An interesting convergence of objectives could be on hand at RFK Stadium on Saturday when D.C. United hosts defending MLS Cup champion Colorado.
One on hand, United (3-4-2) is undefeated in its last two matches and is poised for a two-week break from league play, with its next match at Portland on May 29 and a friendly Ajax in between next Sunday.
But the shadow of the Gold Cup continues to grow larger over the club, which has expected for a while that it will lose midfielder Andy Najar (Honduras) and defender Dejan Jakovic (Canada). But now D.C. is also facing the possibility that forward Charlie Davies could sneak his way back onto the U.S. roster for the first time since before his accident, especially with a report that U.S. head coach Bob Bradley is expected to attend Saturday’s match against the Rapids (4-3-2). His presence will certainly also be on the minds of midfielders Dax McCarty and Chris Pontius, too.
Asked about the potential that his players could be inspired, United head coach Ben Olsen said, “Hopefully, the motivation is three points, finishing out what would be, if we get a good result, a good home stretch.”
Bradley hasn’t spoken to Davies or Olsen, but he doesn’t have to.
“I just know that before the season started, he told me that he’d be watching closely,” Davies said. “I know he’s done his homework on every single game I’ve been a part of so far.”
We explored Davies’s faster than expected resurgence in Monday’s paper, and Davies confirmed today that things have happened faster than he would’ve expected.
“My main focus was just to play, get minutes and get better,” he said. “As far as leading the league in goals and playing three 90-minute games in nine days, that was not even anywhere near my thought process. I’m extremely happy where I am right now, but I still need to improve. I feel I’ve taken all the necessary steps I need to get to where I want to be. I’m definitely still on the right path, and I feel good.”
But Davies hasn’t let his expectations temper his ambitions.
“That was my whole goal coming here, to make the Gold Cup roster after the letdown for the World Cup,” he said. “This has been my goal all along. I’ve worked extremely hard to get to where I am now. I feel ready, confident and I’m going to go into tomorrow the way I always have, the same way, and do what I’ve done pretty well and try to be consistent. Hopefully, that’s good enough.”
Olsen hopes Davies has his priorties in order.
“Charlie’s focus right now should be solely here, and if he continues to do what he’s doing here, his shot with that will take care of itself,” he said. “But you don’t get there by focusing on those long-term goals. It’s here and now for him and continually getting better. I think he’s made good strides, and the goal with Charlie is to make him a better player than he was before because he’s going to be more well-rounded. I think you see a little bit of that. He is going to challenge himself, and he knows we, as a coaching staff, are not going to stop until he gets to where he wants to be.”
Meanwhile, the chance to impress on Saturday also isn’t lost on Pontius, who himself went from being in U.S. camp less than 18 months ago to effectively off the radar last season.
“I think it’s always a good chance to show well in front of him,” Pontius said. “I try not to think about the national team stuff, and last year, I couldn’t even think about it because of how the year was going for me and for our team. I’ve always said I’d like to play for our national team, and it’ll be a good opportunity to show Bob.”
Meanwhile, D.C. is comfortably mid-table in the Eastern Conference, a place it really hasn’t been for two years. United can help solidify that spot with a solid performance, but Olsen wants even more.
“It’s an important game for us,” Olsen said. “You look at the standings, you can jump up a spot or two, or you could go down a spot or two. We’ve realized that. It’s important to be consistent; that’s what I am preaching. Can we put on good to very good performances week in and week out? That’s the challenge we have.
“You’re on the outside looking in right now if you lose a game or two. We need to have that mentality that it’s not good enough to be mid-table. We need to expect more out of each other and out of this organization. That winning culture has to get back, and for us to do that, we have to keep the concentration high week in and week out and get better because we’re not good enough yet. But we certainly have the capabilities of getting better and becoming a playoff team.”
