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The Marcos Sanchez era appears to be officially over. Which is to say, Christian Castillo v.2.0 (Panama Ed.), will never escape beta. The Post's Steve Goff is reporting this morning that Sanchez has been released by D.C. United. As you can see in Goff's tweet, Sanchez simply won't return to the team after his time with Panama's national team is finished after next week. Presumably, United's move simply terminates the season-long loan deal, and he will return to Tauro FC, the Panamanian first division club that holds his contract.
D.C. United releasing Panama MF Marcos Sanchez (6 starts, no impact). He was on loan from Tauro. On int'l duty, won't return. #dcu #mls
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) May 31, 2013
The midfielder was promising during preseason and in his first appearance or two for the Black-and-Red very early in the year. He showed glimpses of his ability to stand up to pressure both on the wing and in the center of the park and to find teammates in space to key the attack. But that's all we got: early glimpses. Since the first couple weeks of the season, Sanchez has been a liability on the field, being muscled off the ball, neglecting to use his speed with or without on the wing, and utterly failing to combine with teammates. It all culminated in his halftime substitution last weekend in United's 2-0 loss to the Timbers. Sanchez failed to track the run of Rodney Wallace on the left wing during a throw in from the right touchline, allowing Wallace the acres of space he used to put the opener (and eventual game-winner) past Bill Hamid.
The move opens up a much-needed international roster spot. What kind of player do you want to see Ben Olsen & Co. bring in to replace the departed Sanchez?