Bobby Boswell took a dramatic and unusual path to MLS stardom, rocketing out of obscurity from undrafted rookie to MLS Defender of the Year and U.S. national team prospect in less than two years. Now anxious to take his career to another level, Boswell has left D.C. United behind, and once again fate seems to have smiled on the tall center back as United's imminent need for a goalkeeper has led to a trade with back-to-back MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo.
"To end up in Houston is just unbelievable, it's awesome," said Boswell on the day of the trade. "I've heard nothing but good things about the organization and the coaches, and I know a lot of the guys, from playing against them and playing with them on the national level. I just think overall it's a good fit for me and I think I'm a good fit for them as well."
Young players across the nation can find inspiration in Boswell's story. Despite a strong college career at Florida International, he passed under the MLS radar until D.C. brought him into the club's 2005 preseason training in Florida, where Boswell impressed head coach Peter Nowak and his staff enough for them to entrust him with the pivotal center back role that had been so masterfully manned by departing captain Ryan Nelsen. Boswell's quirky personality also made him a fan favorite, shining through in quotable interviews, locker room pranks and eventually, his own website.
For Boswell and United, 2007 was a heartbreaking campaign that saw the club once again win the Supporters' Shield as holders of the league's best record, yet come away without any other honors, knocked out of CONCACAF Champions' Cup, Copa Sudamericana and SuperLiga on the international stage, then stunningly dispatched by the Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Boswell knew that changes would be imminent.
"We've been together for a couple of years, a lot of the guys, and we really do like each other," he said shortly after the playoff loss. "I think a lot of guys know there are going to be some moves, you know? It stinks because we're such a good, tight unit and we're a family. Sometimes that's part of it though, just like last year, when we lost a lot of guys. It's tough, but life goes on and you have to deal with it."
During the season Boswell was dropped on several occasions as head coach Tom Soehn, himself a former MLS defender who mentored the big center back as an assistant under Nowak, utilized a rotation system that clearly played a role in his decision to request a trade.
"It was a difficult year, following a lot of success," said Soehn of Boswell's campaign.
So Boswell is moving to Dynamo in a bid to revitalize his national team aspirations and position himself for a move to Europe when his contract expires in a year's time. He acknowledges that playing in one of the world's premier leagues has been on his mind for some time.
"I think I answered that question when I didn't re-sign [with United in 2006]," he said. "They had put together a great deal for me. For me, it's about the goals that you have, and that's another reason why I think I asked to be moved. You have these goals in mind, you have to take the proper steps to reach those goals. I still have a goal to play in Europe and to play on a World Cup team and those are things that I'm working for."
Those ambitions were undoubtedly at the forefront of United's calculations as well.
"Bobby's out of contract after next year, and his aspirations are to go overseas," said Soehn. "So we would have Bobby for one year and have no value after he leaves. So there's a lot of thought put into the timing of things and the value of players."
Frustrated and worn down by a marathon season, Boswell initially contemplated an adventurous backpacking trip to Australia and New Zealand this offseason. But he decided to rededicate himself to a bulked-up strength and conditioning regimen instead, including "grueling" workouts with a boxing trainer as he focuses on adding weight and strengthening his legs for what promises to be another long, arduous year.
"I did a lot of introspection, looking at the last year or so," he said. "I looked at the good things and some of the things that weren't so great, and I decided that traveling, although it would be fun, it's more important that I work on my fitness ... work on parts of my game that I probably wouldn't work on as much if I was traveling around."
The move to Texas is a homecoming of sorts. While Boswell grew up in Florida, he was born some 160 miles west of Houston in Austin and still has relatives in the state. He says he's looking forward to re-establishing his Lone Star bona fides.
"It's just that Texas mentality -- even though I didn't grow up there, I still got a little bit of it, and I'm looking forward to heading down and living there," he said.
"The weather, they talk about how hot it is there, and I just kind of smile, because I'm like, 'man, in Tampa it's the same way,' you know? That humidity is kind of what I grew up on," he said, adding, "'Don't mess with Texas,' I'm going to start adopting that one right away."
Breaking into the Dynamo first XI will be no small task, however. Houston set a league record for fewest goals allowed in 2007 and boasts the league's most imposing back line, though there has already been a change there as Ryan Cochrane went to the San Jose Earthquakes in the expansion draft. But Boswell approaches that challenge with the same confidence that has served him so well thus far.
"It's competition -- it makes everyone better," he said. "We had a lot of success here at D.C. with that, and I realize going into that system, that's how it's going to be. But like I've always said, all you can really do is work every day to improve and become a better player and eventually, you hopefully get an opportunity, and it's what you do with that opportunity. So I think that I'll be given a fair opportunity going in there, and I like my chances."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
