Ngwenya finding a home in D.C.

But I’ve been intrigued with Joseph Ngwenya’s story since he arrived in Washington this winter and have wanted to write about him for a while. Sure, he’s been snake-bitten in front of goal this year and fallen out of the rotation a bit for D.C. with Charlie Davies and Josh Wolff both hitting their stride and rookie Blake Brettschneider’s emergence. But Ngwenya is the consummate good guy to have in the locker room and a competitive, streaky goal-scorer on the field, and it’s easy to forget how good of a season he had in 2007 before taking off around the globe over the last few years, scoring amazing goals and important ones, too. When he landed a long-term deal in Turkey, the future seemed promising for the Bulawayo, Zimbabwe native, but not getting paid is never a good thing, and logistical challenge that he faced with coming back to the U.S. this winter but having first to way for his shipment of belongings that he’d sent home first shows just what kind of random issues can come into play when moving back and forth from abroad.

With that said, my story about Ngwenya in today’s print edition is here, and here’s what United head coach Ben Olsen had to say when asked about him:

“I told Joe when he came back here that I thought it was important for him to not bounce around as much as he was doing, and get a real preseason and get a stable situation,” Olsen said. “Joe’s been fantastic. His work ethic and attitude is contagious around here. He’s one of the guys that the guys gravitate toward and love his demeanor and I think love having him as part of this team. I know he hasn’t gotten as much time as he would like, but we all know that can change in one practice, in one game. He continues to do very well in the reserve games. He’s consistently, one of the better players, if not the best player, on the reserve team week in, week out, and that’s an important example for the young guys as well.”