Proud Performance on a Memorable Night
Game review: DC United vs. Chelsea FC - July 28, 2005
- By Joseph Schoenbauer Fri, July 29, 2005
Last night’s game between the reigning champions of MLS, DC United, and the reigning champions of the English Premier League, Chelsea FC, was not just an exciting game that left the 31,473 fans cheering loud and passionately from the edge of their seats until the very last second of the game. It was also a show that brought together David and Goliath and reinforced the passionate relationship that DC United shares with its ever so loyal fans.
When you think of American culture, specifically American sports culture, a number of characteristics will always come to the forefront of our minds. We think about our relentlessly competitive nature, our persistent desire to be the best, our love for the underdog, our powerful unwillingness to concede defeat, and last but not least, we think about our enormous pride.
So when the clash between America’s soccer champions and England’s soccer champions was announced just over six weeks ago, the thought of a classic clash between David and Goliath immediately sprung into the minds of the fans, players and coaches of both teams. Chelsea is a team that just last year won the English Premier League, a league certainly in the top four in the world in terms of competitiveness, after which there is a definite drop off. MLS, on the other hand, would do well to be considered in the top 10, even with steady improvement over the first 10 years of existence. To give you another example of the difference between these teams, you only have to look at the money surrounding the Chelsea players, because as in any vocation, the best players are expected to command the highest wages and transfer fees. On one hand, you have DC United trading players like Mike Petke, just to be able to acquire a new player in the future. On the other hand, you have Chelsea, who purchases players that won’t even be expected to play for the team during the year, for more money than DC United can afford to pay their entire team.
However, recent events in other preseason games of other “super teams” like Chelsea around the world led to the raising of many an eye brow, increasing the uncertainty of the result before the game kicked off. The LA Galaxy gave the illustrious Real Madrid a stern test before falling 2-0, while only a week later the same Real Madrid team was humiliated 3-0 by Tokyo Verdy, a team currently in last place in Japan’s J-League. On Wednesday night, the Chicago Fire then gave a spirited performance and only was defeated by AC Milan after they had squandered several chances to score and subsequently subbed off over half their team in the last 15 minutes of the game.
The stage was set. Would DC United be able to emulate their fellow “David’s” with a virtuoso performance or would they succumb to the expensively assembled “Goliath’s” that make up the Chelsea team, as everyone should expect?
The game started in earnest with DC United kicking off while fans still clamored through the turnstiles of a stadium that certainly was missing the historical pedigree that RFK gives to its fans. The first chance fell to DC United when after sustained possession Jaime Moreno cut sharply into the 18-yard box past Tiago and ripped a shot that Goalkeeper Peter Cech did well to kick save. The shot bounced only as far as Josh Gros, but his attempt was blocked and the danger subsided.
In the 12th minute Chelsea made their first legitimate foray down the field and drew a corner. From the resulting corner, John Terry showed why he is one of the most feared players on corners in the world when he shrugged off his defender to connect well, only for the ball to go high and wide.
The game moved quickly from there, and despite a lack of clear chances, there was some very good movement from DC United, who continued to maintain possession for good stretches while looking especially lively. The liveliness eventually led to good work that set up a shot for Josh Gros in the 30th minute that was deflected out for a corner. The anxiety built as Christian Gomez set himself up to take the corner in front of the large contingent of DC United fans dedicated to chanting, banging drums and waving flags throughout the game.
Timing his run perfectly, Bobby Boswell broke away from Chelsea player Didier Drogba easily before heading Gomez’s cross perfectly passed Cech to break the dead lock. Mayhem ensued throughout the stadium as Boswell leaped into the crowd. Boswell later commented, “When I scored the goal I looked for them [the DC United fans]. That’s all I do. I run and jump and try and get in their with them and show them that we appreciate them. We were playing our hearts out.”
As earlier mentioned, American sports fans love an underdog story, and this crowd’s belief in the team was now at an all-time high. But Chelsea isn’t considered one of the strongest teams in the world for no reason, and they took only three minutes to get back on level terms. In one of their few real chances created in the first half, newly acquired Shaun Wright-Phillips received a pass from English international Joe Cole out on the right. DC United defender John Wilson failed to close him down quickly enough, giving him time to look up and find Damien Duff lingering in the box unmarked on the far left side. The cross came in and Duff met it beautifully with his gifted left foot. The unstoppable volley flew threw the air past the hapless Nick Rimando and into the net.
DC United was unfazed though, and continued on their pursuit of further goals, while defenders Bobby Boswell and Brandon Prideaux kept Chelsea center forward Didier Drogba in check. Ben Olsen and Brian Carroll were also staying strong in the midfield, giving Jiri Jarosik the run around for the entire half and denying Joe Cole the opportunity to create anything else before the 45th minute when a couple of dazzling step-overs freed him down the right wing to cross, only for DC United to clear as the half-time whistle blew.
