If there was any question about just what Dax McCarty brought to the D.C. United locker room, both as a friend and as a player, just look at his Twitter account this morning, where the now-New York Red Bulls midfielder posed a question for a few of his old teammates:
“@CharlieDavies9 @EthanWhite15 @ChrisPontius13 Hey guys, whats up?….Soooo….any big plans this weekend?? If not, we should hang out….” McCarty tweeted, showing no signs of any bitterness at the abrupt move he made last week when D.C. United traded him in exchange for Dwayne De Rosario.
“I think Dax is a good soccer player, and if they’re going to have the ball that much, he’s going to be a good fit for them,” United head coach Ben Olsen said on Thursday
I explored in this piece how obvious it was that McCarty didn’t fit in Washington tactically earlier this week, and I wrote about his demotion from captain last week before the trade, too. But here are a few more quotes from a conversation McCarty and I had on Wednesday, prior to the Red Bulls thrashing Toronto, 5-0, a foreboding result for D.C. United ahead of their visit tomorrow to Red Bull Arena:
On the trade itself: “When I was brought in [to D.C.], there was a lot of talk from the coaches and the owners about keeping a core of young players and guys that they really wanted to build the team around. Obviously, from that standpoint, it was a little bit of a shock. But for me, after the initial shock, and a little bit of surprise, I was extremely excited to go to New York. I know New York’s had some interest in me for a while. I know they wanted me when I was in Dallas and even as far back as two years ago. To find out that you’re coming to one of the best teams in the league, obviously a team that is going to challenge for MLS Cup this year, a team that’s got tremendous support behind them, that plays in a fantastic stadium, all a win-win situation for me.”
On what the trade told him about what wasn’t working for him with D.C. United: “I think the initial thing, just looking at the team and how young we are, the first thing that jumps to mind is I was looked at to be more of a veteran player, more of a leader, and that was the first time in my career that I was asked to take on such a role. I had been captain of U.S. youth national teams before, and it was very flattering to be captain for the full men’s national team. But all those things don’t really hit you as much as being captain of your club team because that’s something that you go through day in and day out. For me, when I was in Dallas, I was just taking a secondary role in terms of leadership, and I could really focus on myself and what I had to do to help the team win. That was a little bit of a change and adjustment that was going to take a little time.”
On the tactics: “For me, it was just a little bit of where I was being asked to play and just the role I was asked to play was something that I could’ve adjusted to eventually if I was given more time. It was just something that was taking me a little bit longer than I would’ve liked and the coaches would’ve liked. For the formation they’re trying to play, a diamond 4-4-2, I told Benny, I was being honest with him, I told him that I was more comfortable at the bottom of the diamond, being more of a holding player. But obviously, they have Clyde Simms in there, who is a great player and has been in D.C. for a long time. With such a young defense, Clyde is a very good guy to have in there, a very experienced, solid guy, and you know what you’re going to get from him.”
