WASHINGTON — It’s hard to say who appears happier with D.C. United’s recent acquisition of attacker Luis Silva from Toronto FC: the club or Silva himself.
“I was very surprised. I wasn’t aware of any movement going on or anything,” Silva said following his first training session with D.C. on Wednesday. “It was shocking. I’m still a little shocked, but I’m very excited and very happy to be here.”
And while D.C. are behind the Reds by three points in the standings, the 24-year-old Silva’s excitement stems from a reason that goes beyond the standings.
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“I’m an attacking midfielder,” he said. “I think in Toronto, we didn’t play with an attacking midfielder, so I was always out of spot. But if [D.C.] use me the right way, I’m sure I can do a lot for the team. And if they play me somewhere else, I’ll try my hardest to help the team as much as I can.”
In 44 first team appearances with Toronto, Silva made 33 starts and scored five goals and added seven assists. The fourth overall pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, Silva joins teammates Nick DeLeon and Casey Townsend as three of the top seven picks from that draft now on United’s roster.
“He brings a vision that a lot of our guys don’t have right now,” United coach Ben Olsen said. “We have one or two guys that can make the last pass, pull off different ideas that maybe will help us in the offensive end with our lack of productivity.”
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Silva was college teammates with United’s Chris Pontius at UC Santa Barbara in 2008 and will be available for selection for Friday’s international friendly against CD Guadalajara (8 pm at RFK Stadium).
“Today went well. Obviously I had to get used to the humidity, but there’s a lot of talent on this team and I’m excited,” Silva said with a smile. “These guys are very good and we’re going to move forward from here. Hopefully I can help them as much as I can to get back on track.”
