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D.C. content without a Designated Player for now
WASHINGTON -- It took some shoveling and some bundling up, but D.C. United, appearing in a decidedly different form from in its last game back in October, got its season under way Monday morning.
Plowing through an artificial practice field layered with snow and ice, and braving a windchill that dropped temperatures into the low 20s, new head coach Curt Onalfo and his revamped team completed a light practice, consisting mostly of passing drills and small scrimmages.
Goalkeeper Troy Perkins, who was signed after his contract with Norwegian club Valerenga expired and United dealt for the top spot in the allocation draft, was vocal and made a solid impression. Onalfo also welcomed Floribert N'Galula, a 22-year-old central defender and midfielder, who spent four years in Manchester United's youth academy, on the same day the re-signing of captain and all-time MLS scoring leader Jaime Moreno was announced.
Two other signings, Christian Castillo, a featherweight left winger, and Danny Allsopp, an Australian journeyman striker, weren't yet present, because of a wisdom tooth removal and visa delays respectively.
Along with five unsigned players trying to make the team, the newcomers represent a much-needed overhaul for an underperforming team that hasn't made the playoffs in two years.
But while D.C. United welcomed seven of nine potential new players, it didn't have a Designated Player (DP) on the field for the first time since 2007, the year the "Beckham Rule" was implemented.
Along with the departures of Christian Gomez (who will probably not be returning, United confirmed Monday), Fred (who was traded to the Philadelphia Union) and Ben Olsen (who became an assistant coach), this winter also witnessed the exit of Luciano Emilio, United's mercurial Brazilian striker, whose option wasn't picked up.
United does not intend to replace Emilio in the Designated Player slot. "Not at this moment," said United president Kevin Payne. "The time is not right. We don't have a specific need that we want to address."
That takes the number of DPs in the league down to four among 16 teams, since the Columbus Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto will count as a regular player in 2010 and the Chicago Fire's Cuauhtemoc Blanco has returned to Mexico.
As such, 2010 will probably see the smallest number of Designated Players since the scheme's inaugural year, 2007. In 2008, 14 teams had eight DPs among them; in 2009, 15 teams had seven. The downward trend is an understandable one. The "Beckham Rule" allows each team to sign a player for more than the $415,000 maximum, with the salary overrun not counting toward the team's salary cap. But it's proved a risky proposition, with several signings such as FC Dallas' Denílson in 2007 and D.C. United's Marcelo Gallardo in 2008 failing to yield dividends.
"It's a roll of the dice sometimes with the Designated Player system," said United attacker Santino Quaranta. "It's all about the fit and in this country it seems like some players struggle with the style of play and athleticism. I don't think we're going to struggle [without a DP]."
"To be honest, I never felt why we should get [a DP] in D.C.," said Moreno, who has been in the league since the very start in 1996. "But there's people upstairs who do that job, and they've got to be concerned with who we bring in and if we're going to bring in a Designated Player or not."
"It's a tough decision," said Payne. "For any price you want to be thinking about the return. There's relatively few players that are going to move the needle by themselves. The year Marcelo Gallardo was here [as a DP] was our best season-ticket year ever and our best overall ticket revenue year ever. So I think he did help move the needle. There's a lot of different things to consider. Obviously, need on the field is No. 1. No. 2 is return. No. 3 is how is it going to sell in the locker room?"
Onalfo doesn't see the need for a DP at the moment. "Right now I have a group of guys that I feel comfortable with and am looking forward to working with," he said. "We've made some significant signings in the offseason. We feel very good about our team as we go into the season."
"It depends what kind of DP it is," said Payne, when asked what added value one had to have to justify the extra outlay. "Luciano Emilio was a DP and he scored a lot more goals than [New York Red Bulls heralded Designated Player] Juan Pablo Angel. Some people questioned whether Luci was a DP. You've got to look at the numbers. He scored 50-plus goals for us in all competitions."
While a Designated Player can cause resentment within the locker room, the title can also prove burdensome on the player in question. "I know for Luciano last year it was a lot of pressure to score goals and he didn't seem to like having that Designated Player over the top of his head too much," Quaranta said. "I don't really understand the whole concept of a Designated Player. Hopefully at some point they'll open up the salary cap, let guys come in and they don't have to be labeled."
United maintains that forgoing the chance to replace Emilio was not a financial decision. "No," said Payne. "We just haven't seen anyone compelling. Right now we feel pretty good about our team. We've got one or two more moves we're trying to make. It's possible when we see a need that we may go that way in the middle of the season. But right now if I had to bet I would bet against it."
Given that no DP for D.C. has ever turned in the transcendent performance one can reasonably expect from someone for whom salary limits are sidestepped and exceptions made, it's hard to blame him.
Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at leander.espn@gmail.com.
