Tony's Take: Morenology

07/29/2008 9:27 AM by Tony Limarzi

During the 2004 season, D.C. United played a game late in the season in Columbus which they lost 1-0. At the end of the game Jaime Moreno had a chance to save a point for D.C. with a diving header. Jon Busch made a great reflex save to preserve the points for the Crew. At the hotel after the game I saw Jaime and I told him what a great effort the header was and I couldn’t believe that Busch saved it. Jaime smiled at me and said, “That’s life.” How philosophical.

Lately I’ve been reflecting on the teachings of Jaime Moreno, and how his theories about life can be applied to the current frustration for United. The four straight losses at R.F.K. Stadium have been disappointing, but as Jaime often says, “Like I always say: Everything happens for a reason.” So, let’s see if we can come up with some potential reasons for this losing streak.

First, let me say that this is not a sour grapes article about the irrelevance of Superliga. Losing four in a row is very upsetting, and it’s always better to win. Yet, D.C. United players and fans have seen over the past two seasons that it’s very difficult (maybe impossible) to maintain positive results for five months in a row. The back to back Supporters’ Shields were impressive, but maybe the team would’ve preferred to have been firing on all cylinders three weeks later than they were. If that’s the case, then United now has extra time to focus on getting back on track in the league, and getting players healthy.

D.C. United will be working on a regular schedule for the next two weeks; playing matches only on the weekend. It’s the first time since June that the team hasn’t had any mid-week matches, and that could help United in the other tournament they’re currently still alive in - the U.S. Open Cup. D.C.’s opponent in the Open Cup semifinal is New England, one of the MLS teams still alive in Superliga. If New England makes it to the Superliga final, they’d have to play on Tuesday in Superliga, Saturday in league play vs. Chicago, and the following Tuesday in the Open Cup semifinal at R.F.K. I’m not encouraging others to cheer for the Revolution, but it is very difficult to play three games in eight days, and D.C. would be much more rested going into the Open Cup semifinal (even though D.C. plays in New York on the Sunday before that Open Cup game).

September 16 is the first matchday for United in the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League. This new tournament is going to be spectacular. Lately, United has not done as well as they would’ve liked in their international tournaments, but it’s hard to imagine a lack of intensity from anyone in an exciting, new tournament with so much at stake. With the MLS rosters being limited the way they are, it is incredibly unlikely that any MLS team could run the table with Superliga, Supporters’ Shield, U.S. Open Cup, MLS Cup, and Champions League. D.C. was a long shot at best to win all of those competitions, and Superliga was probably the least significant one.

The positive feelings from United’s recent six-game winning streak faded quickly with the current slide, but it could be worse. The schedule over the next three months for United is pretty crowded. Another four-game losing streak would be disastrous for D.C. So if such a bad spell was going to happen at some point, better now than in the next three or five weeks. Losing stinks, but at times good things can come from losses, and even though it came at the expense of advancing in Superliga, the time off could be the key to another excellent stretch for United. Maybe that will be the reason that Jaime is looking for.

Tony Limarzi, the Radio Voice of D.C. United, provides live match commentary for all D.C. United games on WFED 1050 AM. He recently published his first book,Forza Italia, which is the story of the summer of 2006 – both Italy’s World Cup win in Germany and United’s MLS season.