The quote was classic Ben Olsen:

"Don't worry guys. We're going to have a team, OK? I know you're all very concerned about this, but we will have a team."

Reporters and fans - especially us fans - had a right to be concerned, though. D.C. United had cut nine players loose at the end of the 2011 season, and only Robbie Russell, Maicon Santos, and 2012 1st round draft pick Nick DeLeon had been brought in. The early set of trialists consisted mostly of local college players, featured no big names, and appeared to be aimed at filling out the last couple spots on the roster. Factoring in the otherwise occupied Bill Hamid and a handful of injured players, and United probably couldn't have had an 11v11 intrasquad scrimmage even if they had wanted to.

Suffice it to say, things have changed. More well-known (and frankly more intriguing) names have started to pop up. Young Jamaican forward Alanzo Adlam was first, followed by Danish defensive midfielder Sebastian Svärd and former FC Dallas keeper Josh Lambo.

Next up, United revealed that promising 19 year old striker Stefan Jerome had arrived for a trial. Jerome, who has featured for the USA u-17s and u-20s, has been making sporadic appearances with Sigma Olomouc in the Czech 1st division (where they finished 4th overall last season) since arriving there on loan from the Fort Lauderdale Strikers a year ago. After spending last season in the reserves, Jerome has started to move up to the fringes of the Olomouc first team, scoring his first goal in a Czech Cup match in October.

This was followed by today's news that MLS journeyman Marcelo Saragosa had joined DC's camp. Saragosa was a regular on the 2005 LA Galaxy side that won both the MLS Cup and US Open Cup. He was later traded to FC Dallas, where he slowly faded from "regular starter" to "regular unused sub" before moving on to Chivas USA, where he was used only somewhat more often. Now 30, Saragosa has played in Azerbaijan for the past two years (with FC Absheron and Ravan Baku).

How should these new trialists fit in?

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After an almost silent offseason, D.C. United has been adding players at a fairly reliable rate since the various MLS drafts were completed. That trend continued today, as United officially announced the signing of Emiliano Dudar. Dudar, who had been rumored to be a DC target for weeks, is a 30 year old Argentine center back with experience at big clubs in Argentina, Brazil, and Switzerland, and comes to United from Swiss side Young Boys BSC.

What jumps out immediately about Dudar is his size: At 6'4" and 198 lbs, he is immediately among the biggest players in MLS. For a United side that has often been noted as a smaller team physically, a player like Dudar fits in with what appears to be an offseason strategy to become bigger and stronger. Dudar is the third player standing 6' tall or higher to join United since the 2011 season ended (along with Robbie Russell and Maicon Santos).

Dudar's time with Young Boys had some ups and downs. The ups include winning the 2009-2010 Swiss Defender of the Year award in his first season with the club, as well as extensive experience in the Europa League. On the down side, Dudar suffered a severe concussion that required being placed in a medically-induced coma for a short while.

According to Steve Goff, United put Dudar through a thorough series of tests before signing him. Given the club's history with concussed players, you'd have to imagine that they wouldn't have signed Dudar unless he got an all-clear on the medical side.

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If you followed my old site, you may have read my recent post about Honduras planning to call Andy Najar up to their U-23 team for Olympic qualifying, pending D.C. United's approval. This comes as a surprise to no one. However, Honduran national team coach Luis Fernando Suarez has announced more details about his plans for the run up to the qualification tournament, which begins Mar. 22. They include a friendly against Ecuador on Feb. 29 in Honduras, followed by the team traveling to the United States and training there until qualifying starts on Mar. 22. While in the United States, Suarez hopes to schedule friendlies against El Salvador, Canada, and possibly Cuba.

After the team arrives in the United States, Suarez wants to add three more players to his roster: Eddie Hernandez, on loan in Sweden; Anthony Lozano, who plays in the second division in Spain; and Andy Najar. His goal is to have these three players join his announced squad of 20 two weeks prior to the start of qualification. What does this mean for Ben Olsen and D.C. United? Follow me after the jump.

