D.C. United Approval Ratings: Dwayne De Rosario

We're spending the first month or so of the D.C. United offseason grading each player on the roster with an approval rating. A vote for APPROVE means you were satisfied with the player's performance and want to see him back in D.C. next season. A vote for DISAPPROVE means you want United to move on without him. There is no middle ground, so please leave salary and contract implications out of your decision.

Since joining D.C. United at the end of June, Dwayne De Rosario was a part of 70% of the team's goals. He changed the dynamic of D.C.'s attack immediately since arriving from the New York Red Bulls in a trade for Dax McCarty. He guides the team's offense and is the proven leader that the team had been previously lacking. Whenever United needs a goal, you can bet the ball will be fed to De Rosario as often as possible. In New York, he was just another chef in a kitchen short of waiters. In D.C. though, this star has been allowed to shine.

For a team so full of history, memories, and a tradition of winning, even in the twilight of his career, De Rosario is a natural heir to the throne of Jaime Moreno, Christian Gomez, and Marco Etcheverry. His 16 goals this season were good for a share of the league lead, but his 11 assists are perhaps an even more telling statistic. No other player in MLS has double digit tallies in both categories. De Rosario had two hat tricks for United this season, one of them coming in a masterful performance against Real Salt Lake that his fans have called perhaps the greatest single-player single-game performance in D.C. United history. And that's saying a lot.

It may be hard to argue for De Rosario to win the MVP award with United coming up just short of the playoffs. But if he never made his way to D.C., would we have even been in playoff contention at all?