D.C. United Will Be Patient With Hamdi Salihi, And You Should Too

by Martin Shatzer on Feb 21, 2012 9:59 PM EST

Josh Wolff sees great potential in Hamdi Salihi. So do we.

Managing expectations will be hard this year for D.C. United fans. Harder than it's been the past several years. Our collective optimism has shot up through the roof in recent days, particularly with the minor progress on the stadium search and the elimination of our fear that Dwayne De Rosario's contract situation will somehow ruin the team's chances in 2012.

But our expectations must be managed none the less. This is D.C. after all. Experienced D.C. sports fans know that expectations only lead to sorrow.

We also have high expectations for our new striker Hamdi Salihi, who practiced with the team and was introduced to the media for the first time on Monday. He arrives in D.C. with an astounding strike rate on his resume, and with plenty of other talented attackers to feed him the ball in good spots, as noted by United General Manager Dave Kasper in this story by Thomas Floyd of the Washington Times.

"He thinks like a goal-scorer," general manager Dave Kasper said of Salihi. "We have a lot of attacking pieces who can provide service for him. De Ro, as we know, pulls off many different types of plays. We certainly expect Hamdi to be in spots and make connections with him."

But Salihi is no sure thing. There are no guarantees that he'll be more like 2007 Luciano Emilio than 2010 Luciano Emilio. Even Ben Olsen is warning us that Salihi is "not 90 minutes fit right now."

Two other players also spoke to Floyd about what Salihi can add to the picture, while also reminding us of the challenges that come with adjusting to a new league.

"You can see his movement and you can see he knows the game," De Rosario said. "It’s going to take time. It’s a different league, different mindset, different country, different language. … Our job is just to make him as comfortable as possible so he can play his game."

...

"Any time you’re a foreigner going to a new place, it takes a little bit to get your feet wet," said forward Josh Wolff, an American who spent two seasons in Germany. "Certainly he’s got to get acquainted with us and us with him. But you look at his goal-scoring record and see some of the highlights, and there certainly is some real quality in and around the box."

With United traveling down the coast this week in hopes of securing its third straight Carolina Challenge Cup, Salihi won't have to wait long for the opportunity to learn how to fit in with his teammates.

After all, Mar. 10 is just 17 days away. And whether you like it or not, we're expecting greatness.

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Salihi > 2007 Emilio?

I believe it was Luci’s first game at RFK (vs. Honduras?) that brought me into the DCU fold – thanks to Irrlicht and The Free Beer Movement. I certainly enjoyed Luci in his prime and often lost my voice shouting “Emilioooooooo” for 90 minutes.

However… Emilio was always a sneaky poacher. Admirable and fun to have aboard, but not too much in the way of variety. Eventually defenders figured him out and his production dropped off.

Salihi, on the other hand, seems to offer a very rich bag of tricks. Both feet, headers, long shots, overheads – and he cleans up the box. All this based on hearsay and highlight reels, of course, but still. Dare I say, a Swiss Army Knife of goals?

We may have in Salihi a considerable upgrade over Emilio, even In his prime.

I guess what I’m saying is, I see your ‘difficulty managing expectations’ and raise you ‘irrational optimism’. March 10th can’t come soon enough!

by rke on Feb 21, 2012 10:32 PM EST reply actions

grounding expectations

I expect it may take a while for Hamdi to find his form, and i’m keeping my expectations low. Wolf is the only returning striker we have, and wolf will be my benchmark for Hamdi. If Better than wolf this year, then success, otherwise failure. Nonetheless I wouldn’t be surprised to see dero and wolf up top in the starting lineup on march 10th with Hamdi off the bench for wolf.

by DMV IX on Feb 21, 2012 11:06 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions

But will he be able to sing like Emilio?

Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekly Columnist for SB Nation D.C..

by Martin Shatzer on Feb 22, 2012 8:13 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

I just shed a tear

by MrBaker on Feb 23, 2012 7:47 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions

Not sure I agree with your read on Emilio

Other than shots from long range, Emilio was also a guy that could score a wide variety of goals. For every tap-in he had, he also had a sharp finish or had to make a brilliant run to create the chance.

The flaw with Emilio was that he contributed very little other than goals. His touch wasn’t very good, so his back-to-goal play was lacking. He wasn’t fast enough to stretch teams, and he didn’t work hard on a consistent basis. His performance dropped off because he lost the hunger he had in 2007. When he first got here, Emilio was desperate to prove himself; once he had in fact proven himself, he lacked the drive to stay at the top, which meant lazier play and also lower standards of fitness, attitude problems, etc.

I do, however, agree that Salihi’s potential allows for the possibility of him being better than Emilio was when he arrived. He’s played in a tougher league – with Olimpia, Emilio was getting a maximum of 6-10 truly tough games per season in the Honduran league – and his scoring record is actually better.

Writer on SBN's DC United blog Black and Red United | @ChestRockwell14 | KEEP UNITED IN DC

by ChestRockwell on Feb 23, 2012 5:51 PM EST up reply actions

Absolutely.

In some ways, I’m very optimistic. I’m greatly relieved that De Ro is happy, his displeasure could have sunk the club before the first kick. DC seems to have made a lot of exciting moves, and our depth is substantially improved.

