Veteran writer: United had ‘baffling’ tactics

Chevy Chase-based writer Ian Plenderleith has written about soccer in England, Germany, Switzerland and the United States for Britain’s popular fan magazine, When Saturday Comes. During his travels, Plenderleith has become a devoted fan of numerous clubs, including his hometown team of Lincoln City in England, German club Eintracht Frankfurt, Swiss team F.C. Zurich and now D.C. United. His witty, insightful and often blunt analysis is refreshing and astute.

“Plenderleith brings a supporter’s perspective to a variety of tangents,” London’s Sunday Times said last month in a glowing review of his book of soccer fiction, “For Whom the Ball Rolls” (Available at www.ianplenderleith.net.)

I sat down with Plenderleith to get his take on the state of soccer in the United States.

Q: What do you think of the quality of Major League Soccer?

A: Some of the good teams in MLS are as good as some of the mediocre Premier League teams in England and maybe the better teams in the First Division. I could compare MLS favorably with the Swiss League, which is one of the minor European Leagues but not bad teams. The game here in the U.S. is more Latin influenced than the kick-and-rush style of some of the European leagues. I think MLS is underrated and looked down upon by people from abroad who have never been to a game here.

Q: What did you think of D.C. United this season?

A: I thought they were mostly poor, but at the same time that was already a huge improvement over the previous three seasons. I think some of the tactics employed and some of the selections employed were baffling.

Q: Was Ray Hudson a good coach, and should he have gotten another year on the job?

A: I don’t think so. I think he was a great personality for the club and a lovely bloke, but there was something strange about the way he swore that every game was going to be the time that Marco Etcheverry had to prove himself and this was his final chance. Then Etcheverry would play a stinker and still be in the lineup the following week. … I think that’s been the problem at D.C. for the last four years: An underreporting, overpaid professional was not given the ax when he should have been, as any proper professional club would have done. That reached right through the whole team.

Q: You’re pretty harsh on Etcheverry.

A: Unfortunately, I only came here in 1999, so I never saw him in his best days. I saw him for half a good season, and ever since then I’ve been outraged at his general lack of effort and professionalism. I am amazed at how a coach has tolerated it for the last four years.

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