As expected Chelsea made wholesale changes for the second half, bringing on ten new highly paid superstars that included EPL player of the year Frank Lampard, Dutch winger Arjen Robben, and Argentinean forward Hernan Crespo, leaving Tiago as the soul survivor from the first half. For DC United, Christian Gomez made way for 16-year-old Freddy Adu, perhaps in light of the All-Star game this weekend, while Troy Perkins relieved Nick Rimando in goal.
Despite all the changes the second half started off more or less as the first half had, with DC United proving their better fitness levels and commitment to proving they belong on the same field as their much-heralded opposition. With all of Chelsea’s stars subdued, it was Freddy Adu’s turn to wow the crowd with his dazzling dribbles that got him away from Frank Lampard on the sidelines at one point and youngster Lassana Diarra numerous times on the middle left hand side of the field.
DC United was still prone to lapses from Chelsea’s pressure though, and John Wilson was guilty two times in succession, one, which led to a corner and the other that led to a Carlton Cole shot. They were made to pay for their carelessness in the 56th minute. An absent pass made its way to Arjen Robben near the halfway line on the left. He quickly sprung forward, dismissing pressure from Brandon Prideaux, and found Crespo making a curling run out on the left. The offside flag stayed down, much to the dismay of many of the fans and several players, and Hernan Crespo bagged his first goal of the preseason with a finish we’ve come to expect from a player of his caliber and experience.
Despite conceding two goals now without reply, DC United surged on in search of goals. Perhaps most importantly, the DC United fans had truly sided with the MLS champions and became transfixed on doing everything in their power to inspire their team.
In the 75th minute, moments after Freddy Adu had twisted and turned past Diarra for the third or fourth time on the night, Adu found Moreno in the seam between right back Paolo Ferreira and giant center back Robert Huth with a perfect pass. Touching it on slightly, Moreno connected but Huth’s seemingly ten foot long legs got back just in time to block it away for a corner. Chants of “DC! DC!” rang around the stadium. Was this going to be the play that would get them back on level terms? DC United wanted it. The crowd wanted it.
At the time, an equalizer almost seemed inevitable. But Chelsea showed why they only conceded a record low 15 goals over an entire season last year, withstanding anything DC United could bring at them behind a strong performance from Portuguese international Ricardo Carvalho. In the end, despite pressure that included a scramble in the box in injury time, the score remained the same and Chelsea had recorded their second victory in as many games in the US.
DC United head coach Peter Nowak was reflective on the Chelsea team after the game, perhaps hinting at an opportunity lost when he said, “This is what great teams do…If you let them have a chance they are going to score and were going to have a result like that.”
Nevertheless, he was proud of his team and looked positively to the second half of the season. “My players are surely going to remember this night for a long time. I think from this game we can look forward to our championship…This game is going to bring us closer to the goal we set before the season start[ed].”
Chelsea midfielder Eidur Gudjohnsen had some good things to say about the competition Chelsea faced, “I thought they were quite lively, very confident in their passing. It’s obvious that their fitness levels are much higher than ours in this moment in time.”
Chelsea head coach Jose Mourinho was perhaps less happy with his teams overall performance, especially in the first half. “I’m not very happy with some of the players…the first half was really bad.” He failed to name names but stated he was happy with Didier Drogba’s performance, claiming, “It was very difficult for him to play well” because of his lack of support and the way the rest of the team played.
Freddy Adu was not as negative about Chelsea’s performance as Mourinho was. When asked “Which of the Chelsea players really impressed you tonight?” he was quick to respond. “All of them. They’re great players. Players like Frank Lampard and Damien Duff, Arjen Robben. They’re all great players and playing against them is definitely a dream come true.” He had more praise for Chelsea, “I’m not going to lie about it. They’re my favorite club team in the world and hopefully one day I can end up there.” Speaking about the English Premier League, he was also quick to respond, “It’s a goal for me [playing in the Premiership] and I think I can do it. I just gotta keep working hard and keep my head on straight.”
Side notes: MLS Commissioner Don Garber was in attendance and gave a press conference at half time, speaking on the news release that DC United had been sold to a group of local investors that includes Kevin Payne, Willi Lauterbach and Tim Kissler. Commenting on the future or DC United and a possible stadium being built by the year 2008, Garber said, “We gotta get a new facility built. Willi and Kevin and their partners are real estate builders and I think we’ve got a lot more optimism about our chances for a new facility for DC United.”