D.C. UNITED

'D.C. United' is a professional soccer club located in Washington, D.C. that participates in Major League Soccer. The club's official nickname is the "Black-and-Red" and home uniforms are black and white with accents of red. The team's name refers to Washington, D.C. being the capital of the United States, and is also an allusion to "United" commonly being part of the names of soccer teams in the United Kingdom and elsewhere,However, DCU departs from the common British practice in which "United" typically refers refer to a club formed by the union of two existing constituent clubs. "Football Culture. Names Explained" e.g. Manchester United. To date, D.C. United is the most successful team in MLS.
The team's home field is the 56,692-seat Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium located on East Capitol Street, which is owned by the government of the District of Columbia and is shared with the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball. There are plans to build a 27,000-seat soccer-specific stadium near Poplar Point on the east side of the Anacostia River, directly across the river from the proposed site for the Washington Nationals' stadium.^[1] The city is considered to be one of the most supportive of soccer in the country.^[2] D.C. United's supporters' clubs include ''La Barra Brava'', the ''Screaming Eagles'' and ''La Norte''. "Talon", an eagle, is the team mascot.

Contents

History

Honors

Current roster

Notable players

Head coaches

Team records

Home stadium

Ownership

D.C. United Park

Year-by-year

International competition

Average attendance

References

External links

History

The club was one of the founding ten members of MLS in 1996 in the league's early years was the most successful of all the teams. United won the first "double" in modern U.S. soccer history in 1996, beating the Los Angeles Galaxy to take the MLS Cup and the USL First Division club the Rochester Raging Rhinos to win the U.S. Open Cup. They have also been successful in CONCACAF competitions, winning the Champions' Cup and the Interamerican Cup in 1998.
Following his domestic successes the club's first coach Bruce Arena went on to direct the national team. Arena's departure from United would signal a significant downturn in the team's fortunes. While the club again won the MLS Cup in coach Thomas Rongen's first season of 1999, lackluster seasons in 2000 and 2001 led to Rongen's departure and replacement by Ray Hudson in 2002. The team did not fare much better under Hudson, however, and Piotr Nowak replaced him before the start of the 2004 season. That season was marred by injuries in the early going, and some players were known to have complained about Nowak's methods. Nevertheless a strong finish (assisted in large measure by the late-season acquisition of Argentine midfielder Christian Gómez) propelled United into the playoffs as the second seed, where they advanced past the New England Revolution on penalty kicks in what has been called one of the best games in MLS history.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} United then defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3–2 to take their fourth MLS Cup.
On December 21, 2006 Coach Piotr Nowak left United to become an Assistant Coach of the United States National Soccer Team under Bob Bradley. Tom Soehn replaced him.
D.C. United's primary rival is Red Bull New York, formerly known as the MetroStars. The two teams compete annually for the Atlantic Cup, a competition instituted by the two teams' management that goes to the team that gets the most points across the teams' four meetings throughout the year. DC United also has a unique (among MLS teams anyway) rivalry with the Charleston Battery of the United Soccer Leagues, as they compete every time they face one another for the Coffee Pot Cup, a trophy established by the two sides' supporters.
Famous players for United have included the US internationals Roy Lassiter, Eddie Pope, Jeff Agoos, John Harkes, Tony Sanneh, Ben Olsen, Carlos Llamosa, Bobby Convey and Santino Quaranta. Foreign stars have included Marco Etcheverry, Raul Diaz Arce, Jaime Moreno, Christian Gomez, Ryan Nelsen, and Hristo Stoichkov.

On November 18, 2003, MLS made sports history by signing Freddy Adu, a 14-year-old soccer prodigy and on January 16, 2004 he was officially selected by United with the first pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. When Adu entered United's regular-season opener as a second-half substitute on April 3, 2004, he became the youngest player in any professional sport in the United States since 1887. On December 11 2006, D.C. United traded Adu and goalkeeper Nick Rimando to Real Salt Lake in exchange for a major allocation, goalkeeper Jay Nolly, and future considerations Ready for Freddy! Real Salt Lake acquires teen phenom Freddy Adu from D.C. United .
In 2005, the club made MLS history by becoming the first US-based team to ever participate in a South American club competition, entering the Round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana.
In 2006, United played well against international competition, beating Scottish champions Celtic F.C. 4-0 at RFK Stadium and tying Real Madrid 1-1 in Seattle. In addition, the MLS All-Star Team, which included 8 United players and was managed by United's manager Piotr Nowak, defeated English champions Chelsea 1-0. United, by virtue of winning the 2006 MLS Supporters Shield, was one of two MLS teams to participate in the 2007 CONCACAF Champions Cup in which they reached the semi-finals, losing to CD Guadalajara on aggregate 3-2. The team will also host the 2007 MLS Cup and play in the newly-created SuperLiga with 4 teams from the Primera División and 4 from the MLS.
On January 8, 2007, the operating rights to D.C. United were sold by Anschutz Entertainment Group to D.C. United Holdings, a newly-formed group venture that includes real estate developer Victor MacFarlane, William H.C. Chang (chairman of Westlake International Group), Blue Devil Development (headed by former Duke basketball players Brian Davis and Christian Laettner), and D.C. United president Kevin Payne. D.C. United Holdings is also in talks with Discovery Communications founder John Hendricks in what is a "majority-minority" ownership group. The sale price was reported to be $33 million, an MLS record fee for operating rights to a club.^[8]
In May 2007, United entered into an initial one-year strategic partnership with Brazilian club Atlético Mineiro. The goal of the partnership is to enhance the sporting and commercial success of the respective clubs by sharing expertise and experience as well as creating new opportunities for the clubs in both areas. ^[9]

