… or wishes it were, in my case, there still is some D.C. United stuff going on.
First, I had chats with both D.C. United general manager Dave Kasper and newly signed midfielder Andrew Jacobson this afternoon. I have a little piece on Jacobson in tomorrow’s print edition.
The former Cal-Berkeley standout seemed genuinely excited to have a deal done, and even more excited to be in the U.S. He said he has no regrets about his experiences over the last year in Europe, but being home in the U.S. suits him much more. What did he learn in France?: “Tactically, it’s about as high a level as you get in the world. It was just a real crash course in learning the tactical part of the game. I think I really learned what it is to be a professional, and I learned everything that I didn’t in college. It was a really good experience, but I think I would’ve learned the same thing in D.C. as well.”
But wait, isn’t Jacobson a defensive midfielder? That’s the one spot where United doesn’t need help — Clyde Simms, Joe Vide, Ben Olsen, Devon McTavish — but Jacobson’s actually more of a two-way player. Versatility has been somewhat of a rare thing around D.C., the argument could be made. Kasper had some high praise for Jacobson, noting a couple one-two combinations that he had with Luciano Emilio during the games in Bradenton.
Kasper also said that he continues to pursue central defenders — there’s one guy he’s been tracking for three months that D.C. should be able to find out whether they can land or not next week.
On the subject of goalkeepers, things are a bit more muddled. Louis Crayton is still in Liberia, but we know he’s behind fitness-wise. Milos Kocic made some mistakes in his play in Bradenton, but that’s to be expected, although it also might have been expected that he would separate himself a little bit from James Thorpe, who is still holding up his end of the deal, and Mike Graczyk will join the team this week back in D.C. (The players were headed home today and have the day off tomorrow, I believe.)
Kasper said he does like French forward Mawale Ange N’Silu, who’ll stay with the team through next week’s trip to Puerto Rico.
Enjoy the game tonight — don’t contact me during, I have to DVR it while I cover a college hoops game…
