If you have paid any attention to D.C. United’s first three competitive games of 2016–two CONCACAF Champions League games against Queretaro and MLS opening day game at L.A. Galaxy–you may not have recognized the team you saw on the field.
Let’s get this out of the way first: No, United has not won any of their three competitive games yet, and this in no way is an excuse piece for the team’s current form, or a pump-up piece suggesting that they are instant MLS Cup contenders. However, despite the early results, the team does look more dynamic and is playing with a bit more authority in the offensive half of the field, in large part due to the personnel changes made in the off-season. There is one game-changing piece to that reshuffled attacking midfield and that is the addition of the dynamic Luciano Acosta, a loanee from Boca Juniors.
Acosta was officially acquired on February 15th from Boca Juniors on a year-long loan, with an option for a permanent transfer at end of the year. Acosta’s 5’3 frame is clearly out-measured by the talent he exudes on the field. Brought in as a possession-controlling attacking midfielder, Acosta can sway between midfield maestro and goal scoring forward very easily, as his skills are fit for the fluid style he will be asked to facilitate for the black and red this season.
In D.C. United’s first three games, Acosta started twice and appeared as a substitute once. In all three games, Acosta has played a forward role, which provides him with opportunities to utilize his phenomenal ball skills in the opponent’s third of the field. His ability to dribble through traffic, find passing lanes, and his never ending motor make him the most exciting addition to United in the offseason.
The D.C. midfield is a re-work in progress. So far, head coach Ben Olsen has used Patrick Nyarko and a combination of Chris Rolfe and Rob Vincent on the wings and Nick Deleon and Marco Sarvas in the middle, with Sarvas working as the sole defensive midfielder and Deleon pulling the strings. I believe time will show that Acosta is best suited for the role that Deleon is currently playing. His skills seem tailor made for the #10 position, one that D.C. has desperately lacked over the past decade. This is not to say that Deleon is not suited or serviceable at the position, and he certainly showed against the L.A. Galaxy that he is up for the task. However, Acosta provides a dynamism that neither this team or many others in the league can claim they possess: A true play-making midfielder.
The best example of the difference a play-making midfielder with Acosta’s skills can accomplish in MLS is FC Dallas’ Mauro Diaz. Diaz scored eight goals and notched ten assists for a team that won the Western Conference regular season and came close to winning the Supporters Shield playing in a stacked conference. He also notched four assists in four playoff games last year during Dallas’ run to the Western Conference Finals.
His play-making wizardry is a big reason why the team is so dynamic and push a pace that not many other clubs can keep up with. Diaz assisted both goals scored by FC Dallas in their opener against the Philadelphia Union last week and is on a ridiculous (obviously unsustainable) pace to notch 68 assists for the season. That, of course, is an absurd expectation. However, there is no doubt that he makes his team a dangerous opponent solely on his ability to find open lanes for his teammates.
Acosta has the ability to become D.C.’s version of Mauro Diaz, and not just because they are both from Argentina, came to Major League Soccer at the same age, and are close in height.
The CONCACAF Champions League provided a brief glimpse of the future in D.C. when rookie Julian Buescher entered both games as a substitute, scoring the team’s lone goal in the Quarterfinals. Acosta dropped back to play more of a #10 role while Buescher created havoc up front, and veteran Fabian Espindola seemed to connect better with the two youngsters in these roles than being played alongside Acosta up top .
As Acosta acclimates to MLS, his teammates, the travel, and the overall play of the league, he will improve and eventually shine consistently in the role that his skill set dictates: A true play-making attacking midfielder.
