Shrugging off the avalanche of publicity and attention that surrounds a date with David Beckham, in-form D.C. United are ready to stand toe-to-toe with the Los Angeles Galaxy in their high-profile clash at RFK Stadium on Sunday.
Beckham made his MLS debut before a sold-out RFK in a memorable Thursday night meeting between the two sides last year, and a massive crowd is expected at the old stadium again this weekend as Beckham and his partner in crime, Landon Donovan, lead the league's most productive attack against its hottest club at the moment.
ABC will broadcast the contest to a nationwide television audience and with the final match of the European championships comprising the second half of the doubleheader, there will be plenty of watchful eyes trained on United's performance. But the Black-and-Red are highly confident at home and despite L.A.'s record of success in the nation's capital, United are primed to take the initiative on Sunday and believe a fast start is crucial to that end.
"I don't think that we have to change our style of attacking," said Santino Quaranta. "Do we have to be more cautious with the players they have? Absolutely. But we have to force them to defend us, and we're at home."
After their early-season struggles, the D.C. attack has burst into life in recent weeks and trails only the Galaxy in overall scoring. So while United are careful to express respect for Beckham, there's a clear belief among the team that their own marquee players are every bit his equal in terms of technical quality, if not media exposure.
"He's so impressive," said Quaranta. "Every time he touches the ball it seems like something dangerous is going to happen, and a player like that you always have to have in your grasp somehow. For him to be roaming around, and to do what he wants at RFK, is not what we want this weekend."
Fred will face off against Beckham on United's left flank, and the creative Brazilian shows no deference -- calling Sunday's match a "normal game" and claiming to be "indifferent" towards his glamorous L.A. counterpart.
When asked about the challenge of closing down the Galaxy's No. 23, Fred was quick to retort, "he's going to have to defend me as well!"
But perhaps even more menace lurks in the shape of Donovan, who presently tops the league scoring charts. Quaranta was in a Galaxy jersey two seasons ago, when L.A. stormed into RFK and snatched a 5-2 victory powered by a breathtaking performance from Donovan, who orchestrated his team's attack, scored two goals and made sure to taunt United's supporters' groups at every opportunity.
"Landon likes to play here. When I got traded to LA he always said he liked to play at RFK and he's always done well here," said Quaranta, who also antagonized D.C.'s fans that night and had to win his way back into their good graces on his return to Washington this year. "When he's got that mentality he's tough to stop. When he wants to play like that, he can - he's that type of player."
Quaranta also pointed out that on that occasion, the Galaxy benefited from a strong start that caught their hosts flat-footed.
"When we came out in that game, we came out of the gates flying, just going at D.C.," he recalled. "And I think we have to do that this [time], and not sit in and be cautious. We have to go at them."
Another festive atmosphere at RFK is likely to further inspire L.A. this time around, and he and his teammates admit that there is no room for a tentative start like last week, when D.C. stumbled out to a 0-0 halftime draw with last-place San Jose.
"Last week we started off a little sluggish in the first half, and going into this Sunday's game, with this type of offense -- they're leading the league in goals -- if we come out as sluggish as we did, we could be looking at a different outcome in the first half. We could be down a goal or two," said D.C. right back Bryan Namoff. "It's definitely going to be a test on us especially, to be defensively sound in the back and really make sure that we try to take out their big guns."
With Beckham's world-renowned free kick skills, there's little mystery behind United's other defensive priority: limiting fouls in their defensive third of the field.
"Yeah, you know, I think they have a player who's sort of good on those set pieces," said Namoff with a grin. "We definitely don't want to give up stupid fouls in those key areas where that can affect us -- anywhere, really, outside of our 18[-yard box]."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
