D.C. United
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| Full name | D.C. United | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | DCU, United, Black-and-Red | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. (Capacity 56,692) |
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| Owner |  D.C. United Holdings |
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| Coach | Tom Soehn |
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| League | Major League Soccer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Eastern Conference: 1st Overall: 1st Playoffs: Conference Semifinals |
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| First game | D.C. United 0–1 San Jose Clash (Spartan Stadium; April 6, 1996) |
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| Largest win | 8–0 vs Joe Public FC (RFK Stadium; August 8, 1998) |
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| Largest defeat | 6–1 vs Kansas City Wizards (Arrowhead Stadium; June 21, 1997) 5–0 vs UNAM Pumas (Olimpico; April 13, 2005) |
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| All-time top scorer |  Jaime Moreno (111) |
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| Supporters groups | La Barra Brava, Screaming Eagles, La Norte |
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| Honors | Supporters' Shield (4) MLS Cup (4) US Open Cup (1) CONCACAF Champions' Cup (1) Interamerican Cup (1) |
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D.C. United is a professional soccer club located in Washington, D.C. that participates in Major League Soccer, the United States' top-tier soccer league. Considered the most successful club in American soccer, the club has won the U.S. Open Cup[1] and holds the record for most MLS Cups and MLS Supporters' Shields with four apiece. Furthermore, D.C. United is the only club to be awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield back-to-back (2006 and 2007) and the first club to win back-to-back MLS Cups (1996 and 1997).[2] In 1998 D.C. United became the first American club to win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and the Copa Interamericana, defeating Club Toluca of Mexico 1-0[3] and Vasco da Gama of Brazil on 2-1 aggregate[4].
The team's home field is the 56,692-seat Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, owned by the District of Columbia and located on East Capitol Street. However, the team has proposed building a 27,000-seat soccer-specific stadium near Poplar Point on the east side of the Anacostia River, directly across from Nationals Park.[5] With negotiations with the D.C. government stalled, the team is considering nearby sites in Maryland.[6]
D.C. United has one of the strongest fan bases in the league and country,[7] with three supporters' clubs (La Barra Brava, the Screaming Eagles, and La Norte) and one of the highest attendance averages 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 derives from Washington, D.C. being the capital of the United States[citation needed], and is also an allusion to "United" commonly being part of the names of soccer teams in the United Kingdom and elsewhere[8], for example Manchester United or Leeds United.
Internationally, D.C. United is already scheduled this year to play in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League, and SuperLiga.
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[edit] History
The club was one of the founding ten members of MLS in 1996, and 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, now a color commentator for Gol TV, 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 has been called one of the best games in MLS history.[9][10][11][12][13] 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.
D.C. United's primary rival is Red Bull New York, 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[14].
In 2005, the club made MLS history by becoming the first (and, to date, only) US-based team to participate in Copa Sudamericana, entering in the Round of 16.
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 9 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, was one of two MLS teams to participate in the 2007 CONCACAF Champions Cup in which they reached the semi-finals, losing to CD Guadalajara on aggregate 3-2. United lost to LA Galaxy 2-0 in the semifinals of the newly-created SuperLiga with 4 teams from the Primera División and 4 from the MLS.
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.[15]
In May 2007, United entered into an initial one-year strategic partnership with Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro. The goal of the partnership is to enhance the sporting and commercial success of the respective clubs by sharing expertise and experience as well as creating new opportunities for the clubs in both areas. [16]
[edit] Television and radio
D.C. United appear on Comcast SportsNet. Dave Johnson handles play by play, and former United coach Thomas Rongen does color commentary. Certain home matches are shown in High Definition on Comcast SportsNet HD. Select matches are also available on ESPN 2 and ESPN 2 HD.
All matches are broadcast via radio on WFED 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 Romer is the sideline reporter in Spanish.
[edit] Sponsors
Volkswagen is the jersey sponsor of D.C. United. The 5-year arrangement, beginning on May 6, 2008, features the automotive company's logo on the front of the team jersey as well as other details.[17] As part of the sponsorship, Volkswagen will provide complimentary parking to the first 50 Volkswagens at every D.C. United home game.
