DC
United is an American soccer team. Based in Washington, DC, they play in the
Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Their official nickname is
the "Black-and-Red"; the team's home uniform is largely black.
The team's home field is the 56,454-seat Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
on East Capitol Street, which is owned by the government of the District of
Columbia and is shared with the Washington Nationals. It was once the home
of the Washington Senators, the Washington Redskins and the Washington
Freedom. The city is considered to be one of the most supportive of soccer
in the country. United's main supporters' club is called the Screaming
Eagles. Other supporters' clubs include Barra Brava and La Norte.
The club was one of the founding ten members of the MLS in 1996 and was
initially the most successful. They won the first "double" in modern U.S.
soccer history in 1996, beating Los Angeles Galaxy to take the MLS Cup and
the A-League club Rochester Raging Rhinos to win the US Open Cup. They have
also been successful in CONCACAF competitions, winning the Champions Cup and
the Interamerican Cup in 1998. From the back of domestic success, the club's
first coach, Bruce Arena, went on to direct the national side. Although
United would win an MLS Cup in the season after his departure, the loss of
Arena would signal a significant downturn in the team's fortunes. While
Thomas Rongen's initial year was a success, two lackluster seasons led to
his departure and replacement by Ray Hudson in 2002. The team did not fare
much better under Hudson, however, and Peter Nowak replaced him prior to the
start of the 2004 season. The season was marred by injuries in the early-going,
and some players were known to have complained about Nowak's methods. A
strong late finish propelled the United into the playoffs with the second
seed, where they advanced past the New England Revolution on penalty kicks
in what some have called "the greatest MLS game ever played". United then
defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3-2 to take their fourth MLS Cup.
Famous past players for United include the US internationals Roy Lassiter,
Eddie Pope, Jeff Agoos, John Harkes, Tony Sanneh, Ben Olsen, Carlos Llamosa,
and most recently Bobby Convey, who was transferred to Reading FC in the
English Football League Championship on July 22, 2004. Foreign stars
included Marco Etcheverry, Raul Diaz Arce, Jaime Moreno, and Hristo
Stoitchkov.
On November 18, 2003, MLS made sports history by signing Freddy Adu, a
prodigy of a soccer player, at the age of 14 and on January 16, 2004 he was
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.
Honors
MLS Cup 4 (1996, 1997, 1999, 2004) (Alan I. Rothenberg Trophy)
MLS Supporters' Shield 2 (1997, 1999)
US Open Cup 1 (1996)
CONCACAF Champions Cup 1 (1998)
CONCACAF Interamerican Cup 1 (1998)
International Competition
1998 Champions Cup
Final v. Toluca -- 1:0
1998 Interamerican Cup
Final v. Vasco da Gama -- 0:1, 2:0 (United win Cup 2:1 on aggregate)
Notable Players
Freddy Adu (2004-)
Jeff Agoos (1996-2000)
Bobby Convey (2000-2004)
Raul Diaz Arce (1996-1997, 2000-2001)
Marco Etcheverry (1996-2003)
John Harkes (1996-1998)
Roy Lassiter (1998-1999)
Carlos Llamosa (1997-2000)
Jaime Moreno (1996-2002, 2004-)
Ryan Nelsen (2001-)
Eddie Pope (1996-2002)
Tony Sanneh (1996-1998)
Earnie Stewart (2003-)
Hristo Stoitchkov (2003) |
