To continue with a recent trend, D.C. United is getting some great matches even if it isn’t getting any results out of them.
The latest is a May 26 friendly at RFK Stadium against AC Milan. Last season, United played an admirable first half before getting smoked by Real Madrid, 3-0, in front of 72,000 at FedEx Field. This year’s visitors will be missing all of their World Cup stars – including Italians Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, Dutchman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu, not to mention David Beckham (who is injured) – who will have departed for their respective national teams by then. But out of favor Ronaldinho is expected to be in the group, and United’s press release also listed Clarence Seedorf, Massimo Ambrosini, Filippo Inzaghi and Alexandre Pato.
“AC Milan is committed to fielding all of its star players at RFK Stadium not obligated to World Cup duties,” the release says.
Tickets range from $30 to $75.
Interestingly, the match also comes one day after the U.S. plays the Czech Republic in Hartford. D.C. also has a prime World Cup Eve match on June 10 at Seattle and the home leg of that series on July 15, four days after the World Cup ends. Add in the Philadelphia inaugural home opener last weekend, and D.C. stakes a claim to some prime soccer viewing. Victories in front of zero spectators still might be worth more.
And so the question may be, can D.C. even afford to field a full side against the Italians?
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