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Remember all that D.C. United news that you read here for the first time yesterday? Like how United will play preseason friendlies against Malmo FF and the Chicago Fire, and that Jamaican forward Alanzo Adlam would be joining the team on trial in Florida? That was all confirmed this morning via dcunited.com. I’m not usually one to brag, but just in case you were wondering why we asked Benuski to join the team, now you know.

United also announced several changes to the list of trialists in camp, as the team moves to a warmer location down in Sarasota, FL. Forwards Yoni Berhanu, Levi Houapeu, Matt Oduran, and Sainey Touray have been released, as well as midfielders Mike da Fonte and Matthew Kuhn (the team’s fourth round Supplemental pick), and goalkeepers Carl Goody and Will Swaim. Few of these come as a big surprise, although some of us had a slight hope that Houapeu or Touray could catch on as a fourth or fifth forward. There also appeared to be a chance that da Fonte could earn his way onto the team, but this was apparently destroyed by United’s acquisition of Danny Cruz.

Some trialists will be continuing on to the next round of training camp though. Goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra, defenders Jed Zayner and Charles Rodriguez, and midfielders Lance Rozeboom, Seth C’deBaca and Ryan Richter will keep fighting for spots on the roster.

They will be joined by some new faces and some increased competition down in Florida though. In addition to Adlam, the Jamaican forward we told you about yesterday, two more promising players will be on the field. The first is Josh Lambo, a 21-year old goalkeeper who was drafted by FC Dallas in the first round in 2008 but has yet to earn a single minute of game time in MLS. He managed to get a bit of playing time in 2010 when on loan to the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and has also appeared in some reserve matches for Dallas. Lambo has seen time with the U.S. National Team at the U-20 and U-17 levels, and will be in camp with United this week, presumably competing with Dykstra to land a job as the No. 3 goalkeeper behind Bill Hamid and Joe Willis.

The more intriguing name though is Sebastian Svard, a 29-year old Danish midfielder. Svard shined as a youth international for Denmark’s U-17 and U-19 teams, prompting him to join Arsenal’s youth system. From there, Svard became a bit of a journeyman, making appearances with both Copenhagen and Brondby in Denmark, with Stoke City in the English Championship, and with Vitoria of Portugal’s Premier League, before settling down with Borussia Monchengladback of the German Bundesliga. He played in 43 matches over four seasons with ‘Gladback before joining Roda JC of the Eredivisie in 2010. Svard is known mostly as a defensive midfielder, but has also apparently played as a right back. While all this would suggest that Svard could be a promising candidate for United’s already growing midfield, he already trialed with the San Jose Earthquakes and New England Revolution late last year but was not offered a contract. That’s a bad sign. At the least, Svard will provide additional competition for Rozeboom at the CDM spot behind Perry Kitchen for this next stage of training camp.

As D.C. United's preseason gets underway, we here at B&RU will look at a few of the team's pieces and how they can and should be used in 2012. Today, we kick the series off with fourth-year forward/midfielder Chris Pontius.

Let's rewind our mental DVRs to September 10 of last year. D.C. United spent fourteen imperious minutes to rush out to a two-goal lead at the Home Depot Center, both scored by Charlie Davies and created by Chris Pontius. Just past the hour mark, United struck on the counter, again through Davies by way of Pontius. On two of his three assists - and arguably on all three - Pontius gave up pretty solid shooting opportunities to the benefit of his (now former) teammate. Of course, just a minute after United's third goal, Pontius went into an awkward and ill-advised challenge that would break his leg and end his season.

Pontius is scheduled to resume full training March 1, just days before United's season opener March 10. While he is unlikely to feature in that first game against Sporting Kansas City, Pontius will inevitably return to D.C.'s first XI. In the meantime, United's newly acquired depth on the wings will have a chance to make its mark, and the team remains thin at forward (even with a new signing and incoming trialist). This has led some to call - including in the comments of several posts here at B&RU - for Pontius to move from midfield to forward. So let's look at the arguments and decide what we think: Should Pontius line up out left or up top once he sees the field in 2012?

We'll have it out after the jump.

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The new car smell has barely begun to fade on D.C. United's current trialists, and already those names have begun to shift. There is word out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, that goalkeeper Carl Goody has been released from United's camp and has returned home. Goody was always a longshot to make the team, having played his college soccer at William Carey University, a NAIA school. His task was made that much tougher when United announced that Andrew Dykstra, who has made 17 MLS appearances and currently plays for the Charleston Battery, was brought into camp as well.

