Moreno, Olsen want to return next season
D.C. United’s two most storied veterans, Jaime Moreno and Ben Olsen, both want to return to the team next year, but like the rest of the team and head coach Tom Soehn, they must wait to find out over the coming weeks if they are in the club’s plans after it missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
“I want to play,” said Moreno, who this year added nine goals to his MLS all-time leading total of 130. He will turn 36 in January. “I don’t know where, but I feel like I still have it. I’ve been pretty healthy this year. I’m actually feeling better than a lot of years. Definitely, I want to play. Definitely, I’m not retiring.”
“I’ve been here my whole career, and this is the place that I love and want to finish,” said Olsen, 32, who was drafted by United in 1998 and made 20 starts this season, fighting his way back after multiple ankle surgeries nearly forced him into retirement.
Forward Luciano Emilio, D.C.’s highest-paid player ($759,000 salary in 2009), said he had not spoken with management about whether they would exercise the team option on his contract. Christian Gomez, who earned $321,000 this season, declined an interview request.
United general manager Dave Kasper said Monday no decision has been made yet on the players or Soehn.
In the third and final season of his current contract, Soehn guided United to a 17-11-16 record in all competitions but missed the playoffs and failed to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals for the second straight year. D.C. also lost in the U.S. Open Cup final.
“It’s the nature of the business,” said Soehn, whose overall record is 54-48-32. “I think as a coach, you get graded on your results, and over the past three years, with all the competitions we had, the results are pretty good.”
If they are not in United’s plans, both Olsen and Moreno could turn to former United head coach Peter Nowak, who is in charge of Philadelphia Union, which will enter MLS as an expansion franchise next year.
Neither prefer to.
“I want to play next year,” said Olsen, who is a Pennsylvania native. “But I want to play here.”