[edit] Honors
Domestic
- MLS Cup:
- Winners (4): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004
- Runners-up (1): 1998
- MLS Supporters' Shield:
- Winners (4): 1997, 1999, 2006, 2007
- Runners-up (1): 1998
- US Open Cup:
- Winners (1): 1996
- Runners-up (1): 1997
International
- CONCACAF Champions' Cup:
- Winners (1): 1998
- Third place (6): 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2008
- CONCACAF Giants Cup:
- Runners-up (1): 2001
- InterAmerican Cup:
- Winners (1): 1998
Invitational
- Carolina Challenge Cup (pre-season):
- Runners-up (3): 2004, 2005, 2006
[edit] Players
[edit] Current Squad
As of April 17, 2008 The players in bold have senior international caps [18]
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Sources:http://web.mlsnet.com/players/index.jsp?club=t103, http://blog.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider
[edit] Notable players
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[edit] Head coaches
- Bruce Arena (1996–1998)
Thomas Rongen (1999–2001)
Ray Hudson (2002–2003)
Peter Nowak (2004–2006)- Tom Soehn (2007— )
[edit] Team records
- Games: Jaime Moreno, 260
- Goals: Jaime Moreno, 111 (Moreno also holds the league record with 113 MLS goals)
- Assists: Marco Etcheverry, 101
- Shutouts: Nick Rimando, 29
- Minutes: Jaime Moreno, 21316
- Shots: Jaime Moreno, 603
- Shots on Goal: Jaime Moreno, 348
- Game-Winning Goals: Jaime Moreno, 24
- Penalty-Kick Goals: Jaime Moreno, 32
- Multi-Goal Games: Jaime Moreno, 15
- Hat Tricks:
Raul Diaz Arce, 2 - Saves: Nick Rimando, 355
- Wins: Nick Rimando, 41
MLS regular season only, through October 20, 2007
- All-Time regular season record: 177-137-54 (Through Oct. 21, 2007)
[edit] Home stadium
- RFK Stadium (1996— )
- Poplar Point Stadium (proposed)
[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] Year-by-year
| Year | Reg. Season | MLS Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | CONCACAF Champions' Cup |
SuperLiga | CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana |
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| 1996 | 2nd, East | Champions | Champions | Did not Enter | Started in 2007 | Started in 2002 |
| 1997 | 1st, East* | Champions | Final | Third Place | ||
| 1998 | 1st, East | Final | Did not enter | Champions | ||
| 1999 | 1st, East* | Champions | Round of 16 | Third Place | ||
| 2000 | 4th, East | Did not qualify | Quarterfinals | Fourth Place | ||
| 2001 | 4th, East | Did not qualify | Semifinals | Not Held † | ||
| 2002 | 5th, East | Did not qualify | Did not enter | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | |
| 2003 | 4th, East | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | |
| 2004 | 2nd, East | Champions | Round of 16 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | |
| 2005 | 2nd, East | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Round of 16 | |
| 2006 | 1st, East* | Semifinals | Semifinals | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | |
| 2007 | 1st, East* | Quarterfinals | Round of 16 | Third Place | Semifinals | Round of 16 |
| 2008 | TBD, East | TBD | Qualified | Semifinals | Qualified | TBD |
* Won MLS Supporters' Shield
† Finished runner-up in the CONCACAF Giants Cup that was held in 2001 instead of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup
[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)
- Quarterfinals v.
- 1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Quarterfinals v. Joe Public F.C. -- 8:0
- Semifinals v. León -- 2:0
- Final v. Toluca -- 1:0
- Quarterfinals v.
- 1998 Interamerican Cup
- Final v.
Vasco da Gama -- 0:1, 2:0 (United wins 2:1 on aggregate)
- Final v.
- 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)
- Quarterfinals v.
- 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
- Quarterfinals v.
- 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
- Quarterfinals v.
- 2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Round of 16 v. Comunicaciones -- 0:4, 2:1 (Comunicaciones advances 5:2 on aggregate)
- Round of 16 v.
