D.C. United

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D.C. United

Year founded

1995

League

Major League Soccer

Nickname

Black-and-Red

Stadium

RFK Stadium
Washington, D.C.

Coach

Tom Soehn, 2006—

Owner

D.C. United Holdings





Home colors





Away colors

First Game
San Jose Clash 1–0 D.C. United
(Spartan Stadium; April 6, 1996)

Largest Win
D.C. United 8–0 Joe Public FC
(RFK Stadium; August 8, 1998)

Worst Defeat
Kansas City Wizards 6–1 D.C. United
(Arrowhead Stadium; June 21, 1997)
UNAM Pumas 5–0 D.C. United
(Olimpico; April 13, 2005)

All-time Top Scorer

Jaime Moreno (103)

Supporter Groups
La Barra Brava, Screaming Eagles,
La Norte, Fan Club United

MLS Cup

1996, 1997, 1999, 2004

US Open Cup

1996

Supporters' Shield

1997, 1999, 2006

D.C. United is a professional soccer club located in Washington, D.C. that participates in Major League Soccer. The club's official nickname is the "Black-and-Red" and home uniforms are black and white with accents of red. The team's name refers to Washington, D.C. being the capital of the United States, and is also an allusion to "United" commonly being part of the names of soccer teams in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.^[1] To date, D.C. United is the most successful team in MLS.

The team's home field is the 56,692-seat Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium located on East Capitol Street, which is owned by the government of the District of Columbia and is shared with the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball. There are plans to build a 27,000-seat soccer-specific stadium near Poplar Point on the east side of the Anacostia River, directly across the river from the proposed site for the Washington Nationals' stadium.^[2] The city is considered to be one of the most supportive of soccer in the country.^[3] D.C. United's supporters' clubs include La Barra Brava, the Screaming Eagles and La Norte. "Talon", an eagle, is the team mascot.

1 History
2 Television and radio
3 Honors
4 Current roster
- 4.1 Changes for the 2007 MLS Season
5 Notable players
6 Head coaches
7 Team records
8 Home stadium
9 Ownership
10 D.C. United Park
11 Famous supporters
12 Year-by-year
13 International competition
14 Average attendance
15 Notes
16 External links

[edit] History

Original D.C. United logo 1996

The club was one of the founding ten members of the MLS in 1996 in the league's early years was the most successful of all the teams. United won the first "double" in modern U.S. soccer history in 1996, beating the Los Angeles Galaxy to take the MLS Cup and the USL First Division club the Rochester Raging Rhinos to win the U.S. Open Cup. They have also been successful in CONCACAF competitions, winning the Champions' Cup and the Interamerican Cup in 1998.

Following his domestic successes, the club's first coach Bruce Arena went on to direct the national team. Arena's departure from United would signal a significant downturn in the team's fortunes. While the club again won the MLS Cup in coach Thomas Rongen's first season of 1999, lackluster seasons in 2000 and 2001 led to Rongen's departure and replacement by Ray Hudson in 2002. The team did not fare much better under Hudson, however, and Piotr Nowak replaced him before the start of the 2004 season. That season was marred by injuries in the early going, and some players were known to have complained about Nowak's methods. Nevertheless a strong finish (assisted in large measure by the late-season acquisition of Argentine midfielder Christian Gómez) propelled United into the playoffs as the second seed, where they advanced past the New England Revolution on penalty kicks in what some have called "the greatest MLS game ever played."^{[citation needed]} United then defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3–2 to take their fourth MLS Cup.

On December 21, 2006 Coach Piotr Nowak left United to become an Assistant Coach of the United States National Soccer Team under Bob Bradley. Tom Soehn replaced him.

Christian Gomez takes a corner kick at RFK Stadium versus the Columbus Crew. Also pictured are Ben Olsen, Jaime Moreno and Freddy Adu.

D.C. United's primary rival is the New York Red Bulls, formerly known as the MetroStars. The two teams compete annually for the Atlantic Cup, a competition instituted by the two teams' management that goes to the team that gets the most points across the teams' four meetings throughout the year. DC United also has a unique (among MLS teams anyway) rivalry with the Charleston Battery of the United Soccer Leagues, as they compete every time they face one another for the Coffee Pot Cup, a trophy established by the two sides' supporters.

Famous players for United have included the US internationals Roy Lassiter, Eddie Pope, Jeff Agoos, John Harkes, Tony Sanneh, Ben Olsen, Carlos Llamosa, Bobby Convey and Santino Quaranta. Foreign stars have included Marco Etcheverry, Raul Diaz Arce, Jaime Moreno, Christian Gomez, Ryan Nelsen, and Hristo Stoichkov.

On November 18, 2003, MLS made sports history by signing Freddy Adu, a 14-year-old soccer prodigy and on January 16, 2004 he was officially selected by United with the first pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. When Adu entered United's regular-season opener as a second-half substitute on April 3, 2004, he became the youngest player in any professional sport in the United States since 1887. On December 11, 2006, D.C. United traded Adu and goalkeeper Nick Rimando to Real Salt Lake in exchange for a major allocation, goalkeeper Jay Nolly, and future considerations^[4].

