D.C. United's early start to the 2007 campaign continued this week as coaches and players flew south to Bradenton, Fla. to escape Washington's frigid temperatures as the squad prepares for their Feb. 21 CONCACAF Champions Cup tie against CD Olimpia in Honduras.
Entering his 10th professional season, Ben Olsen remains just as central to United's plans as in 1998, when he became the club's first-ever Project-40 allocation en route to league Rookie of the Year honors. While the captain's armband unquestionably belongs to MLS original and all-time club leading scorer Jaime Moreno, the civic-minded midfielder has become the club's most recognizable and visible face - and an early-season roster crunch is providing yet another reminder of his value.
The onset of the region's club championship has shortened United's offseason and complicated plans to beef up the starting lineup with South American talent, as Brazilian striker Luciano Emilio remains the club's only new international signing so far.
D.C. continues to search overseas for an accomplished flank player. But with the taxing trip to Tegucigalpa looming, coach Tom Soehn may have to shuffle his lineup to compensate for the lack of an experienced winger to complete United's first XI. His staff is eyeing several young players for the spot opposite Josh Gros, but the hostile conditions expected at Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino might make experience a deciding factor.
"My role is always up in the air," said Olsen, who has evolved from winger to holding midfielder over the course of his career. "I'll play where I need to play for the team. If it's the middle or out wide, we'll see what happens, especially in these early games. Because we have a lot of the core back, but there's still a spot or two that's open, for different young guys or somebody to be shifted to. Whatever they need me to do, I'll step into that role."
Off the field, Olsen took on yet another new role this winter, marrying his longtime girlfriend Megan Schoen on December 9 at a Jamaican seaside ceremony well-attended by a host of past and present United stars including Moreno, Nick Rimando, Santino Quaranta and Chris Albright.
"We were thinking of going Rastafarian," said Olsen with a smile, "but we didn't go that route - my mother would've had a stroke."
He drew acclaim for performing Rimando's marriage ceremony a year ago, but this time the U.S. international left the officiating duties to a retired priest as a casually dressed wedding party looked on.
"Very cool," said Olsen of the relaxed event. "It was nice because we had about a 100-something friends and family come down, and it gave them the opportunity not to have to hustle through one day to meet everybody. ... Weddings can be a little bit hectic so it was real low-key. And she said 'yes.'"
That mellow occasion is soon to become a distant memory as the Black-and-Red delve into what could eventually turn out to be a 10-month-long campaign. The winger situation underscores the critical importance of a deep and balanced roster to cope with a mind-boggling schedule clogged by two international club competitions and the U.S. Open Cup.
"This year is crazy, so it's important for us to pace ourselves and do the right things, keep our fitness," said Olsen. "But also, we're going to need a lot of players. It's not going to be 11 guys playing all those games. I'm sure there will be preference [placed] on certain tournaments, reserve-type games for some tournaments. But I think that's where Tommy is going to be a good situation for us this year. He's very good at gauging his players and what we need to do to be successful."
Even now, United's training ground numbers have been thinned by the ongoing U.S. national team camp, and there's a very real possibility that several starters will be lost to extended international duty during the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa Sudamericana. But Soehn maintains that Bobby Boswell, Brian Carroll, Josh Gros, Bryan Namoff and Troy Perkins can balance the demands of club and country and use the experience to better their teammates.
"We've got five guys there who will come in at a high level and push the guys here," said the first-year head coach. "So we're excited that they're there. ... Any time they can get rewarded, that's a good thing. It's our job to develop 28 guys and have a guy waiting in the wings to take [their] place."
Olsen is a 2006 World Cup veteran but with his short-term international prospects limited in light of the youth movement enacted by U.S. bosses Bob Bradley and his assistant, former United coach Peter Nowak, the veteran will be called upon to fill his team's most pressing needs as United looks to surpass their substantial 2006 exploits.
"This year, there's so many tournaments, and so many opportunities to further the brand along, and further the trophy case," said Olsen. "It's important for us to take advantage of being in these competitions, because it doesn't happen every year."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
