(Re)Introducing: DC United
As the World Cup wraps up, let's meet Washington DC's MLS team
The World Cup is almost over and probably won’t return to the United States until at least 2038. But here in Washington DC, you can see live soccer in a stadium with great views for a fraction of the cost of an expensive World Cup ticket! DC’s preeminent women’s soccer team, the Washington Spirit, have already resumed play and are very good, but this newsletter covers the men’s side where the local MLS team, DC United, has long been hapless but is trying to build up into being…hapful? Hapmid, at least. That would be genuine progress.
MLS has been hoping to get a bump in viewership from fans who enjoyed the World Cup. I was a little skeptical about this, but APB has been seeing new subscribers coming in, so I thought I’d welcome them with a helpful article introducing DC United to new fans or reintroducing it those who have been tuned out.
I wrote a DC United 101 article back in March to help get people ready for the season and I think it’s still helpful, but of course a lot has happened since then. As with the previous installment, big DC fans aren’t going to learn much here, but there’ll be more content coming soon for you, and in the meantime this is an article you can send to friends who are getting interested.
So when does the season start?
Actually, it started back in February. Then stopped after 15 games in late May for a two month World Cup break. It’s about to resume and they’ll play 19 more regular season games between now and early November. The first of those games is Wednesday, July 22nd, in Houston, followed by the first home match Saturday, July 25th against Toronto FC.
How has DC’s season been going so far?
As I described in my article from the beginning of the season, DC United finished at the bottom last year and had a whole lot of work to do. The new coach and GM had a busy offseason, bringing in five new starters: a new goalkeeper, two new fullbacks, and two new high-priced forwards.
In the first eight games of the season, DC was much improved defensively but struggled to score, notching an abysmal four goals in those eight games but only giving up nine.
Then, with some small tactical adjustments and helped by Louis Munteanu’s return from injury, the floodgates opened up…on both sides of the ball. In the final seven games, DC scored seventeen goals. The tradeoff was that they also gave up sixteen. To underline that, they had two dreary 0-0 draws in the first part of the season. In the second part, they scored at least one goal in every game and had two 4-4 draws.
4-4 draws are a lot more fun than 0-0, but the results were also better. DC lost only one of those seven games. Admittedly they only won two. Still, they now sit in 9th place in the Eastern Conference. That may not sound great, but they finished 15th last year, and in MLS the top nine teams make the playoffs. DC has league’s longest playoff drought and hasn’t made it since 2019, so it would be a massive step forward if they can maintain or improve on their current position.
Perhaps the most encouraging thing about the season so far is that just about all the important new players from the past offseason have done well. There were big disappointments, but they were holdovers from the previous front office, most notably Gabriel Pirani and Aaron Herrera. Both of them were shipped out during the break.
The MLS summer transfer window is open until September 2nd, but the front office has already been busy, bringing in two new likely starters in Andre Dozzell and Nathan Ordaz who can hopefully improve the team’s attack and complement the forwards.
How does DC United play?
If you were mostly watching the US National Team, you were watching a team that was playing an aggressive, pressing style, especially early in games, and then attacking confidently with fluidity and dynamism. This worked really well against teams with less talent! Alas, it completely failed against Belgium, who were just as technical and athletic if not more so.
DC United is a team that doesn’t have any illusions about dominating opponents with superior technique. They press on occasion, but mostly focus on playing a compact defense and then hope to strike via set pieces and counterattacks. I’d say Australia is probably the best reference point from the World Cup, except that DC has, relative to its opposition, attackers who are more talented overall than Australia’s but who are a lot slower.
Does DC United have any World Cup stars on its roster?
No. DC United does have some players who play for national teams, but not for teams that qualified for the World Cup. The guy closest to going was centerback Kye Rowles. Rowles played in the 2022 World Cup for Australia and was also in consideration this time, but ultimately he wasn’t selected.
That doesn’t mean you won’t see World Cup players at DC United games. They’ll just be playing for the opposition. Later this year DC United will be taking on players like Lionel Messi (Argentina / Inter Miami), Son Heung-min (South Korea / LAFC), and Miguel Almirón (Paraguay / Atlanta United). And of course, from the US Men’s National Team, players like Tim Ream (Charlotte) and Matt Freese (NYCFC). MLS had 45 players on World Cup rosters, so there will be plenty more.
How do I follow the team?
This season you can see every DC United game broadcast via Apple.tv. There’s no additional fee on top of that, just the same monthly rate that gives you access to Ted Lasso and Severance. But if you’re in the area, definitely try to get to Audi Field and see a game in person. Most games don’t sell out, so last-minute tickets are often very affordable, and while the stadium is a bit spartan, there’s not a bad seat in the house.
Besides the games, there isn’t much coverage of DC United these days in national media or in the smoldering ruins of the Washington Post, but there’s still a lot of options. See my post from the beginning of the season for a thorough rundown.
Here at APB, I’m hoping to have a few more articles before the season resumes, most notably a scouting report on Andre Dozzell and some commentary on the many roster moves. Then it’ll be back to the in-season cadence with previews of each game and detailed game reviews when DC United wins or ties.
The vast majority of every post here is free for everyone to read. Subscribe for free to get those straight to your inbox. Paid subscribers get a little extra content in most posts (not this one, admittedly) and the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting the newsletter. Regardless, I hope you’ll join us as DC United resumes its quest for the playoffs.