In 2005, the club made MLS history by becoming the first US-based team to ever participate in a South American club competition, entering the Round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana.

In 2006, United played well against international competition, beating Scottish champions Celtic F.C. 4-0 at RFK Stadium and tying Real Madrid 1-1 in Seattle. In addition, the MLS All-Star Team, which included 8 United players and was managed by United's manager Piotr Nowak, defeated English champions Chelsea 1-0. United, by virtue of winning the 2006 MLS Supporters Shield, will represent MLS in the 2007 CONCACAF Champions Cup. The team will also host the 2007 MLS Cup.

On January 8, 2007, the operating rights to D.C. United were sold by Anschutz Entertainment Group to D.C. United Holdings, a newly-formed group venture that includes real estate developer Victor MacFarlane, William H.C. Chang (chairman of Westlake International Group), Blue Devil Development (headed by former Duke basketball players Brian Davis and Christian Laettner), and D.C. United president Kevin Payne. D.C. United Holdings is also in talks with Discovery Communications founder John Hendricks in what is a "majority-minority" ownership group. The sale price was reported to be $33 million, an MLS record fee for operating rights to a club.^[5]

[edit] Television and radio

D.C. United appear on Comcast Sports Network. Dave Johnson handles play by play, and former DC coach Thomas Rongen does color.

All matches are broadcast via radio on WMET in English and WACA (AM) in Spanish. Tony Limarzi does English play-by-play, Herbert Baires does play-by-play in Spanish, Danilo Noel Diron is the Spanish color commentator, and Wilson Romero is the sideline reporter in Spanish.

[edit] Honors

CONCACAF Champions' Cup:
- Winners (1): 1998
- Third place (2): 1997, 1999
CONCACAF Giants Cup:
- Runners-up (1): 2001
InterAmerican Cup:
- Winners (1): 1998
MLS Cup:
- Winners (4): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004
- Runners-up (1): 1998
MLS Supporters' Shield:
- Winners (3): 1997, 1999, 2006
- Runners-up (1): 1998
US Open Cup:
- Winners (1): 1996
- Runners-up (1): 1997

[edit] Current roster

As of April 4, 2007

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Troy Perkins
3	MF	Bryan Arguez
5	DF	Facundo Erpen
6	MF	Kasali Yinka Casal
7	MF	Fred
8	MF	Justin Moose
10	MF	Christian Gómez
11	FW	Luciano Emilio
12	DF	John Wilson
13	FW	Brad North
14	MF	Ben Olsen
15	MF	Rod Dyachenko
16	MF	Brian Carroll
17	MF	Joshua Gros

No.	Position	Player
18	MF	Devon McTavish
19	MF	Clyde Simms
20	FW	Guy-Roland Kpene (contract pending^[6])
21	MF	Stephen deRoux
22	GK	Jay Nolly
23	FW	Jamil Walker
24	MF	Jeff Carroll
25	FW	Kiki Willis
26	DF	Bryan Namoff
32	DF	Bobby Boswell
40	GK	Shawn Crowe
99	FW	Jaime Moreno (Captain)
	FW	Marc Burch

Sources: mlsnet.com concacaf.com washingtonpost.com

[edit] Changes for the 2007 MLS Season

Bryan Arguez Signed as Generation Adidas draft pick
Marc Burch Traded from Columbus Crew
Kasali Yinka Casal Transferred from Fulham FC
Shawn Crowe Signed as draft pick
Luciano Emilio Transferred from CD Olímpia
Guy-Roland Kpene Signed as draft pick (contract pending)
Jay Nolly Traded from Real Salt Lake
Brad North Signed as draft pick
Fred Transferred from Melbourne Victory FC
Kiki Willis Signed on waiver from Elon University

Out

Freddy Adu Traded to Real Salt Lake
Matias Donnet Transferred to Belgrano de Córdoba (Primera División Argentina)
Alecko Eskandarian Traded to Toronto FC
Ryan McIntosh Released
Domenic Mediate Released
Nick Rimando Traded to Real Salt Lake
David Stokes Released

[edit] Notable players

Freddy Adu (2004–2006)
Jeff Agoos (1996–2000)
Bobby Convey (2000–2004)
Raul Diaz Arce (1996–1997; 2000–2001)
Alecko Eskandarian (2003–2006)
Marco Etcheverry (1996–2003)
Christian Gomez (2004— )
John Harkes (1996–1998)
Dema Kovalenko (2003–2005)
Roy Lassiter (1998–1999; 2002)
Carlos Llamosa (1997–2000)
Jaime Moreno (1996–2002; 2004— )
Ryan Nelsen (2001–2005)
Ben Olsen (1998— )
Eddie Pope (1996–2002)
Tony Sanneh (1996–1998)
Earnie Stewart (2003–2004)
Hristo Stoichkov (2003)
Richie Williams (1996–2000; 2002)

[edit] Head coaches

Bruce Arena (1996–1998)
Thomas Rongen (1999–2001)
Ray Hudson (2002–2003)
Peter Nowak (2004–2006)
Tom Soehn (2006— )