- 2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Quarterfinals v. Harbour View F.C. -- 2:1, 2:1 (United advances 4:2 on aggregate)
- Semifinals v. UNAM Pumas -- 1:1, 0:5 (Pumas advance 6:1 on aggregate)
- Quarterfinals v.
- 2005 Copa Sudamericana
- Round of 16 v.
Universidad Católica -- 1:1, 2:3 (Católica advances 4:3 on aggregate)
- Round of 16 v.
- 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)
- Quarterfinals v.
- 2007 SuperLiga
- Group Stage v. Monarcas Morelia -- 1:1
- Group Stage v. América -- 1:0
- Group Stage v. Houston Dynamo -- 0:1
- Semifinals v. L.A. Galaxy -- 0:2
- Group Stage v.
- 2007 Copa Sudamericana
- Round of 16 v. CD Guadalajara (Chivas) -- 2:1, 0:1 (Chivas advances on away goals)
- Round of 16 v.
- 2008 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
- Quarterfinals v. Harbour View F.C. -- 1:1, 5:0 (United advances 6:1 on aggregate)
- Semifinals v. Pachuca -- 0:2, 2:1 (Pachuca advances 3:2 on aggregate)
- Quarterfinals v.
- 2008 SuperLiga
- Group Stage v. CD Guadalajara (Chivas)
- Group Stage v. Atlante F.C.
- Group Stage v. Houston Dynamo
- Group Stage v.
[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
- 2007: 20,967/19,438
- 2008: 18,802/TBD (as of May 24, 2008)
- All-Time: 17,619
[edit] References
- ^ "Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Finals, 1995-2007" Accessed January 11, 2008 (USOpenCup.Com)
- ^ "Major League Soccer:History:Overview" Accessed January 11, 2008 (MLSnet.com)
- ^ "SOCCER -- CONCACAF CUP; D.C. United Wins Tournament" August 17, 1998 (New York Times)
- ^ "D.C. United downs Vasco da Gama to take InterAmerican Cup" December 07, 1998 (CNN/SI)
- ^ "D.C. United make stadium proposal" November 16, 2005 (MLSnet.com)
- ^ Wiggins, Ovetta. "Md. Weighs Stadium for D.C. United", January 23, 2008, p. B01.
- ^ "Washington is our best market, by far. It's the most authentic, the most passionate." July 30, 2005 (Washingtonpost.com)
- ^ 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 2006-12-11.
- ^ Harkes keeps both feet in the soccer world. Retrieved on 19 June, 2007.
- ^ 10 of the best... MLS games. Retrieved on 19 June, 2007.
- ^ Revolution Ready to Take Another Shot. Retrieved on 19 June, 2007.
- ^ D.C. United & Comcast SportsNet to launch 'Brunch with D.C. United'. Retrieved on 19 June, 2007.
- ^ Looking back: Unforgettable in every way. Retrieved on 19 June, 2007.
- ^ "Ready for Freddy! Real Salt Lake acquires teen phenom Freddy Adu from D.C. United", mlsnet.com, 2006-12-11. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
- ^ "MacFarlane leads group in purchase of Major League Soccer's D.C. United" (press release), D.C. United Media Relations, January 8, 2007.
- ^ "D.C. United enters into strategic partnership with Brazil's Clube Atlético Mineiro" (press release), D.C. United Media Relations, May 4, 2007.
- ^ D.C. United announce partnership deal with Volkswagen
- ^ Sources: mlsnet.com, Soccer Insider
[edit] External links
- www.dcunited.com Team's official website
- www.barra-brava.com Barra Brava Supporters' Club
- www.screaming-eagles.com Supporters' Club website
- www.lanorte.com La Norte Supporters' Club
- Official D.C. United board, courtesy of BigSoccer
- [1] Steven Goff's Soccer Insider Blog
- [2] The DCenters Blog
- [3] The Offside: DC United Blog
- D.C. United news and photos UnitedMania.com
- [4] The UnitedMania Podcast
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