I understand Branko wasn't re signed as a DP ... his contract was still pretty significant. And yes I understand that Branko had his reasons to terminate his contract, but there's no conspiracy needed to assert that Branko was perenially on the fringes of the team looking in. Would he had wanted to stay around for another year of uncertainty if he wouldn't of had his family issues? I'd like to think not. Branko had every reason to expect his minutes to get slashed again as De Ro gets healthy. I'm happy for him that he was able to leave 6 months early because this DC situation just did not work out for him. It was a classy move from DC to release him without holding him hostage for a potential transfer fee.
The team stayed united because Branko and Hamdi are a couple of really classy players. Many other DPs around the league would of sulked sitting on the bench and would of become locker room cancers. Just because this situation didn't fester into a locker room cancer, it doesn't mean that it's ideal to have 2 of your priciest players not being favored by the coach. That sort of thing is in the back of the minds of the players, the coaches, the FO and the media. I think back to Branko's statements in the media a few weeks ago as a window into his mind and the amount of stress he was under due to this situation. And as we see on these boards, it also creates a lot of frustration in the fan base too. Under no circumstance is it reasonable to say that it's no big deal to have DPs on the bench in this salary cap league. That's a problem regardless of where we finish in the standings.
Bo(alt+0154)kovi(alt+0263) = Bošković Although, some might have to have a second character editor (like Windows Character Map) to get alt codes above alt+0255...
I never really said anything but all the announcers, podcasts and fans in general have mispronounced his name while in DC. The least we can do is say it right as he departs. It's Boshkovich
Branko was the best technical and positional player on DC United. Olsen never did find a way to use him or value his style of play. I think this is a much, much bigger loss for next season than people fully realize.
web page with windows alt-key-codes...I have it bookmarked http://archive.tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codealt.html
I agree with the first part of your statement about Branko being the best technical/positional player on the team. But I don't think his absence is going to hurt so much. Branko's only way to see the field in our 4-5-1 formation next year was to replace De Ro, and that was never going to happen. For better or worse De Ro is undisputed starter for Olsen. I think Boskovic's salary cap savings could be put towards a true box to box center mid that can slot in next to Kitchen. Saragosa was a fine short term solution, but an upgrade there would go a long way to take us to the next level. The place where Branko will be missed the most will be free kicks. Unless we sign people with that skillset, we may enter 2013 with the fewest options on the dead ball in the league.
Farewell Bronko & hope that your family situation will be ok. thank you for your service to DC United!
Bummer. Bošković was a class act all the way and DCU was infinitely better when he was on the field. He wasn't a flashy player like DeRo but he got the ball where it needed to be. I have a feeling that the league thinks that "good" players are the ones that "stand out". We're used to seeing Andy making runs up the side or DeRo cutting through the middle. Good players are often nearly invisible. They get the ball and quickly get it to where it needs to go. Bošković was never going to be a huge goal scorer like DeRo but he was going to be someone who could a lot of goals. I'm just sad that he didn't get more of a chance to do that. I hope things work out for you and your family Bosko or should we be saying Boshko? It was great having you around these past couple of years.
just felt the need to step in here... he is one of the guys that drives 200 miles round trip from richmond for every DCU home game...
Would be sweet if he ended up back in Vienna. Rapid hasn't been the same since he left... he really took a lot of the pressure off our best player (Stefan Hofmann). (Apologies for the non-DCU-related post.)
Hey, no worries, it's good to know other former teams miss him. I hope his family concerns are resolved favourably and he has success anywhere besides another MLS team.
Totally agree - I always thought we played smarter soccer when he was on the field and on the ball - Perhaps his smarts were too far above the rest of the team at times - Hope he does very well with his next team, and all the best to his family
I think the kind of requirements your putting on the Branko replacement is just not in the cards. You think you are going to find a technical midfielder like Branko, who also plays box to box, provides set pieces on the Davis / Beckham level and is 30 years old. At the prices MLS is willing to pay. Really. Good luck with that.
As an early and frequent supporter of Branko Boscovic on this forum, I think DCU will not find it easy to replace what he brought to the attack, even with DeRo back on the pitch. The obvious replacement for Bosko is a rejuvenated Bosko, with all personal problems solved, and back in DC. But I don't expect that to happen.
I never said he has to be quite as technical as Branko. Just someone who has a general sense of how to pass the ball. And I never said his set pieces need to be at the Beckham level. I'd settle for someone like Gabriel Gomez ... who Philly let go by the way. Someone who is physical enough to cover a lot of ground and make tackles. And someone with enough offensive sense to be a 5+ goals and 5+ assists guy per season. Gabriel Gomez was making $290,000 In Latin America where Olsen is traveling we should be able to find this player maybe for even cheaper than $290,000. There's plenty of non Latin players in the league that would fit the bill too ... Just an above average box to box midfielder. There's at least 20 in this league already that I can think of off the top of my head ... at least 25 counting DPs. Some teams have 2. We really have none. Saragosa is box to box, but he's certainly not above average.
Rumors abound that Branko is about to re-sign with Rapid Vienna. Will be good to have him back, as almost everyone here misses what he brought to the table during his last stint with us.
I wish him nothing but the best. It's too bad our "braintrust" couldn't figure out how to use him, before they signed him.