Wake up, get out the door early, arrive at the D.C. United training ground, and what do we find? The player that has already been with D.C. United the last few weeks getting his official introduction to the media. Good times.
All ribbing aside, Pablo Hernandez, age 23, is a done deal. D.C. general manager Dave Kasper said he and head coach Curt Onalfo met with Hernandez in January, and that he was on the rise in Uruguay, and he’s actually coming off an injury (broken fifth metatarsal) that took him off the radar of many teams that had interest in him.
“There were a lot of teams in Mexico and Europe to make a bid to transfer for him,” said Kasper.
Hernandez said he is an out-and-out forward but also can come back and get the ball, too.
“A great left foot. He’s got the ability to score goals, he’s got the ability to set up plays, he’s got the ability to control the rhythm of the game,” said Onalfo. “He’s also good on set pieces, both from serving corners and free kicks wide but also scoring off free kicks, something that we haven’t been a threat all year. It’s just a matter of how quickly he can adapt… Our league is physical. It’s a hundred miles an hour and fight, and then once you’ve done that, you’ve earned the right to play. We’re working on him in the small-sided games, staying tuned in on both sides of the ball, and he’s done well.”
“I’m coming here and planning to work hard, give everything i have for the team and hopefully get myself into the team, just sacrifice for the club, and I’m thankful for the opportunity,” said Hernandez via an interpreter.
Meanwhile, the glaring absence from the training session was United defender Marc Burch, who’s had a setback in his return from foot surgery. Onalfo said Burch was seeing a specialist today. No. 3 goalkeeper Andrew Quinn also remains out – he’s still got a long way to go – and so Josh Wicks could be seeing more time in a D.C. practice jersey.
But both Kasper and Onalfo have said that’s about it for Wicks, that there are currently no further plans.”You don’t need to look too much into it. Josh is just training,” Onalfo said. Now, if Bill Hamid’s shoulder doesn’t get any better, that could create a situation, right? We’ll have to see.
One other player that joined the D.C. practice today was academy product Conor Shanosky, who just got back from his first stint with the U.S. under-20s last week in San Jose. Shanosky is a player who has been on the massive rise for D.C. since committing full time to academy soccer. He’s headed to George Mason this fall, but his future seems very, very bright. (Speaking of the U-20s, any talk about the future of U.S. absolutely needs to take this roster into consideration. Mexican teams are going nuts plucking players from Texas, Arizona and Southern California, and the U-20s reflect it…)
Branko Boskovic was getting his medical today and should be practicing tomorrow.
More on Andy Najar a bit later. Did you vote for him for the MLS All-Star Game?
