giving up even when they don't come to play. That's likely down to belief in coaching even when it's not working. It's a small thing easily ruined.
Where We Were articles are written from the press box and published with the final whistle. At least that's the idea.
