D.C. United Season Review: Midfielder/Forward Chris Rolfe

Late in March, D.C. United made what can arguably be considered their best move of the season, acquiring midfielder Chris Rolfe from the Chicago Fire in exchange for an unspecified amount of the magical allocation money. With experience at Danish side Aalborg as well as several years with the Fire, Chris Rolfe was highly regarded as a dependable midfielder who could score and provide some fantastic play on the offensive end. Rolfe likely would have been picked by United in the the Re-Entry Draft had Chicago not re-signed him, but still they were able to get Rolfe into the black-and-red shirt very early into the 2014 MLS season.

Rolfe quickly became a mainstay in the starting lineup, and his ability to gel with Fabian Espindola and Luis Silva up front really sparked the offense throughout the season. That trio was putting up remarkable numbers and at times, the biggest debate was over whether Rolfe or Espindola was the MVP of not just D.C. United, but all of MLS. Rolfe also became a fan favorite, with fans wearing his trademark headband in the stands in support of #18.

Rolfe was having a magical season until, in early September, he shattered his forearm during practice, requiring surgery to repair the damage. Rolfe missed the final 6 weeks of the regular season due to the injury. Rolfe was able to return for the playoffs, coming on as a sub during the away leg against the New York Red Bulls and starting up front during the return leg at RFK, providing a spark for the team and its fans in the playoff series that ultimately fell short.

Rolfe really contributed to our offensive creativity, finishing with 6 goals and 6 assists on the year. He will need to remove the pins and plates from his arm, but all expectations are that he will be ready to go by the start of preseason training. Rolfe may be trending towards the end of his prime at the age of 32 when he enters camp, but there's no reason to doubt that he would once again be one of the main pieces of the offensive attack next season for the Black-and-Red. He will have a hefty cap number next year, with United paying all of his salary this time around after the Fire picked up some of his salary last season.  Still, this is probably an easy question: