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Hall of Tradition, Part 2: Almost Legends

INTRODUCTION

After writing the last edition of this series, I fell into a nostalgic rabbit hole and started seeking out whatever archive DC United media I could find. Youtube highlight reels, match replays and reports... Anything to give me a better understanding and remembrance of the way the teams of yore operated. I was a child when I started going to DC United games in the 1996, and even though my understanding of the game was, well, child-like, I feel I have retained much of what was meaningful having grown up with those teams and having gone to most of the home games from that era. I did the best I could with what information I could find to put my memories of those great teams into context.

Before looking into the players of the 2000s and beyond, I want to first focus on impactful players who played for United from 1996-1999 that could make an argument for belonging in the 'Hall of Tradition'. It's worth mentioning that all of the players that I think have the best cases have been nominated previously. Let's look at the perceived qualifications, in order of most important to least important.


1. WINNING

This one is easy. The 'Tradition' part of 'Hall of Tradition' is the tradition of winning. It would be really tough for any individual accolades to make up for a lack of team success (foreshadowing for parts 3 and 4, anyone?).


2. IMPACT/IMPORTANCE

Each player currently in the 'HoT' has had a lasting impact on DC United. Harkes being the original captain, El Diablo being the most dynamic ever player, Jaime being Jaime, Pope and Agoos being the stalwart defenders, etc... There's just magic in these players and their legacies.


3a. LONGEVITY

Save for John Harkes and Raul Diaz Arce, every current member of the 'HoT' has 140+ appearances for the black and red. While that sets a pretty clear precedent, it shows that in special cases there can be exceptions if a player has a winning and/or prolific legacy.


3b. STATISTICS/ACCOLADES

By inducting Richie Williams into the hall of tradition the club has stated that there is a place for long-serving role-players in the hall of tradition, in spite of a lack of individual/statistical prowess. That said, appearances in football are often considered a telling statistic.


4. LOYALTY/LEGACY

I believe that having a greater legacy with another club can hurt a players eligibility for the 'HoT' (hmm more foreshadowing?). If a player is going to be immortalized with United, shouldn't they be remembered primarily for their time in DC?


BEST CASES


Tony Sanneh (88 apps, 21 goals) 1996-1998


Sanneh wasn't just a complementary piece for the original MLS dynasty but a key player for it. The pacey, dynamic, versatile midfielder was prolific for United, scoring 21 goals and logging 29 assists in 88 appearances for the club. Sanneh was frequently seen streaking down the flank latching onto passes from Etcheverry, before serving up tasty crosses for Moreno, Diaz Arce, and later Lassiter.

He also came up huge in the clutch and has been a part of many of United's all-time biggest and most important moments. He scored United's first goal in MLS Cup 1996, and in MLS Cup 1997 he assisted Jaime Moreno's opener before eventually scoring the game-winner himself. He also scored the crucial first goal in the second leg of the 1998 Copa Interamericana after United had lost the first leg 1-0, setting the stage for Eddie Pope's eventual cup-winner.

Sanneh had a few short stints with other MLS clubs later in his career, but those pale in comparison to his time with United. After the 1998 season he went abroad to play out his prime in the Germany, only returning to MLS in 2004 at age 33 to finish out his career.


VERDICT: Tony checks a lot of the boxes. Maybe DCU doesn't win all those titles without 'Big Cat' being such a big game player. Despite only three seasons at the club, 88 appearances isn't anything to sniff at, and for being primarily a midfielder he could be considered prolific enough and certainly winning enough to justify induction. There could be an argument that his overall contribution and legacy doesn't reach the levels of some of his teammates, and that's not wrong. Ultimately his importance, versatility, point production, and consistency combined with some huge moments put him over the top for me. I honestly didn't think I'd feel this way before going back to review tape/statistics. Put him in!


Roy Lassiter (81 apps, 49 goals) 1998-1999


Lassiter picked up where Diaz Arce left off after taking over striker duties in '98. In his first season Lassiter led the line for the best ever team to not win an MLS cup, scoring 18 league goals. He was also named MVP of the '98 CONCACAF Champions cup (6 goals in 3 matches)and made appearances in both legs of the Copa Interamericana. The following season in '99 he spearheaded an unstoppable United attack. Another 18 goal season was good enough for the best goal-scoring record in the league, and United went on to win the Supporter's Shield and their third MLS Cup.

Before joining United, Lassiter had already made a name for himself in MLS with the Tampa Bay Mutiny. In the inaugural season, he scored a blistering 27 goals- a single season record that held until 2018- and finished his Mutiny career with an impressive 37 goals in 60 Appearances. Leaving United after the 1999 season, Lassiter bounced around the league a bit before returning to United for an uneventful second stint in 2002.


