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With Addition Of Emilio, United Sees the World
D.C. United hopes Luciano Emilio provides the scoring touch that has been lacking at times in recent seasons.
(Jonathan Newton - The Washington Post)
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To pursue his soccer career, Emilio had to leave his family behind. He played for XV de Piracicaba and Rio Branco, secondary clubs in the Sao Paulo state league, until, at age 18, he did what thousands of Brazilian prospects have done during the sport's modern era: He headed to Europe.
Emilio joined German club Cologne, where he played primarily for the under-23 squad. He grew accustomed to the weather and food, and embraced a difficult language. "The coach told me, 'If you want to play on this team, you've got to learn it,' " he said. "I felt the pressure and did everything I could." Eight months later, he said, he was fluent.
Emilio's ability to speak German has been beneficial since joining United, as well. Soehn, the son of German immigrants, does not speak Spanish or Portuguese but is fluent in German. On a scale of 1 to 10, "we're both an 8," he said.
While Emilio absorbed his new language skills in Germany, his soccer proficiency lagged. He went from Cologne to Aachen and, after an upper leg injury required surgery and sidelined him for months, his contract expired and he returned to Brazil.
He played briefly for lower-division Barbarense and, he said, passed on an offer from France to go to Honduras, where he became a three-time scoring champion for Real España and Olimpia. (He also spent one season in the Mexican second division with Querétaro, a club known as Gallos Blancos, or White Roosters, and scored 10 times.)
Last year, playing for Olimpia in the Central American club championship, he won the Golden Boot award with eight goals in seven games as his team finished second to Puntarenas of Costa Rica and qualified for the Champions' Cup.
Emilio's reputation as a proven scorer preceded his arrival in Washington, and United players have been quick to embrace their new teammate, who will play at the point of the club's attacking formation behind the Bolivian-born Moreno and the Argentine-reared Gomez.
"He brings a lot of experience," Gomez said through an interpreter. "He plays with his back to the goal, which will definitely be a benefit when teams focus on Jaime or me or both. Having him here will allow us to coordinate plays and create more opportunities. He's a good addition."
Despite another new country and language, Emilio's ties remain strong with his homeland, where passion for soccer is woven deep in the fabric of society.
"It comes with life," he said. "It is hard to explain and maybe cannot be explained. It is a love that would lead any Brazilian to play this sport for free, to enjoy and just play the game. It is something within, something you would give up everything for."