Honors

'Domestic'

★ 'MLS Cup:'

★
★ 'Winners (4):' 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004

★
★ 'Runners-up (1):' 1998

★ 'MLS Supporters' Shield:'

★
★ 'Winners (3):' 1997, 1999, 2006

★
★ 'Runners-up (1):' 1998

★ 'US Open Cup:'

★
★ 'Winners (1):' 1996

★
★ 'Runners-up (1):' 1997
'International'

★ 'CONCACAF Champions' Cup:'

★
★ 'Winners (1):' 1998

★
★ 'Third place (3):' 1997, 1999, 2007

★ 'CONCACAF Giants Cup:'

★
★ 'Runners-up (1):' 2001

★ 'InterAmerican Cup:'

★
★ 'Winners (1):' 1998

Current roster

''As of July 5, 2007'' The players in bold have senior international caps
'
'
'
'
'
'
' (Captain)
:''Sources: mlsnet.com, Soccer Insider''

Notable players

★ Freddy Adu (2004–2006)

★ Jeff Agoos (1996–2000)

★ Bobby Convey (2000–2004)

★ Raul Diaz Arce (1996–1997; 2000–2001)

★ Luciano Emilio (2007— )

★ Alecko Eskandarian (2003–2006)

★ Marco Etcheverry (1996–2003)

★ Christian Gomez (2004— )

★ John Harkes (1996–1998)

★ Dema Kovalenko (2003–2005)

★ Roy Lassiter (1998–1999; 2002)

★ Carlos Llamosa (1997–2000)

★ Jaime Moreno (1996–2002; 2004— )

★ Ryan Nelsen (2001–2005)

★ Ben Olsen (1998— )

★ Eddie Pope (1996–2002)

★ Tony Sanneh (1996–1998)

★ Earnie Stewart (2003–2004)

★ Hristo Stoichkov (2003)

★ Richie Williams (1996–2000; 2002)

Head coaches

★ Bruce Arena (1996–1998)

★ Thomas Rongen (1999–2001)

★ Ray Hudson (2002–2003)

★ Peter Nowak (2004–2006)

★ Tom Soehn (2006— )

Team records

★ Games: Jaime Moreno, 250

★ Goals: Jaime Moreno, 107 (Moreno also holds the league record with 109 MLS goals)

★ Assists: Marco Etcheverry, 101

★ Shutouts: Nick Rimando, 29

★ Minutes: Jaime Moreno, 20721

★ Shots: Jaime Moreno, 588

★ Shots on Goal: Jaime Moreno, 338

★ Game-Winning Goals: Jaime Moreno, 24

★ Penalty-Kick Goals: Jaime Moreno, 32

★ Multi-Goal Games: Jaime Moreno, 15

★ Hat Tricks: Raul Diaz Arce, 2

★ Saves: Nick Rimando, 355

★ Wins: Nick Rimando, 41
''MLS regular season only, through August 22, 2007''

Home stadium

★ RFK Stadium (1996— )

★ Poplar Point Stadium (proposed)

Ownership

★ Washington Soccer L.P. (1996-2001)

★ Anschutz Entertainment Group (2001-2007)

★ D.C. United Holdings (2007— )

D.C. United Park

'D.C. United Park' was located near Franklin Farm, Virginia and Herndon, Virginia and served as the soccer training facility for D.C. United. It is in Fairfax County, Virginia and is very close to Dulles International Airport. The club own the grounds which are situated in a business park known as Renaissance Park. It also used to serve as the Redskins training ground and was sold to a church in 2000 as part of the estate sale of former Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke. The team now trains on an auxiliary field outside RFK Stadium. The field also hosts United's reserve team games.

Year-by-year

Year	Reg. Season	MLS Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup	CONCACAF Champions' Cup	CONMEBOL Copa Sudamericana	SuperLiga
1996	2nd, East	Champions	Champions	''Did not Enter''	''Did not qualify''
1997	1st, East ★	Champions	Final	Third Place	''Did not qualify''
1998	1st, East	Final	''Did not enter''	Champions	''Did not qualify''
1999	1st, East ★	Champions	Round of 16	Third Place	''Did not qualify''
2000	4th, East	''Did not qualify''	Quarterfinals	Fourth Place	''Did not qualify''
2001	4th, East	''Did not qualify''	Semifinals	''Not Held''	''Did not qualify''
2002	5th, East	''Did not qualify''	''Did not enter''	Round of 16	''Did not qualify''
2003	4th, East	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	''Did not qualify''	''Did not qualify''
2004	2nd, East	Champions	Round of 16	''Did not qualify''	''Did not qualify''
2005	2nd, East	Quarterfinals	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Round of 16
2006	1st, East ★	Semifinals	Semifinals	''Did not qualify''	''Did not qualify''
2007	TBD	TBD	Round of 16	Third Place	TBD	Semifinals

