Jaime Moreno is a living legend in Major League Soccer.
He’s D.C. United’s captain and the face of the franchise. He’s the league’s all-time leading goal scorer, a member of the MLS All-Time Best XI, a seven-time All-Star and the proud owner of four MLS Cup championship rings.
But Moreno is also 36 years old. His 322 career matches have put plenty of hard miles on his odometer and even he is quick to acknowledge that he’s lost a step -- or two. In each of the past several seasons, United coaches have sat down with him to discuss moderating his role and managing his minutes, with the expectation that younger guns will inevitably seize the spotlight.
Ambitious clubs aren’t supposed to rely on players -- especially attacking players -- of Moreno’s age. Yet the Bolivian refuses to fade into the background, and the Black-and-Red can’t help but find themselves indebted to his contributions again and again.
Look no further than the club’s match last Saturday in Philadelphia, where his appearance off the bench brought purpose to the United front line and inspired a two-goal comeback. The club’s second goal was crafted purely from Moreno’s veteran savvy, picking wide-eyed goalkeeper Chris Seitz’s pocket and converting a chance for goal No. 132 of his stellar career.
“He impacts games when he comes in them and when he’s a part of them,” said D.C. assistant coach Mark Simpson, a former teammate of Moreno. “Obviously he doesn’t have the legs that he did in his 20s, but he’s a smarter player, and you’ve got to give him credit for sniffing out the goal that he did on the weekend. He’s obviously going to make us better as a team and we just have to put in the work around him.”
With Santino Quaranta looking more comfortable in a flank role, D.C. coach Curt Onalfo continues to experiment with his team’s central playmaking spot. Moreno seems to provide the most creative option, even in a withdrawn striker’s role that grants freedom to roam with the security of defensive cover behind him.
But when asked about United’s search for a "maestro," Moreno suggests that his club can never truly recapture its glory days when countryman Marco "El Diablo" Etcheverry made D.C. maybe the most exciting team in the league to see.
“Well, the maestro is gone a while ago," said Moreno. "That was Marco. I don’t think anybody can replace him. So right now we just try to adapt to whatever the coach wants and also to see what kind of players we have … I think the game right now is so fast that everybody has to defend and go forward, too. The game is different.”
United’s 0-3 start to the season has led to simmering frustration among the club’s fans, and some have criticized Moreno’s continuing influence despite efforts to cultivate other attacking weapons. His response is both defiant and dismissive.
“I just laugh,” Moreno said on Wednesday. “I laugh because people keep questioning and I don’t know what else I need to do to prove to them that I can keep playing. I think I’m going to be the first one to accept it when I’m going to retire. So people keep doubting and I keep enjoying it -- I keep enjoying every minute.
“I know there are people out there who don’t have a clue what they’re talking about," he continued. "They’ve never played the game. People who are frustrated, probably, at home and in their personal lives, they try to release all that anger with somebody like me or so many other players that are probably in the same situation as me. But it doesn’t really bother me.”
The wily veteran is quick to point out that Toronto FC coach Preki won a league MVP award with Kansas City at age 40 and played into his fifth decade, though he claims to have little interest in challenging the Serbian’s mark for longevity.
“I’ll take it day by day, year by year,” Moreno said. “Sometimes I do feel like retiring, but the next day I’m desperate to train again. So once I lose that desire I know that I’m going to retire, but in the meantime, I’m still having fun.”
