Olsen not showing faith in either so far There were frequent reminders at the end of last season and throughout the preseason about what D.C. United had missed without Branko Boskovic, who was out with an injury nearly the entire year. The team’s acquisition of forward Hamdi Salihi in February was touted as the end of a long search for the answer to United’s goal-scoring woes.
Yet both offensive playmakers — each a designated player who earns a salary beyond the maximum charge to the team’s salary cap — started D.C. United’s second game of the season on the bench. Boskovic was used as a second-half substitute, and Salihi didn’t play at all in Sunday’s 3-1 loss at defending MLS Cup champion Los Angeles.
“I am disappointed in the group because they are a reflection of me and the organization. At the minimum the fight has to be there every game in this league,” coach Ben Olsen said after the Galaxy game, without addressing the reasons for leaving both players out of the starting lineup.
| Up next |
| D.C. United at Whitecaps |
| When » Saturday, 10 p.m. |
| Where » BC Place, |
| Vancouver, B.C. |
| TV » CSN |
Those absences might be explained somewhat by nagging injuries or tactical adjustments. But they also could reflect Olsen’s relative inexperience in his second full season and a club that is desperate to a fault to break free from four straight years without a postseason.
“You can’t be happy with either of the two games, but you still can’t worry so much about the results in those games,” former Georgetown coach and Fox Soccer broadcast analyst Keith Tabatznik said. “You have to keep looking at the process of what you want to do and what you have, and you do have a pretty decent side.”
Since assuming coaching duties after Curt Onalfo was fired in August 2010, Olsen has treated all of his players equally regardless of salary. But according to one former MLS coach, there is a level of trust behind closed doors that must also be cultivated, a flexibility that allows certain players to develop themselves and to be coached when necessary.
Salihi wasn’t at his best when he played 80 minutes in United’s season-opening 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City, a game that was surrendered in the 93rd minute, only seconds before the final whistle. The same can be said for Boskovic, who played 66 minutes in his first full competitive match since a season-ending knee injury suffered last April. Both performances weren’t unexpected.
“[Salihi] knows how to score goals, but we also have to provide him the opportunity to score goals,” Olsen said before the season. “We’ve got a new group, and there’s got to be a little bit of patience with some of our new guys and how we gel.”
Changing out both players suggests Olsen didn’t show much patience after all.
“It’s what he thinks is better for the team at the moment, and it’s his decision,” United defender Brandon McDonald said. “I think he’s handled it well. There’s no reason to panic. Our eyes are still on the prize of making the playoffs.”
