DC United majority owner Erick Thohir is ready to further strengthen the links between the capital club and Inter Milan, the Italian powerhouse that he also controls, including the opportunity for loans involving young Inter prospects.
“There are possibilities to send Inter players to help DC, maybe some hot prospect youngsters to help them get minutes,” Thohir said in a conversation with Goal.com Indonesia. “It will be a great opportunity to play in a big league like MLS.”
That was one of several intriguing nuggets the Indonesian media magnate dropped in the interview, including a large dollop of praise for MLS's executive structure as compared to the environs of Serie A.
“In the USA, the club owners have a good communication with each other — not like in Europe. That’s the thing I’d like to bring into Serie A,” Thohir said. “MLS is getting better day by day, with many major European clubs investing, like Manchester City with New York [NYCFC].”
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More than just the league, Thohir is also bullish about his MLS club. Off the field, DC recently won unanimous approval from the City Council for a new soccer stadium in Buzzard Point and between the lines, the club led by head coach Ben Olsen finished tops in the Eastern Conference during the 2014 regular season.
“It’s not like in Europe because we have salary cap,” Thohir said. “We have a solid team, and three of our players received callups from the US national team: Bill Hamid, Steve Birnbaum and Perry Kitchen.
“We also have great players like Fabian Espindola, Sean Franklin, Bobby Boswell. Now it’s all about how to improve them, because they are solid.”
