Olsen leads charge of change with United

From the outside looking in, it seems almost unimaginable that D.C. United coach Ben Olsen could decide to part ways in the offseason with long-time former teammates such as Santino Quaranta and Clyde Simms, as well as a prodigious and familiar striker like Charlie Davies.

1 New additions » D.C. United made critical improvements via offseason signings, adding to its starting lineup, with forward Hamdi Salihi and defender Robbie Russell, and within its reserves with additions like Danny Cruz and Maicon Santos. Top draft pick Nick DeLeon isn’t expected to play major minutes right away and that’s a luxury.

2 Depth » United will be tested by international call-ups right away. Starters Perry Kitchen, Bill Hamid and Andy Najar are expected to participate in Olympic qualifying for the U.S. and Honduras, respectively, at the end of the month. De Rosario (Canada), Salihi (Albania) and Branko Boskovic (Montenegro) will be called upon for World Cup qualifying later in the summer.

3 Health » Boskovic, Dejan Jakovic and Chris Pontius were sorely missed last year due to significant injuries. D.C. United will welcome as much luck as possible to keep its roster intact throughout the season.

But once Olsen traded in his jersey for a suit in the summer of 2010, his objectives merged with that of the team that became his own. That motivation has shaped his approach in getting United back to the playoffs and reshaping the team that will take the field for the first time on Saturday against Sporting Kansas City.

“In my four years here, I think we have the most complete team I’ve seen,” said midfielder Chris Pontius, who is now United’s longest-tenured player. “I think there’s buzz about the team, excitement, and the players that we brought in, you see [Hamdi] Salihi, he’s got two goals in less than 90 minutes of work.”

Salihi, an Albanian striker who signed with D.C. as a salary cap exempt designated player, is the center piece of D.C.’s upgraded offense. Alongside up front, reigning MLS MVP Dwayne De Rosario (16 goals, 12 assists) said he’s as settled as he’s been in recent years, as comfortable being the face of the franchise as the franchise is excited about having an heir apparent to the legacy of past stars like Jaime Moreno, Christian Gomez and Marco Etcheverry.

But the additions of Emiliano Dudar and Robbie Russell in defense, both of whom have championship experience, are critical to improving United’s ability to grind out results.

“We gained a lot experience-wise from last year, giving up points at crucial stages of the game,” De Rosario said. “Hopefully we use that to improve this year. The back line has done good so far in the preseason. We’ve been solid, limiting a lot of chances.”

Olsen said his biggest lesson is that he needs to embrace the actual coaching of players, most of whom are still his peers.

“Sometimes as a young coach, you just assume guys know what I know or what my staff knows,” Olsen said.

Pontius said, “It’s part of the business, you’ve got to understand it. These are my friends that are leaving, and it’s not easy as player to say goodbye to them, but you’ve got to accept it for what it is. There’s perks to every business, and there’s pros and cons, and it’s one of the negative sides to it. But it is what it is, especially when you’re not winning and in the playoffs every year, there’s going to be changes.”

The change Olsen expects this season is an end to D.C. United’s four-year playoff drought.

“Expectations are always high here,” he said. “Even when we had a bad season the year before, the good part about D.C. United, in particular our fans, is they want to see success. The expectations in my mind are always high, and we want to make playoff and make a run at this thing. Do we have the team to do it? On paper, yes, but we gotta see how this all unfolds.”

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