It took Luciano Emilio just seven matches in a span from late May to early August last year to score ten of his 11 league goals.
The problem was, by then it was already too late. He began the season behind with his fitness and scored just once in the first nine matches. Emilio also dried up by the end of the summer, failing to find the net in the final 13 league games as D.C. United buckled under the weight of too many games and injuries.
But the Brazilian’s early form in 2009 looks much like his 20-goal, MLS MVP season in 2007, as he’s scored in each of United’s last three matches.
“He came in the start of this year to prove he’s one of the better forwards in the league and also win a championship,” said United head coach Tom Soehn. “He told me winning a championship was first on his list of what he wanted to achieve, so he came in with the right mentality right from the get-go.”
Soehn said Emilio’s starting points at the beginning of preseason have translated immediately into production on the field. In his offseason home of Osasco, Brazil, Emilio said three weeks before training camp, he began a regimen of running and lifting weights in the morning and soccer in the afternoon with fellow Brazilian players also in the midst of the offseason.
“I feel a lot stronger physically,” said Emilio. “Last season whenever someone would pressure me or tackle me, I would either fall down or just be out of the play. This season I can feel it, whenever someone comes to tackle me, I can still maintain possession and keep in the play.”
Note » Prior to the United/Revolution match, defending national champion Maryland will face Wake Forest in an exhibition at 4 p.m., part of a fundraiser for Kicks for Breast Cancer. A ticket to the MLS game is valid for entry.
