United get back to work in D.C.

WASHINGTON -- D.C. United got back to work on Thursday, opening their 2009 preseason preparations at RFK Stadium on a blustery, but sunny, winter day exactly two months before their Major League Soccer season opener against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Soehn and his staff had initially planned indoor workouts and meetings, but the relatively mellow weather conditions -- compared to Washington's heretofore harsh January -- prompted a move out to RFK's artificial turf practice field for possession drills and light ball work.

Absent a few veterans like Marcelo Gallardo (recovering from adductor surgery), Zach Wells (foot surgery), Fred (returning from a short-term loan with Wellington Phoenix FC) and Ivan Guerrero (international duty with Honduras), United are reporting for duty about a week earlier than last year. But spirits were high, as the sour taste of last season's struggles has lingered plenty long enough for head coach Tom Soehn and many of his charges.

"This one seemed like an eternity," said Soehn of the offseason. "It's certainly good to be back. It wasn't quite grass, but it's still good to be back and getting to work."

Last year's campaign began with sky-high hopes but ended on a note of drastic underachievement as United stumbled in international play and failed to make the MLS Cup Playoffs for only the fourth time in club history. D.C. did capture the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in September, but would win just once more in their final 14 matches as the squad faded badly down the stretch.

The club's veteran core is particularly eager to erase those grating memories.

"It's a fresh look. It's a new year, a new start, new expectations," said defender Bryan Namoff, who recently put pen to a new contract that should keep him in D.C. for years to come. "We fell short last year and we don't want to even dwell on anything from 2008 besides winning the Open Cup. ... We've fallen off in the years past and I think we need to get into that mindset, that frame of mind."

The transition of the CONCACAF Champions Cup to a year-long league competition means that for only the second time in the past five years, the Black-and-Red will not have a spring international tournament to accelerate their preseason schedule. That has allowed Soehn and company to map out a more gradual ramp-up to full fitness, a welcome approach for a squad driven to exhaustion by last season's frenetic pace.

"Hopefully you don't go in and kill yourself in the first two months. It's a process to build up for such a long season, and I think they understand that now. We went through a lot of injuries and we did a lot of work last year and hopefully that can be a little different," said Santino Quaranta, another D.C. veteran who signed a new deal this winter.

"It's going to be good to have some time to just really get some stuff figured out and work at it, because our minds, it seemed like, were always on the next thing last year -- it was always where we were going next and what was happening."

Club icon Ben Olsen was the center of attention on Thursday, as the 10-year veteran took another step in his long road back from a nightmarish 2008 that featured four ankle surgeries and only 15 minutes of match action. The combative midfielder tested his troublesome left ankle in the team's short session and came away pleased with the results, though he remains realistic about the challenges facing his comeback bid.

"I'm cautiously optimistic about maybe getting through a season. The verdict on the ankle seems to be that it is what it is. It's not going to get better than it is now. So knowing that helps me go ahead and push and do what I can," Olsen said. "Today was the first day I was playing soccer against pros at a high level, so today was a positive step. Saying that, talk to me tomorrow morning. You know this thing, from day to day, can change. So that's where I'm at."

His experience, intensity and savvy are invaluable on the field, but Olsen's return would also provide a tremendous psychological boost to Soehn's squad. United never really integrated the glut of new faces last season, and the disappointing results have prompted an emphasis on continuity this time around. With an injection of young talent from the SuperDraft intensifying the battle for a decreased number of roster spots, the club hopes to craft a superior blend in 2009.

"There's some guys who started showing well at the end of last year. You add guys that we drafted this year and obviously you're always looking for players from the outside to bring in," said Soehn. "It's going to be very, very competitive. It's going to probably force me to have to make some tough decisions come March 2."