D.C. United Approval Ratings: Josh Wolff

But it was De Ro who did the the celebratory dance, and Wolff was relegated to camera man. But he did it cheerfully and welcomed his new teammate. Captain material!

Wolf’s goal in the first game lifted the foul mood of 2010 and gave us all hope for the new season. Agree that he’s not an every game striker but he definitely has the moxie to contribute this year. Approve.

Add me to the list of those surprised by Wolff’s contribution to the team. I think he was crucial to keeping us alive prior to DeRo’s arrival. He was also a big contributor to Davies’ success. Great point about his work off the ball – that kind of selfless effort creates space for others and often leads to unrecognized, “indirect” assists.

At the beginning of the season, I saw him as an odd acquisition, but many said that his arrival was very much Olsen’s doing, so I was curious to see what he brought. Now I see Wolff as actual evidence (as opposed to just wishful thinking) that Benny will bring some savvy to future acquisitions.

Still waiting for this year’s news, of course. but I trust that Olsen will bring more Wolff-like surprises to the roster.

I was on board for Wolff from the start, mostly because a) Moreno was gone and we had no option at withdrawn forward and b) my favorite quote about soccer is “Football is a game you play with your brain.” Wolff has always been a smart player, and his skills were a good match to what we had at the beginning of the season. It’s no surprise to me that he managed to get so many assists, and those don’t often reflect the number of times his movement opened things up for other players.

In 2012, Wolff’s role will be reduced, but will still be vital. There are a lot of things that tell me we’ll still see plenty of El Lobo:

1. De Ro will be called up for Canada for World Cup qualifying starting in June and happening sporadically throughout the season.
2. Bringing Wolff into a game gives us some different looks. Let’s say we need a goal; you bring Wolff in for Boskovic, move De Ro back, and things change quite a bit for the opponent. We could also use Wolff in place of whoever our new striker will be to play with him and De Ro both underneath, which can confuse defenses (particularly in MLS, where there’s pretty much no such thing as a false 9).
3. There’s also the possibility that Boskovic never quite delivers and is not on the team from July onward. At that point, it would be preferable to use a fresh Wolff over the 2nd half of the season as a starter with De Ro moving to the attacking midfield role. Going out and finding a new playmaker in mid-season runs a lot of risks (how long will he take to fit in? Will he be arriving in offseason shape?), and barring a Gomez-esque miracle, I’d rather not have to go that route.