Midfielder Gomez Paces United's Attack, and Is a Leading Contender for MVP
By Steven Goff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 21, 2006
If only Christian Gomez could dance.
He has done almost everything else the last two years, scoring goals with preposterous moves and distributing the ball like a child flipping bread crumbs to hungry geese. His swift, jabbing runs have made him the centerpiece of D.C. United's attack, keying the club's return to MLS prominence.
He sets United's rhythm with the clever footwork of a dancer, and yet, the Argentine midfielder has one glaring weakness: He can't do the bachata .
Last season, at the team hotel near Los Angeles before a match against Chivas USA, he and teammate Jaime Moreno practiced the Dominican-inspired jig in front of a mirror, promising each other that, if one of them scored, they would get together on the field and put on a show.
Gomez scored. His routine did not.
"You've got to be loose because you're shaking just about everything," equipment manager Francisco Tobar said, laughing. "He was like a robot."
"I agree with 'Cisco," Gomez said last week though an interpreter, "but I promise it's getting better."
Until Gomez thoroughly refines his moves, he will probably continue to celebrate in a traditional manner, as he has done after each of his 14 goals this season, a total that tied him for second in MLS with Ante Razov of Chivas USA.
Factor in his 11 assists, also tied for second in the league, and his vital role on a team that lost only one of its first 20 games, Gomez surfaces as the leading candidate for the MLS's most valuable player award. The league Web site this week projected Gomez as the winner.
If, indeed, his name is called by Commissioner Don Garber on Nov. 9, Gomez would become only the second D.C. player to be so honored (Marco Etcheverry won it in 1998).
"I am flattered that people think I should be considered," he said. "All I have ever thought about is winning the championship, but when you hear people say that, it lets me know that they appreciate the way I play. If we win the cup and I win the award, it would be a very special year."
It has already been a special year for United. Despite a late-season slide, the team finished with an MLS-best 15-7-10 record and will face the New York Red Bulls (9-11-12) in a two-game, total-goals series starting this afternoon at Giants Stadium.
Although the primary motivation for both Gomez and the team is a berth in the Eastern Conference title game, redemption for their dishonorable departures last year has also become a driving force. United was ousted by Chicago in the opening round without scoring a goal and Gomez, known to that point for his exemplary behavior, was red-carded in Game 2 for spitting in the face of Fire defender C.J. Brown.
"For me, that is in the past. I made a mistake," Gomez said. "It's about this year now. All we're thinking about is the cup."
Gomez, who will turn 32 next month, has been with United since August 2004, a late-season signing that propelled the club to its fourth championship that fall. He is neither the team captain -- that honor is held by 11-year veteran Moreno -- nor the emotional leader, a task carried by expressive midfielder Ben Olsen.
But in the run of play, when a split-second decision and an inventive touch can turn the course of a match, Gomez is the composer.
"He has completely changed our team," Olsen said. "Without a guy like Christian, we don't have even close to the success that we've had the last two or three years. We were really missing that guy for several years, post-Marco."
Etcheverry's influence began to wane in 2000 and although he remained with the club for three more years, it became clear to the front office that a new playmaker would be needed soon.
United uncovered Gomez in late 2002, when then-coach Ray Hudson embarked on an offseason scouting trip to Argentina. Finances and other issues prevented a deal at that time, but D.C. kept an eye on Gomez and forged a strong relationship with his representatives in South America.
"As soon as he made his first touch, it was so impressive, so clean, I thought this might be exactly what we want," Hudson, now a TV commentator, recalled last week. "He was so slippery and quick, a jackrabbit of a player."
When Hudson was dismissed following the 2003 season and replaced by Peter Nowak, United did not initially see a need to pursue Gomez again.
"Peter wanted to stick with the younger guys to begin with," technical director Dave Kasper said, "but by midseason, we felt we needed a playmaker."
Gomez arrived in time for the final nine regular season games in 2004, then helped United race through the playoffs and beat Kansas City for the championship. In two full seasons since, he has played in all but three matches and emerged as the highest-scoring midfielder in the league.
His finest goal came in June this year when he flicked a pass over a Los Angeles defender and, in one flowing motion, whirled past him, let the ball take a knee-high bounce and lashed a 25-yard shot past the goalkeeper. He had two-goal games against Chivas USA last month and Chicago last weekend.
Gomez's finishing technique is superb, said Bruce Arena, the former U.S. national team coach now guiding the Red Bulls, but what also sets him apart is that "his movement off the ball is special. He puts himself in the right place. When you have Gomez and Moreno together, you've got the best combination in the league."
Gomez attributes his skill development to playing, of all things, indoor soccer -- not the American version with retaining walls but six-on-six on a small field with normal boundaries. From age 6 to 13, growing up just outside Buenos Aires, he would play indoors on Saturdays and outdoors on Sundays.
"You are playing in reduced space, the ball is smaller and it allows you to dribble a lot and work on your skills," he said of the indoor game. "It's a lot of first touch and it helps you develop. It makes you play faster and think faster."
Those skills allowed him to build a 13-year career in the fabled Argentine league, most notably with his boyhood club Nuevo Chicago and the esteemed Independiente, where he played alongside 2006 World Cup members Gabriel Milito and Esteban Cambiasso.
His adventure then took him to MLS, where Latin stars such as Etcheverry, Carlos Valderrama, Mauricio Cienfuegos and Amado Guevara have gracefully engineered teams' attacks.
Gomez's signing did not generate the same fanfare and, even after two-plus seasons here, his following does not rival his predecessors, but "he's equally the player they were in many ways," Arena said.
Just as it took time for Gomez to acclimate to a new league, he and his family -- wife Claudia and 9-year-old twins Gabriel and Augustina -- needed time to adjust to a new environment.
The transition has gone smoothly.
They purchased a townhouse in Ashburn and get around in a silver PT Cruiser (adorned with a Diego Maradona sticker on the back window). The twins, in fourth grade, are fluent in English, while their father still struggles with it. Gabriel plays on the same youth team, the Venom, as Moreno's son, James.
Christian typically carpools to practice with Moreno, a native of Bolivia, and the club's two other Argentine players, defender Facundo Erpen and midfielder Matias Donnet.
"When I first arrived, it was a new culture, a new country, a new language, a total new way of life," he said. "The club made it easier for us. My family has grown accustomed and is doing well, and that makes me happy as well."
Gomez has one year left on a contract that guarantees him $182,500 this season -- third highest on the team behind Freddy Adu and Moreno, but considerably less than several unproductive MLS stars, including Kansas City's Eddie Johnson ($875,000; two goals in 19 games). His representatives are planning to discuss a new deal after this season.
"I'm lucky things are working out here," he said. "I came to a club that gave me a lot of liberties on the field, which has helped me individually."
If only someone could help him dance.
Said teammate Alecko Eskandarian: "I'll tell you what, you put the right music on, he can dance a little bit. He's got some moves now."
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