In his season and a half in Major League Soccer, Luciano Emilio has built a reputation for lethal finishing ability but also reliance on service from teammates.
So it was a pleasant surprise when each of D.C. United’s two goals last weekend at Chicago came courtesy of Emilio’s individual effort with the ball at his feet, and the rising confidence of last year’s league MVP has helped United (4-7-1) go unbeaten in three straight games to climb out of the Eastern Conference cellar.
“Talking about holding the ball and creating chances, that’s the best I’ve seen him,” said D.C. forward Jaime Moreno, who knocked in the rebound following Emilio’s cutback and shot on the right side of the box in the 63rd minute against the Fire.
The Brazilian executed a similar cutback at the opposite end of the box and fired home a game-winner in stoppage time to give United its first road victory in nine months.
“My confidence is very high right now,” said Emilio via an interpreter. “It’s not that I had lost confidence in my abilities. It’s just that I didn’t think that I had many opportunities for me to be able to convert. I think now there are more opportunities, and you can see the result.”
He’s scored in three consecutive games following eight matches without a goal, but his poor form stretched back further to his arrival out of shape for preseason.
Emilio said his struggles were not a result of offseason contractual disputes, instead likening his dry spell to a similar six-game goalless streak last year. Next season he wants to report to camp two weeks earlier or begin preseason workouts before he leaves his offseason home in Brazil.
“He looks day and night from when he came in early,” said United head coach Tom Soehn. “When you come in, if you’re not in tip-top shape, it’s going to take you a while to get where you need to be. That was one of the cases this year that we had to deal with. Now he’s got himself fitter, he also gets sharper.”
