How was the most valuable player for D.C. United in the month of May? The B&RU writers give their opinions below. You can share yours in the poll and in the comments.
AMT: How could the player of the month for May be anybody other than Dwayne De Rosario ? The Canadian leads United in minutes, shots and assists and is second on the team in goals. Last month, he captained the Black-and-Red to 12 points in the league from a possible 18, five wins in all competitions and a spot at the top of the table. And, oh yeah, he was the MLS player of the month to boot. We spent the early part of the season wondering if we'd see "2011 DeRo" again, and in May, we did. There aren't many players in this league who can outclass the Canadian when he's at his best, and in May, he was.
Chest: There are plenty of worthy candidates, though it must be noted that they're almost exclusively attacking players. We've been talking a lot about Branko Boskovic , and Andy Najar seems to have responded to the challenge Danny Cruz has provided at right midfield, and Hamdi Salihi had the kind of month in front of goal that makes you understand why he's worth all that money.
However, this is one of those times I have to be unoriginal. Dwayne De Rosario was dominant this month, both playing as an attacking midfielder and playing the roaming forward role we all thought he'd have back in the late winter. 4 goals and 4 assists in 6 league matches is the kind of thing you just can't ignore, and that's not even bringing up what De Ro does for this team beyond the scoresheet. Remember that tackle he made on Julian De Guzman at RFK? I understand if you don't, because he scored 3 minutes later, but it was a crucial defensive play in a 1-0 game just before halftime. That's what winners do, that's what captains do, and he's both.
Benuski: My player for the month has to be Dwayne De Rosario. The captain and MVP has been unleashed in the month of May, and United's continued rise in the standings has risen with him. Goals, assists, distracting the opposition, playing tough defense: DeRo is involved in everything that United does on the field. His habits off the field, including eating right and keeping his body in tip top shape, are rubbing off on the team (and hopefully will continue to). De Rosario brings a killer instinct to this team that is infectious (and you saw how it was missed in the two Open Cup games). Without De Rosario, this team could still very well be a playoff team; with him, the sky is truly the limit.
Martin: As fun as it would be for this to be unanimous, it wouldn't be very fair to the rest of the team. Lots of United players did well in May. And while De Rosario had an epic month on the stat sheet while also serving as this team's clearly defined leader, he'd tell you himself that he didn't do it alone. So you'll also have the opportunity to vote for Bill Hamid (who gave up just four goals in five matches while winning back his job by posting a 4-1-0 record), Perry Kitchen (who showed us so obviously why he's such a vital piece of our central midfield just by moving to right back for one half of one game), or Hamdi Salihi (kick-starting his MLS campaign with four goals in the month of June).