WASHINGTON – Just one week after coming undone at the hands of Toronto FC standout Sebastian Giovinco, D.C. United will head south this weekend for a Sunday evening encounter with another of Major League Soccer’s elite: Kaká and his suddenly-hot Orlando City SC side (7 pm ET; Fox Sports 1).
United had difficulty at times last weekend keeping tabs on Giovinco in the 2-1 TFC win, as the crafty forward bobbed and weaved his way around United’s backline on more than one occasion. Kaká, of course, is a different animal.
While Giovinco proved a terror in the final third, Kaká’s influence has been felt all over the field this season. In addition to his six goals, the Brazilian legend has played provider on multiple occasions, something D.C. midfielder Davy Arnaud is particularly aware of.
“He’s smart, he’s clever, he’s gifted technically,” Arnaud told MLSsoccer.com after United’s training session on Friday. "He’s played where he’s played in his career because of the type of player he is. Like Giovinco, you can’t take somebody like that completely out of the game because they’re going to have their moments. But as much as we can, we’ve got to limit him.
"When we were [in Orlando] last time, when they had the ball, we were always talking about where he was. Whether it’s Bobby [Boswell] and those guys talking to us if he’s in between the lines, always giving us a shout as to where he’s at, so that if the ball gets to him we can get to him quickly. If you give him time and space, he can pick you apart.”
United head coach Ben Olsen – who is hardly the first coach to try and unlock the secret of defending the former FIFA Player of the Year – is approaching the challenge of neutralizing Kaká pragmatically.
“Coaches and players have been trying to stop [Kaká and Giovinco] since those players were probably six years old,” said Olsen. "They’ve made a living off of finding holes, finding ways to exploit defenses, [finding out how to] do the most with little touches; if everybody’s keying in on them, it just makes their play and execution level higher.
"You just have to stay on your toes, try and limit them as much as you can; but they’re who they are for a reason, and they know what they’re doing. It’s tough to stop either of them."
The seven-day stretch between United’s last encounter at TFC and this weekend’s at Orlando is their first actual respite in a while – D.C. played six matches over the course of a little more than three weeks in late May and June, stretching an already banged-up side even thinner. Heading into Sunday’s match, D.C. are left with a few question marks, injury-wise. Chris Pontius (hip), Chris Korb (hamstring) and Bill Hamid (finger) trained on Friday.
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Olsen was typically elusive with specifics.
"They were all in training today,” Olsen said. "I have some tough decisions this weekend – that typically seems to be the case, which is a good thing. We still have a few guys on the mend, but we’ll be able to put a good side out there."
All those players will be needed as United face another busy week, with a US Open Cup match mid-week against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds before returning to RFK Stadium to welcome the New England Revolution next weekend.
