WASHINGTON – All the usual suspects were present at D.C. United’s mid-morning training session on Tuesday. In the sweltering summer heat, United’s crew of MLS veterans and upstarts looked lively, working through their usual drills before finishing the session up with a competitive, full-out 11-v-11 scrimmage.
There was one player on the pitch, however, that United fans haven’t yet grown accustomed to seeing in black and red: former Real Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio, who on Tuesday got his first full training session in with his new club.
RSL’s all-time leading scorer came to United last week in exchange for forward Luis Silva, a productive piece for D.C. over the years but one that spent plenty of time coping with a series of injuries. In Saborio, United head coach Ben Olsen gets a proven goalscorer and perhaps a perfect match for Fabian Espindola, who the Costa Rican forward spent a productive three years with at RSL.
"[Alvaro is] great,” Olsen told the media in attendance on Tuesday. "The good thing about dealing with guys in our league is we know exactly who they are. It’s kind of a bit of a philosophy that we have here, making sure the riskiness of some of those moves – those percentages are low. Of course, he’s got to fit in with the team, it’s going to take a little time for that.
"We know he can occupy center backs, his running in behind is good, he still moves very well, he’s a big body, a threat on set pieces. Plays simple, tries to connect the game for us. His work rate is great, his response, the way [he’ll] lead our first line of defense is something that again will help us. I think he fits us, but time will tell.”
Saborio joins a team that sits near the top of the Supporters’ Shield standings – a position they’ve achieved by, in large part, being among MLS’ more defensively sound sides. United have allowed fewer goals in league play (20) than all but two other clubs, but they have also at times struggled to find the back of the net. Their 23 goals puts them in the bottom half of the offensive table, league-wide. Saborio, Olsen hopes, may alleviate some of those concerns up top.
“I could sit here and say, 'Give him time and the goals will come,’” Olsen said. “But he’s a goal scorer, he’s a No. 9. He’s going to put more pressure [on himself] to score goals than I could. That’s what we all expect out of big fellas that do their work in the box. That’s standard stuff that we’ll be expecting him to put some goals in for us. But it’s not just him – we got other guys, Chris [Rolfe], Fabi, Chris [Pontius], we got guys in the back who can score on set pieces – but we do need to start scoring. I don’t care who it comes from.”
Saborio is the type of player D.C. have lacked over the past few years, consistently at least. It’s a role Olsen had hoped former US national team striker Eddie Johnson would fill, but that didn’t pan out. In the wake of that, Olsen has deployed a rotating cast of players – Jairo Arrieta, Rolfe, Conor Doyle and others have seen time at forward, some more effective than others – while Espindola himself has had to adjust his style of play accordingly.
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“He’s a great forward, a true nine, and I don’t think we have that here,” Espindola told the media after training on Friday. “It’s great because I’m going to be playing how I want to play. I don’t have to be in the box all the time, the center backs will have to be worried about him and I’ll be doing my thing on the wings. I think he’s going to help us a lot – to play with him again is great."
After training, a sweat-soaked Saborio, fresh off his stay with Costa Rica during their run at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, didn’t have a whole lot to say to the media in attendance, perhaps still adjusting to life with his new teammates. The former RSL man did say, however, that he expects to compete for a starting spot right off the bat – Olsen says Saborio is “in the mix” to see action Sunday against the Philadelphia Union (5 pm ET; ESPN2) – and also shared some early impressions of his first day with D.C.
"Everything’s great,” he said. "I’m eager to start this next phase of my career, happy to be here with what’s a very good team. I’m eager to embrace this opportunity. The intensity [of this side], the eagerness they have to stay on top of the table, that’s obviously exciting, and I’m excited to be a part of it."