VERDICT: Roy Lassiter was my favorite player growing up, so I may be biased here... He comes up a little short in terms of longevity but I think if Diaz Arce is in with two winning and prolific seasons, Lassiter should easily be in with him. For me, the best argument against him is that he may be remembered as much for his time with the Tampa Bay Mutiny as he is with DC United, which is worth considering. I still think being a big part of those winning sides and having such an impressive goalscoring record with United overshadows his individual success with Tampa Bay and earns him a place in the 'HoT'.


Carlos Llamosa (73 apps, 3 goals) 1997-2000


Llamosa joined United in '97 and anchored the backline for four seasons between 1997 and 2000 where DC United did a lot of winning. He was a key player for three MLS Cup final runs, including two wins and two Supporter's Shields. He also made appearances in the team's CONCACAF Champions Cup/Interamericana cup victories in '98.

Carlos was traded by United after the 2000 season and played for three more MLS clubs, most notably being named to the MLS Best XI in 2001 with Miami and leading New England to an MLS cup appearance the following year in 2002.


VERDICT: This is a tough one. Yes, he won a ton of trophies with United and was a key player in his time with the club. But, he lacks the individual accolades and consistency of his fellow defenders, 'HoT' inductees and stadard-bearers Pope and Agoos. I'm not sure it's strong enough of a case. This combined with a bit of an MLS legacy post-United and it only gets tougher to put him in. I wouldn't be mad if Llamosa were to be inducted, and if he is it would be because of the way the club values winning.


HONORABLE MENTIONS


John Maessner (63 apps, 7 goals) 1996-1997, 1999-2000


John Maessner was, somewhat surprisingly, one of the last nominees for induction into the 'HoT' so let's talk about his case. The midfielder was a key player for United, making starts in the '96 and '99 MLS cup finals. Not to diminish his important role in pacing the midfield for United, but I feel like if Maessner gets in it lowers the standard too much. If he had had some big moments like Tony Sanneh, or 143 appearances like Richie Williams, or was club captian like John Harkes, maybe you could make a case with his modest numbers as a midfielder. I just don't think his legacy stands out enough to join the 'HoT'.


Mark Simpson (53 apps), Scott Garlick (44 apps), Tom Presthus (59 apps)


DCU had three different keepers start three MLS Cup victories in four seasons. When '96 MLS Cup winning netminder Mark Simpson got hurt during the 1997 season, DC United had two capable replacements in Scott Garlick and Tom Presthus. Presthus mostly backed up Garlick who went on to start for a Supporter's Shield-winning United side in '97, eventually making eight crucial saves in the MLS Cup final later that year. Presthus more or less won the job in the 1998 season and Garlick was traded. Presthus went on to start for a Supporter's Shield-winning side of his own in 1999 and, like Garlick, started and won the MLS Cup final the same year. Maybe if Bruce Arena goes with Presthus earlier and more often he leaves more of a legacy? Regardless, DCU was fortunate to have so many capable hands in goal. By virtue of each other's successes and inconsistencies as well as the legacies of United keepers that came after these three, none of these cup-winning keepers should be in the 'HoT'.

CONCLUSION

So, what do you think of these qualifications? How should the club balance these factors moving forward? Are there any deserving players from the glory years of 1996-1999 that haven't yet been recognized? How would the induction of players like Tony Sanneh or Carlos Llamosa impact future potential nominees? I see Tony Sanneh and Roy Lassiter as surefire legacy players for DC United. Do you agree?


The next part of this piece will focus on players from the last fruitful era of United's history from 2004-2008, followed by a look at any other players that came after that might have a chance despite not winning much in the way of trophies. Here's hoping we get back to our roots and add one or two to the case this season (I'll settle for one, can't be too greedy) and that new DCU legends will be born.


Vamos United!



NOTE: This information is derived from a combination of memory, youtube clips, wikipedia, mlssoccer.com, and dcunited.com. Many websites seem to leave out playoff/international/cup competitions when compiling records, all of which should of course factor into the all-time statistics for a player. I tried to add some of those numbers in as they were available and this may create some inconsistencies in these listed stats from what is out in the world.

ANOTHER NOTE: I stumbled upon a forum post that linked to a page that seems to no longer exist, but the following criteria for the ‘HoT’ was copy/pasted from the DCU website. Not sure if this is still relevant but if it is it would all but eliminate the chance for any players from the 90s to be inducted.

Link to original post:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/next-member-to-the-hall-of-tradition.1975008/


Copy/Pasted criteria:


ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

In order to be eligible as a former player, an individual must have met the following criteria:

  1. Retired as a player for at least two years, but no more than 10 years.

  2. Played at least three seasons for D.C. United and appeared in 50 or more League games.

In order to be eligible in a coach or management capacity, an individual must have made his/her mark in a non-playing capacity and had a major, sustained and positive impact on the club for an extended period of time. Candidates must be at least 50 years of age (posthumous candidates may be considered as an exception) and deemed to have contributed at the requisite level for a minimum of three years as a coach or five in a front office capacity. Due to the broad general nature of the criteria, additional nominations may be considered

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