In bigger news, D.C. United have brought an international forward into camp on trial. According to the Jamaica Observer, Portmore United forward Alanzo Adlam is set to fly to Washington tomorrow and join United for a two week trial. The 22-year old is currently tied for the lead in goals scored for the Red Stripe Premier League, having put in eight thus far this season. He has also appeared in matches for Jamaica's U-20 and U-23 national teams. (Also in the article is the news that Portmore United midfielder Andrew Vanzie will also be on trial in MLS, with the Seattle Sounders.)

Forward is obviously the position that United fans are anxious to see bolstered, and the current list of players on trial leaves much to be desired. Obviously, Adlam isn't the proven European striker that many would like to see. However, he is young, is currently hot for his club team, and there were posters on the Reggae Boyz forum calling for him to get a senior callup in 2009. From what I have been able to put together (I haven't been able to find any videos of him), he is a short and speedy player, but one who can make space to head some balls home. Maybe he can be our Joao Plata?

Hello, Black and Red United! My name is Ben, and you might know my from my former blog, Before Extra Time. I've now been brought to Black and Red United is the resident rumor-monger.

The most recent rumors I have been mongering have been rumors about friendlies that D.C. United will play during the preseason. The first story to come out has been about Malmo FF, one of the top teams in Sweden. This past summer, Malmo was knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round by Rangers, and are most likely one of the few Swedish teams of which anyone in the United States have heard. The game is currently listed on Malmo's official schedule, but I haven't heard anything yet from US-based sources.

Now, a local newspaper out of Florida is reporting that D.C. United has another preseason friendly lined up. The Ave Herald, out of Ave Maria, Florida, is reporting that United will play the Chicago Fire in a preseason match on January 29th, four days before they play Malmo FF. Why should we believe a paper out of a tiny Florida town? Well, they happen to be the town in which the Fire are holding their training camp, with quotes in the article from Franz Klopas. They are reporting that the game will be on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University, starting at 2pm.

The Fire will be a familiar foe for United this season, playing them twice during the regular season as well as during the Carolina Challenge Cup in late February and early March. What I will be looking for the most is not the results per se, but the progress United makes between the two matches. They are also a good measuring stick for United's progress throughout the course of the preseason. D.C. United finished 4 points behind the Fire last season, with both teams just barely missing the playoffs; to make the playoffs this upcoming season, the Fire are one of the teams that United will have to pass. Good showings in these matches won't guarantee anything, but will go miles towards calming fans' nerves about the upcoming season.

The D.C. United roster still lacks a few good forwards. It still lacks depth in defense. But midfield? Midfield we've got locked down. One of the best midfields in MLS just got better with the addition of Danny Cruz.

The 22-year old midfielder scored nine goals and seven assists in two seasons with the Houston Dynamo, playing in 31 total matches. In exchange for Cruz, United sent a partial allocation to Houston.

In the team press release announcing the move, United General Manager Dave Kasper referred to Cruz as "tenacious," but he's much more than that. His energy was very often the spark that made things happen for the Dynamo. He's a good ball winner, good at creating chances, and not a bad finisher. Not great either though. Cruz is MLS-starter quality at this point in his young career. He was good enough to start for a team that reached the MLS Cup Final in 2011. And yet he'll be second choice on the wings for a United team that already includes Andy Najar on one side and Chris Pontius on the other, and a bench that already includes top draft pick Nick DeLeon. Yeah, this midfield is stacked.

Cruz made $123,000 for the Dynamo in 2011, but failed to reach an agreement with the team this offseason after graduating from the Generation Adidas list. They retained his rights though, meaning that United had to give up something in return. Per MLS rules, the amount of money trading hands wasn't disclosed.

Perhaps the best thing we can take away from this deal is the reaction of the Houston fans over on Dynamo Theory. They're almost unanimously disappointed to see Cruz leaving, and worried sick that he'll someday reach the potential he showed on the youth national team level, and that the Dynamo will regret letting him leave. We can only hope.