Hindered by a troublesome injury and struggling to re-establish his everyday routine in a new environment, D.C. United defender Greg Vanney has endured an uneven introduction to life in the nation's capital.
After spending the first decade of his career with just two clubs, a turbulent 2007 has suddenly turned one of the MLS originals into a league nomad as trades have taken him from Dallas to Colorado to D.C. in barely seven months' time. Vanney's acclimatization to his new club was further complicated by a long stretch of hotel residency while he searched for a home in the Washington area.
"The biggest thing, I think, is moving into my own place and starting to establish a routine again," said the former U.S. international. "I've always had a routine for the 12, 13 years that I've played professional soccer, and whenever you move and are living out of a hotel, you're on everybody else's schedule for a while."
His wife and young daughter only recently arrived in the Washington area after packing up the family's belongings out west. And two impending arrivals mean there will soon be even more gear in tow -- Vanney's wife is pregnant with twins.
"As you get older and you've been around longer, you keep collecting things. We just went from Dallas to Colorado -- we were only there for six months, but that was just long enough to pretty much get unpacked before we had to do it again," he joked. "And we're having two more kids, so that's going to make moving that much easier!"
While his latest move has separated Vanney from his family for long periods, he has been unable to leave behind a high ankle sprain sustained in a match against the New York Red Bulls on Giants Stadium's unforgiving turf more than two months ago.
"I was lacking anything explosive off my left leg," he said. "It wasn't getting a lot of response. Striking the ball was not the best part - it was pretty painful getting my foot and ankle in certain positions to direct the ball. Especially games: as the games progressed the ankle just got more and more tired."
After playing through the pain for weeks, towards the end of July he finally relented and gave his injury a rest.
"I hadn't really taken time off in Colorado. I was pressing each week to get back on the field, even as quickly as the week after the game," said Vanney. "So I never really gave it a chance to start to heal. I just kept playing, kept playing, kept training, just never really gave it a chance to get over the hump. It felt like I wasn't playing at 100 percent, and that wasn't helping anyone, so stepping back at that point was a good choice."
The former SC Bastia (French Ligue 1) standout had been acquired from the Rapids to add veteran leadership to United's back line, but was sidelined just as several younger counterparts staked strong claims for playing time. Converted striker Marc Burch has performed well at the left back spot in recent matches, while Devon McTavish has struck up a promising partnership with Bobby Boswell in the center of defense.
D.C. coach Tom Soehn prizes Vanney's experience and versatility, and says he will be considered for both the left and central roles. But first he'll have to prove that he's truly vanquished his ankle problems.
"For Greg himself, he's got to now show that he's fit again and make it through some training sessions before we throw him right back in and set him up to fail," said Soehn. "That's the same for everybody -- coming off of injuries, you're going to have to work your way back into it."
After a period of intensive treatment, Vanney is finally working his way back to speed. Having returned to the game day roster in New England on Sunday, he's eager to stake his claim to a starting role during the busy August schedule facing the Black-and-Red.
"I spent the last week, week-and-a-half really doing rehab and strengthening, shedding the heavy tape job that I've had for the last six weeks," he said. "It felt great, so it should be going better now. ... My fitness is good. It's just a matter of strengthening the ankle a little bit."
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