''
★ Won MLS Supporters' Shield''

International competition

★ '1997 CONCACAF Champions' Cup'

★
★ Quarterfinals v. United Petrotrin -- 1:0

★
★ Semifinals v. L.A. Galaxy -- 0:1

★
★ 3rd place v. CD Guadalajara (Chivas) -- 2:2 (shared 3rd place)

★ '1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup'

★
★ Quarterfinals v. Joe Public F.C. -- 8:0

★
★ Semifinals v. León -- 2:0

★
★ Final v. Toluca -- 1:0

★ '1998 Interamerican Cup'

★
★ Final v. Vasco da Gama -- 0:1, 2:0 (United wins 2:1 on aggregate)

★ '1999 CONCACAF Champions' Cup'

★
★ Quarterfinals v. C.D. Olimpia -- 1:0

★
★ Semifinals v. Necaxa -- 1:3

★
★ 3rd place v. Chicago Fire -- 2:2 (shared 3rd place)

★ '2000 CONCACAF Champions' Cup'

★
★ Quarterfinals v. Alajuelense -- 2:1

★
★ Semifinals v. Los Angeles Galaxy -- 1:1 (Galaxy advance 4:2 on penalties)

★
★ 3rd place v. Pachuca -- 1:2

★ '2001 CONCACAF Giants Cup'

★
★ Quarterfinals v. Arnett Gardens -- 3:0, 2:1 (United advances 5:1 on aggregate)

★
★ Semifinals v. Comunicaciones -- 2:1

★
★ Final v. Club América -- 0:2

★ '2002 CONCACAF Champions' Cup'

★
★ Round of 16 v. Comunicaciones -- 0:4, 2:1 (Comunicaciones advances 5:2 on aggregate)

★ '2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup'

★
★ Quarterfinals v. Harbour View -- 2:1, 2:1 (United advances 4:2 on aggregate)

★
★ Semifinals v. UNAM Pumas -- 1:1, 0:5 (Pumas advance 6:1 on aggregate)

★ '2005 Copa Sudamericana'

★
★ Round of 16 v. Universidad Católica -- 1:1, 2:3 (Católica advances 4:3 on aggregate)

★ '2007 CONCACAF Champions' Cup'

★
★ Quarterfinals v. C.D. Olimpia -- 4:1, 3:2 (United advances 7:3 on aggregate)

★
★ Semifinals v. CD Guadalajara (Chivas) -- 1:1, 1:2 (Chivas advances 3:2 on aggregate)

★ '2007 SuperLiga'

★
★ Group Stage v. Monarcas Morelia -- 1:1

★
★ Group Stage v. América -- 1:0

★
★ Group Stage v. Houston Dynamo -- 0:1

★
★ Semifinals v. L.A. Galaxy -- 0:2

★ '2007 Copa Sudamericana'

★
★ Round of 16 v. CD Guadalajara (Chivas)

Average attendance

''regular season/playoffs''

★ 1996: 15,262/18,946

★ 1997: 16,698/20,202

★ 1998: 16,008/14,903

★ 1999: 17,419/12,647

★ 2000: 18,580/missed playoffs

★ 2001: 21,518/missed playoffs

★ 2002: 16,519/missed playoffs

★ 2003: 15,565/15,202

★ 2004: 17,232/18,842

★ 2005: 16,664/20,089

★ 2006: 18,215/20,504

★ 2007: 20,556/TBD (as of August 13, 2007)

★ All-Time: 17,619

References

1. "D.C. United make stadium proposal" November 16, 2005 (MLSnet.com)
2. "Washington is our best market, by far. It's the most authentic, the most passionate." July 30, 2005 (Washingtonpost.com)
3. Harkes keeps both feet in the soccer world
4. 10 of the best... MLS games
5. Revolution Ready to Take Another Shot
6. D.C. United & Comcast SportsNet to launch 'Brunch with D.C. United'
7. Looking back: Unforgettable in every way
8. "MacFarlane leads group in purchase of Major League Soccer's D.C. United" (press release), D.C. United Media Relations, January 8, 2007.
9. "D.C. United enters into strategic partnership with Brazil's Clube Atlético Mineiro" (press release), D.C. United Media Relations, May 4, 2007.

External links

★ www.dcunited.com Team's official website

★ www.barra-brava.com Barra Brava Supporters' Club

★ www.screaming-eagles.com Supporters' Club website

★ www.lanorte.com La Norte Supporters' Club

★ Official D.C. United board, courtesy of BigSoccer

★ [1] Steven Goff's Soccer Insider Blog

★ [2] The DCenters Blog

★ [3] The Offside: DC United Blog