United linked with Veron yet again

It just refuses to go away, doesn’t it?

DC United remain interested in former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron.

Veron is weighing up his options at Estudiantes and has been linked with a move to Brazil during the January transfer window.

Should he indicate a willingness to leave Estudiantes, DC United will push to bring the midfielder to MLS. Even if they fail in January, DC United officials are confident they can land the 33 year-old when the next transfer window opens in June.

Just as with the Ghana friendly rumor, count me as extremely skeptical.

The Appiah Situation

Well, assuming what Steve wrote is true, it’s beginning to look like those deals for Gallardo and Emilio are slowly strangling United’s ability to do much of anything.

I have always been slightly concerned that having two DPs ties up too much cash to allow for enough flexibility, and it looks like we might have some proof of that. Like many DC fans, I was slightly nauseated when I read this, but if I were a Dallas fan, I’d lose my mind when I read this.

At least United showed some ambition in attempting to sign him. Dallas meanwhile is attempting to emulate the “model” of “Deadly” Doug Ellis’ Aston Villa teams of the last 10 years, squandering a big market for no reason other than their own cheapness.

DC United to play… Ghana?

Maybe, if you believe this story:

On February 11, next year, Ghana’s Black Stars are expected to clash with America’s top notch side, DC United BigSoccer Top, in an international friendly in the United States, Washington DC.

Indications are that plans are far advanced, regarding the friendly match expected to offer the two sides the opportunity to put their houses in order, ahead of their future engagements.

I am not so sure I believe this.

Simms is back

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the good news that Clyde Simms had re-signed with DC United. It’s good to see homegrown talent like him succeeding and being rewarded for it.

How concerned should we be that Bryan Namoff still hasn’t re-upped?

Ives tackles another big question

This time, can MLS teams consistently win with two DPs?

A note on sourcing

I know that in the past MLS Rumors has been 100% wrong about items, but that’s why they’re called rumors, folks. I link to them sometimes when I want to spur a discussion. Note that on the post below, I didn’t begin to wonder if the Gallardo rumor was true. I just wanted to spur a discussion.

When I link to something, I don’t inherently view it as an endorsement of the story or its source’s accuracy. Like any smart reader of American soccer news, I take MLS Rumors’ materials with a very big grain of salt.

That said, I suspect that I was allowing my own view on Gallardo (he’s buried deep in my doghouse right now) to color my decision to post that link. But hey, it’s a blog. “Coloring” is allowed here.

A big, big question

From MLS Rumors:

Our friends of MLS en Espanol.net told us that Marcelo Gallardo could be coming back to Argentina if Daniel Lalin gets elected as the new president of Racing Club de Avellaneda.

Daniel Lalin has publicly said that he wants to bring two of the “Argentinean stars” back to the league and Marcelo “Muñeco” Gallardo would be one of them. The other one would be Mario Pavone (forward, Betis).

Elections will take place December 21st.

So, if an Argentine team comes knocking for Gallardo, should DC United listen?

A Few Thoughts

The Red Bulls survived vs. RSL, advancing to the MLS Cup Final.

Ed here.

Thought I’d go over a few things tonight while Aaron is off in Denver.

First – I’d love to post a full breakdown of how the Red Bulls beat Real Salt Lake, 1-0, in the MLS Western Conference Final on Saturday night, but the truth of the matter is I only saw about the last 15 minutes of the match. I attended the Capitals game in New Jersey on Saturday night, and I don’t regret the choice, even if the final result wasn’t to my liking. God bless that nice Alex Ovechkin for at least getting Washington a point.

In the limited bit of the MLS match that I saw, it was RSL barraging the New York goal with shots, only to find themselves unable to finish. All that seemed to be missing was having Kanu on the field in an RSL uniform so he could miss the net completely from a yard out. It had to be a superbly frustrating loss for Salt Lake, but you gotta finish.

It is what it is, and New York have won the West. Maybe next year, San Jose can win the East. The Red Bulls have earned a trip to the MLS Cup Final for the first time, against the Columbus Crew – who of course have never been there, either.

Columbus doesn’t blow it and Houston does. Who’da thunk it?

It a strange, wild, little league we follow, isn’t it? The two-time defending champions go down to a team that only a few weeks ago were odds on to not make the playoffs and the league’s greatest postseason choking dog completes its business against KC despite all the traditional Crew postseason meltdown signs being in place (crap weather, tiny crowd, etc.)

Btw, I believe this now means that not one MLS team that competed in the Champions Cup, Superliga, or Champions League advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs. Pretty amazing indication of how those games can disrupt a league season, isn’t it?

Also, we’ll find out next week if Danny Cepero just had his Jim Carey moment, or if he really is as good as he appeared in Houston. The jury is still out with me.

Random Stuff for a Friday …

DC United's Jaime Moreno had knee surgery on Wednesday.

… Ed here.

Hope everyone enjoyed the podcast with FSC’s Christopher Sullivan. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do – he provided a great breakdown of this weekend’s playoff action.

Moreno’s Surgery: DC United forward Jaime Moreno underwent knee surgery Wednesday. According to Soccernet, “Moreno had an articular cartilage cleaned and a meniscal defect removed during the procedure performed Wednesday. The club said the Bolivian striker will be ready for full participation in next year’s preseason.”

There were multiple points this season where I questioned Moreno’s effort – as it didn’t seem he was as willing to fight for possession, was losing possession to easily, and was not making runs when other players were in attacking position. Hopefully this is the result of him not being 100%, and we’ll see better next year if he is to remain a key part of this team.