The rumors were true... http://www.dcunited.com/press-release/2012/02/forward-hamdi-salihi-acquired-as-designated-player
I did not expect this to happen. I'm impressed. All of us clamoring for a proven goal scorer forward can now worry about getting what we asked for.
For our new player. I expect everyone to have this memorized by Opening Day! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F_tT-q8EF0"]Albania - YouTube[/ame]
Cant wait to see what he's about. There are a few youtube video's of him out there. But cant wait to see how he fits with us
Wow. Color me surprised. I am looking forward to this season more than any other in recent memory. On paper, we are on par with LA and NY roster wise. There's 0 reason why this isnt an MLS cup team right now.
Wow! There's some serious talent building on this team. I just hope Benny can step up and manage all of this.
Hold on now, dont get too excited. Desipte the talent we've collected, we are still questionable at the back, even though better than last just on the Russell capture. I think its fair to hope playoffs seeing how close we got last season, and the players we had who didnt contribute.
I'm curious to know who starts up top now. I'd assumed Branko would be at a-mid, with Najar (natch) and Pontius on the wings once Chris is healthy. That'd leave DeRo and Maicon up top. But if Salihi starts at target, sounds like Maicon would move to the bench and DeRo stay withdrawn. Does anyone who has seen this dude play think he'd partner with Maicon? In any case, sounds like we finally have some depth.
The other question I had is if we paid any sort of transfer fee for this guy. I know his contract was up in May...but did we get him on a free or did we fork out some coin? I think both Rangers and Celtic were bidding ~$500,000-750,000k for him during the transfer window.
Hopefully someone can catch rumors/facts about the transfer fee from the Vienna side since MLS will never say what the price was unless it was free.
I too am excited, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves here. LA and NY on paper still beat our squads. But we've catapulted ourselves into contention for first place. ------------Salihi---------- Pontius-----DeRo------Najar -------Bosko----Kitchen---- Now there's a great opening day attack!
Yea Branko is probably a deep lying attacking midfielder that drifts to the left. De Ro slightly ahead and cheating to the right. Pontius on the left wing (sometimes drifting into forward), Najar on the right. And Salihi center forward. This definitely makes Santos the odd man out, but I suspect he will get his minutes because he can be a sub for virtually any of these players, even if it means tinkering the formation a little.
That's the ultimate formation right there. Might have to start with something a little different if Pontius isn't ready to start from day 1 though.
Northern Europe. I don't recall anyone heading to the Alps... Still waiting to see if the Japanese trip was successful. There are a few highly skilled J-League player names floating around the rumor mill for other teams..
So the answer to the question was "neither." Based on the info circulated in the rumors, I am surprised and impressed. This is a fairly large, bold move for our flailing club. It's not going to take the front page of the Post, but if we start winning games all that jazz would take care of itself. That's the proven striker we needed-- slam dunk. Now let's hope he proves it again, and we can fill out the roster. I'm not going to start a best DC United team ever thread, because we all know how that turns out, but like several others I'm sure, I'm a aghast at how hopeful I feel right now that we'll be putting out a fully competitive squad. Don't make me hope you bastards unless you mean it.
Now, can we dispense with all the 'sky is falling' negative nellie types, at least until after pre-season?
Olsen was reportedly in Switzerland. Not sure if he crossed the border into Austria, or met Salihi. Presumably he could of been there just to see Dudar. I think the other places scouted by our staff were the UK, Ghana, South America and Japan.
--Salihi - DeRo (w/d) -- Pontius - Branko - Najar If Salihi proves as good as advertised and Branko picks up where he left off right before the injury (big IFs but still), that's some pretty serious firepower right there, with some depth to boot. I think if we get a solid left back, we're in business.
I'd like to see who plays left back before I get too excited. Last thing we need is a Jonathan-Bornstein-vs-Mexico ruining an otherwise solid team.
Korb and Woolard have been there for the preseason. While neither is exciting or flashy, I think they'll be fine if we can score goals and they are not pulled into the attack much. If Blanko drifts left from the middle and Pontius can keep up his better defensive work we should be okay along that flank. Maybe we can pick up a decent enough MLS left back off waivers after preseason, or internationally in the summer if Boscovic leaves.