Well, this hasn’t exactly unfolded the way everybody had hoped. Jaime Moreno talked after practice this morning about his decision to walk away from D.C. United at the end of the 2010 season. Not surprisingly, he didn’t sound like he wanted to.
When asked about who made the decision, Moreno responded: “You should ask them. I don’t want to get into a controversy. Basically, it was their decision. They knew I wanted to play another year, but this is a business. Unfortunately, the team, we didn’t do good this year so I guess they are looking at better options than me. I just feel I didn’t have the chance this year, for equis [X] reasons. I am definitely disappointed. It’s definitely a sad moment to leave D.C. United. Like I’ve said before, It’s not the way I pictured it. But it is what it is.”
We’ll get to D.C. United president Kevin Payne‘s response, but first, something that also is what it is: Moreno’s declining numbers. 2008: 21 starts, 10 goals, 10 assists; 2009: 11 starts, 9 goals, 3 assists; 2010: 5 starts, 1 goal, 0 assists.
Undeterred, Moreno is weighing his options.
“First I have to talk to Kevin, because they offered me a job, so I have to sit down with them and see the whole deal and see if that’s what I want,” said Moreno. “In my head, I still want to play in another year so that what keeps me going. On top of that, we still have games left and a chance to win the U.S. Open Cup. Definitely, I am going to keep working hard, the same way I have the last 20 years of my career. I got to wait. I have to start making plans because I don’t want to wait until the end but hopefully I will know sooner than later.”
I asked him what changed from the preseason, in which Moreno had played so well.
“The team changed,” he said. “There were a few players who didn’t play anymore because of injuries, others because it was the coach’s decision, and you have to respect that. We weren’t getting results in the beginning. Nobody thought it was going to get this bad.”
On options besides Blooming in Bolivia: “To be honest, I don’t want to say no. In my mind, I still want to play. If I say no, it might hit me in the mouth later on. I just want to keep the doors open, but definitely, my priority is Bolivia, even though it’s a very hard decision for me to go back. I talked to my wife about just six months and then do what I have to do here. I want to take a coaching class in December, if I’m not mistaken, and I want to prepare myself the right way. I don’t know if that is what I want to do yet, coaching, too. Who knows?”
Could he consider another MLS team? “It would be very tough. Who is going to take a guy who hasn’t played many games? I wouldn’t say no, but I just belong to D.C., and to go somewhere else wouldn’t be an easy decision. But if it is what I want to play another year, I might consider it.”
