Poor D.C. United. From worst team in the 2013/14 season to best in the East the next year. It's still never quite good enough. For this season, Ben Olsen has shuffled the deck and brought in a whole new midfield. But will it work? Losing their longest serving player to injury doesn't help morale either.
One of D.C.'s strengths was their goalkeeper Bill Hamid. He's even the team's longest serving player (which also speaks to the turnover in the nation's captial). But he's been ruled out now until the June at the earliest. Hamid injured his knee and underwent surgery in January. United's backup is Andrew Dykstra, who has done well enough during the preseason matches and the CONCACAF Champions League games. But losing such an influential team member in the spine of the defense will hurt, a lot.
After a lot of rumors, D.C. United locked down a loan deal for 21-year-old Argentine Luciano Acosta. He may only be 5'3" but the Boca Juniors midfielder is expected to do big things. United need some creativity and they're counting on Acosta to bring that to the field. He's already looked dangerous in preseason, with crafty footwork and passing vision. United have to hope he keeps it up.
D.C. United was busy in the offseason, picking up players from all over the league. There's Lamar Neagle from Seattle, Patrick Nyarko from Chicago, and Marcelo Sarvas from Coloardo, among the new signings. The question remains whether they'll be able to play together or will spend half of the season getting used to each other. But United did give up the core of the team with the departures of Chris Pontius (heading to Phildelphia) and Perry Kitchen (reportedly signing with Scottish club Hearts). They should probably set this year's goal to not losing to the Red Bulls in the playoffs again.