[edit] Team records

Games: Jaime Moreno, 238
Goals: Jaime Moreno, 103
Assists: Marco Etcheverry, 101
Shutouts: Nick Rimando, 29

MLS regular season only, through 2006 season

[edit] Home stadium

RFK Stadium (1996— )
Poplar Point Stadium (2009, planned opening)

[edit] Ownership

Washington Soccer L.P. (1996-2001)
Anschutz Entertainment Group (2001-2007)
D.C. United Holdings (2007— )

[edit] D.C. United Park

D.C. United Park was located near Franklin Farm, Virginia and Herndon, Virginia and served as the soccer training facility for D.C. United. It is in Fairfax County, Virginia and is very close to Dulles International Airport. The club own the grounds which are situated in a business park known as Renaissance Park. It also used to serve as the Redskins training ground and was sold to a church in 2000 as part of the estate sale of former Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke. The team now trains on an auxiliary field outside RFK Stadium. The field also hosts United's reserve team games.

[edit] Famous supporters

Deep Dish - Music Producers
JC Chasez - Singer/Actor

[edit] Year-by-year

Year	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Open Cup
1996	2nd, East	Champions	Champions
1997	1st, East*	Champions	Final
1998	1st, East	Final	Did not enter
1999	1st, East*	Champions	Round of 16
2000	4th, East	Did not qualify	Quarterfinals
2001	4th, East	Did not qualify	Semifinals
2002	5th, East	Did not qualify	Did not enter
2003	4th, East	Quarterfinals	Semifinals
2004	2nd, East	Champions	Round of 16
2005	2nd, East	Quarterfinals	Quarterfinals
2006	1st, East*	Semifinals	Semifinals

* Won MLS Supporters' Shield

[edit] International competition

1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Quarterfinals v. United Petrotrin -- 1:0
- Semifinals v. L.A. Galaxy -- 0:1
- 3rd place v. CD Guadalajara (Chivas) -- 2:2 (shared 3rd place)
1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Quarterfinals v. Joe Public F.C. -- 8:0
- Semifinals v. León -- 2:0
- Final v. Toluca -- 1:0
1998 Interamerican Cup
- Final v. Vasco da Gama -- 0:1, 2:0 (United wins 2:1 on aggregate)
1999 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Quarterfinals v. C.D. Olimpia -- 1:0
- Semifinals v. Necaxa -- 1:3
- 3rd place v. Chicago Fire -- 2:2 (shared 3rd place)
2000 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Quarterfinals v. Alajuelense -- 2:1
- Semifinals v. Los Angeles Galaxy -- 1:1 (Galaxy advance 4:2 on penalties)
- 3rd place v. Pachuca -- 1:2
2001 CONCACAF Giants Cup
- Quarterfinals v. Arnett Gardens -- 3:0, 2:1 (United advances 5:1 on aggregate)
- Semifinals v. Comunicaciones -- 2:1
- Final v. Club América -- 0:2
2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Round of 16 v. Comunicaciones -- 0:4, 2:1 (Comunicaciones advances 5:2 on aggregate)
2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Quarterfinals v. Harbour View -- 2:1, 2:1 (United advances 4:2 on aggregate)
- Semifinals v. UNAM Pumas -- 1:1, 0:5 (Pumas advance 6:1 on aggregate)
2005 Copa Sudamericana
- Round of 16 v. Universidad Católica -- 1:1, 2:3 (Católica advances 4:3 on aggregate)
2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Quarterfinals v. C.D. Olimpia -- 4:1, 3:2 (United advances 7:3 on aggregate)
- Semifinals v. CD Guadalajara (Chivas) -- 1:1, 1:2 (Chivas advances 3:2 on aggregate)
2007 SuperLiga
- Group Stage v. Monarcas Morelia
- Group Stage v. América
- Group Stage v. Houston Dynamo

[edit] Average attendance

regular season/playoffs

1996: 15,262/18,946
1997: 16,698/20,202
1998: 16,008/14,903
1999: 17,419/12,647
2000: 18,580/missed playoffs
2001: 21,518/missed playoffs
2002: 16,519/missed playoffs
2003: 15,565/15,202
2004: 17,232/18,842
2005: 16,664/20,089
2006: 18,215/20,504
All-Time: 17,619

[edit] Notes

^ However, DCU departs from the common British practice in which "United" typically refers refer to a club formed by the union of two existing constituent clubs. "Football Culture. Names Explained". British Council Korea. Retrieved on December 11, 2006.
^ "D.C. United make stadium proposal" November 16, 2005 (MLSnet.com)
^ "Washington is our best market, by far. It's the most authentic, the most passionate." July 30, 2005 (Washingtonpost.com)
^ "Ready for Freddy! Real Salt Lake acquires teen phenom Freddy Adu from D.C. United", mlsnet.com, 2006-12-11. Retrieved on December 12, 2006.
^ "MacFarlane leads group in purchase of Major League Soccer's D.C. United" (press release), D.C. United Media Relations, January 8, 2007.
^ Washington Post Soccer Insider [1]

[edit] External links

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