MARIETTA, Ga. — When D.C. United visit Atlanta for the second time this season on Saturday, Tata Martino’s Atlanta United side will face a much different – and difficult – task than the teams’ previous matchup in early March.
D.C. are in the midst of a rebirth of sorts. Led by longtime coach Ben Olsen, the Black-and-Red are in many ways just beginning their 2018 campaign, as they move into a brand-new stadium in Audi Field featuring a brand-new club icon in English striker Wayne Rooney.
Along with a slew of attacking signings in the last year, Paul Arriola and former Atlanta winger Yamil Asad among them, D.C. now have a fresh, exciting feel about them. But of all the array of talented attackers at Olsen’s disposal, the primary task for Tata Martino’s men is preparing for one of the biggest names in the sport.
“At any institution, when a player of Rooney's magnitude arrives, it produces an impact for the club,” explained Martino through a translator Thursday morning. “It looks like from the last 30 minutes or so that I saw from [D.C.'s last match against] Vancouver, that he's arrived in good form. He’s in good condition.
“So although [Darren] Mattocks has been in pretty good form for them in their attack so far this season, I think Rooney gives them even more experience and more talent, especially in the finishing aspect of their attack.”
Rooney’s impact in D.C. is already being felt off the field. But his performance on it will be a crucial factor if his new team are to race up the Eastern Conference standings to snag a playoff spot by season’s end.
What will he bring to the team? Who better to ask than Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who played against Rooney several times over the course of his career in England with Aston Villa?
“Obviously his ability on the ball,” explained Guzan. “His mobility is something that he's been able to make a fantastic career of ... runs off the ball, the players around him being able to pick a pass and find him, and then obviously putting the ball in the back of the net.
“As he's gotten a little bit older, he's changed his role a little bit in terms of being on the ball more, picking out passes himself, find other guys who are making runs, and obviously he still has the ability to score goals.”
Despite knowing Rooney’s individual strengths, there are still unknowns regarding his implementation into the team. Rooney only played for about 30 minutes in his first match, off the bench. If he’s in the starting lineup, it could change the way Olsen sets up the team around him.
“We'll hope he's only going to play 15 minutes!” joked Martino. “But that's probably not going to happen.”