I think we can make the playoffs with a game or two to spare.

Having said that, I fully expect a slow start. Beating SKC would be fantastic, but the more important thing is for the squad to gel in the first month or so. If Hamdi can get acclimated in that time, we should be fine. Again, a strong start is not necessary to make a strong playoff run, a lesson Kansas taught us with a vengeance.

by UnitedDemon on Feb 21, 2012 11:48 PM EST reply actions

The schedule doesn't get any easier after SKC either...

Three of our next four games after the opener are against Western Conference playoff teams – LA, Dallas, and Seattle. We could find ourselves falling behind in the standings very quickly. I guess that will help manage expectations if nothing else…

Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekly Columnist for SB Nation D.C..

by Martin Shatzer on Feb 22, 2012 8:16 AM EST up reply actions

Controversial statement:

The opener will be the toughest game out of those four.

Here’s why: The Sporks play a style that punishes unfamiliarity. Their high-pressure, super-athletic, direct approach to the game can be stifled fairly easily by teams that have developed the sort of ESP-like connection that teams gain over time. KC is predictable, but you need to be collectively a step ahead of them at all times. We will be fielding a fairly unfamiliar group, and as such, it’s going to be a very problematic game for us defensively and in possession.

Writer on SBN's DC United blog Black and Red United | @ChestRockwell14 | KEEP UNITED IN DC

by ChestRockwell on Feb 23, 2012 5:58 PM EST up reply actions

One plus

At least he’s already quite comfortable with English, based on a video interview I saw somewhere. That’s a lot more than many of our recent int’l acquisitions could say (or couldn’t, as the case may be). It might seem minor but I’m sure that’s a huge help as far as adjusting both on and off the job

by carmines757 on Feb 22, 2012 9:46 AM EST reply actions

Ya know... patience really isn't my thing

but I’m not expecting Salihi to come out of the gate scoring goals. Even Henry couldn’t do that. What I would like from Salihi is at least 10 goals by seasons end, with an understandable low number of goals in the first half of the year. If he can replace Davies’ goal scoring production and take some pressure off of DeRo thinking he has to do it all, I’ll be happy. As has been said before on this site, goal scoring wasn’t necessarily our problem last year. It was really our defense, which I expect to be improved this year.

On the other hand, if Salihi just doesn’t pan out and can’t get the hang of MLS, then we’re screwed… We’d need Pontius and Najar to have better than normal goal scoring seasons to make up the lack of non-DeRo forwards.

by madavis on Feb 22, 2012 12:53 PM EST reply actions

Not counting on much from Santos, eh?

by dccal on Feb 22, 2012 5:41 PM EST up reply actions

Oh yeah....

I really need to look over our roster again. I already forgot about Santos. Actually, I expect he will do decently well. Ok, I feel a little better now, but Salihi making an impact would still be really, really nice, to put it mildly.

Speaking of not keeping up with our roster changes, I was watching the stream of the NE-LA match last night and was surprised to see Blake Brettschneider wearing a Revs jersey. I had no idea he wasn’t on our team anymore. I guess that’s what happens when you keep up with MLS/DCU news only once or twice a week. The off-season moves fast once the draft is complete.

by madavis on Feb 23, 2012 12:35 PM EST up reply actions

Don't forget Branko

Boskovic could be the one that steps up and impresses the most. He’s a double-digit assist kind of guy when in top form.

Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekly Columnist for SB Nation D.C..

by Martin Shatzer on Feb 22, 2012 8:43 PM EST up reply actions

WV Hooligan just wrote a Darkhorse MVP Candidates post

And I’m doing everything I can not to say he should have included Boskovic. We’ve seen what he’s capable of when he’s fit, and this looks like the first time he’ll actually be fit for his first game. I’m all tingly with excitement.

Vamos United | Boiler Up | Support your local club | Keep United in DC
Contributing author for Black & Red United | Ally.

by The AMT on Feb 23, 2012 7:49 AM EST up reply actions

This is what I hope for most of all

by madavis on Feb 23, 2012 12:35 PM EST up reply actions

Screwed?

That seems a bit harsh. I don’t think our season hinges on Salihi scoring 10+ goals (though I do certainly expect him to top that total, even if it’s only because of the quality of the rest of our attack). If Salihi can’t score regularly, we still have the defending Golden Boot winner, 2 high-scoring wingers, and Boskovic should be able to add at least 5 goals with his long-range shooting ability and skill from free kicks.

If there’s one thing that could derail our season, it would be an injury crisis in the back.

Writer on SBN's DC United blog Black and Red United | @ChestRockwell14 | KEEP UNITED IN DC

by ChestRockwell on Feb 23, 2012 6:02 PM EST up reply actions

Knock on wood

I’m tempted to delete your comment out of hope that doing so will prevent it from coming true

Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekly Columnist for SB Nation D.C..

by Martin Shatzer on Feb 23, 2012 8:26 PM EST up reply actions

Reports have Guillherme scoring a couple nice goals

HOORAY! We have found our left back and he is awesome and we will win all our games and yet another MLS Cup (two star buffer at all times) WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Jesus Christ, I’m excited for this season. Is it March 10 yet?

by Brendanukkah on Feb 22, 2012 6:43 PM EST reply actions