As D.C. United’s players meandered back to the RFK Stadium locker room after training Tuesday, veteran Davy Arnaud got the ear of rookie Steve Birnbaum.
Ahead of United’s playoff opener Sunday, the 34-year-old’s message was clear: Soak it in, kid.
“I just told him you need to enjoy it because you don’t always get years like this,” Arnaud said. “You’ve got to really take advantage of it when it’s there because you think it’ll happen every year. But that’s not the way it is.”
In his 13th MLS campaign, Arnaud is preparing to take part in his sixth postseason. After appearing in the MLS Cup in 2004, the midfielder hasn’t been back to the title game since.
Arnaud is one of four MLS Cup-tested veterans United added during the offseason after last year’s three-win campaign.
Center back Bobby Boswell has made the playoffs in 9 of his 10 seasons, starting the 2011 and 2012 MLS Cup finals. His Houston Dynamo team lost those titles to the LA Galaxy and now-United right back Sean Franklin, who has advanced to six straight postseasons. Forward Fabian Espindola has gone to the playoffs seven years in a row, winning the 2009 MLS Cup with Real Salt Lake.
“We have a bunch of guys that have consistently played playoff soccer,” coach Ben Olsen said. “That’s a big deal when the big games come around.”
United’s postseason kicks off Sunday in the Eastern Conference semifinals when the club travels to face the winner of Thursday’s knockout-round match between the New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City. As the conference’s top seed, United on Nov. 8 will host the decisive second leg of the two-game, total-goals series.
These playoff-savvy veterans agreed that once the postseason starts, the game tightens up. At times, a grind-it-out strategy trumps attractive soccer. That sentiment is especially true when a team goes on the road for the first match, knowing a draw sets it up to advance with a win at home.
“It gets tougher,” Espindola said. “You fight too much sometimes in this type of game because you don’t want to give up a goal. We’re going to try to play [attacking soccer], of course. But it changes because you don’t want to give any advantage.”
Added Boswell: “It’s just down to a mentality of being prepared. Whoever is mentally ready to do the dog’s work to get it done is usually the team that’s moving on.”
As the top seed, United understands the upset-friendly nature of the MLS playoffs. A No. 1 seed has been bounced in the conference semifinals in 9 of the past 10 postseasons. Two years ago, Boswell’s fifth-seeded Dynamo lost to Franklin’s fourth-seeded Galaxy in the MLS Cup.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re the first seed or the fifth seed,” Franklin said. “It’s tough, and everyone is going to turn it up a little bit.”
United expects a tough series, whether it’s against New York or Kansas City. The Red Bulls are a longtime rival boasting French legend Thierry Henry and striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, who tied the MLS record with 27 goals this season.
Although a 2-7-1 skid saw Kansas City drop from first place in mid-August to the No. 5 seed, the presence of World Cup veterans Matt Besler and Graham Zusi still makes for an imposing opponent. After winning the MLS Cup last year, Sporting knows what it takes to get the job done in November.
“The intensity level of the games, it changes,” Arnaud said. “You sense the difference in the game. You can’t really explain it until you’ve played in it or experienced it. It may be a little bit quicker, you may have less time on the ball.
“Every play is magnified because it could be the end of someone’s season.”
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