By Steven Goff
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

D.C. United President Kevin Payne entered the locker room at RFK Stadium yesterday morning before the club's first preseason workout and introduced himself to who he thought was an unfamiliar player.

Upon closer examination, Payne realized he was speaking to someone he knew well, second-year defender Marc Burch, who was sporting a new haircut.

"I was in new-player mode," Payne said, laughing. "It was hard to recognize a lot of guys in there."

One can hardly blame him. Unsatisfied with the way the past three years ended, United spent the brief offseason renovating the roster and turning to South America for immediate help.

Yesterday, the club began to form a new identity by introducing two Argentines (forward Franco Niell and defender Gonzalo Peralta), a Peruvian (goalkeeper José Carvallo) and a Colombian (defender Gonzalo Martinez).

Today, United will unveil its biggest catch, former Argentine World Cup midfielder Marcelo Gallardo. He comes to Washington from French club Paris Saint-Germain and is United's first acquisition under MLS's year-old designated player rule, which allows clubs to sign high-profile talent outside normal salary guidelines. Gallardo, 32, practiced with the club yesterday and will be added to the roster pending approval of a work visa.

Those additions, combined with another new goalie, Zach Wells, and a collection of college draft picks and free agents, have given United a decidedly fresh look.

"It was interesting to see how different we were," 10-year veteran Ben Olsen said. "I knew a lot of guys had left, but until you show up and look at the lockers and everything is different, it's exciting."

Six regulars -- Troy Perkins, Bobby Boswell, Greg Vanney, Brian Carroll, Josh Gros and Christian Gomez -- as well as several reserves are gone. United retained the MLS rights to Vanney and Gomez, whose contracts expired last month, and are attempting to trade them for draft picks or player acquisition funds.

Sources said Colorado is seriously interested in Gomez, the 2006 MLS most valuable player who declined United's contract extension offers for the last year. But the Rapids would probably need to reach financial terms with the Argentine playmaker before consummating a trade.

While the front office continues trade talks, Coach Tom Soehn must integrate his newcomers with a returning group that includes MLS all-time leading scorer Jaime Moreno, 2007 scoring champion Luciano Emilio, midfielders Clyde Simms and Fred, and defenders Burch, Devon McTavish and Bryan Namoff.

United does not open the MLS season until March 29, but starts a Champions' Cup series against Jamaican club Harbour View on March 12.

"The language of soccer is the same when you get on the field," said Soehn, who in his first season last fall watched the club finish with the best record in the regular season for the second straight year but falter in the playoffs again.

"Even today, the first day that we trained, you could see how fast it all comes together. The experience that [the new players] have is going to help in that respect, but the guys we have left over from last year, they understand what is expected."

Carvallo, 21, does not count against the foreign player limit because he holds a green card; his mother lives in Ashburn. Having represented Peru's national team once and played for Universitario for several years, he will challenge Wells for the starting job.

Peralta, 27, also has U.S. ties; he lived in Burbank, Calif., for a few years when he was a teenager. He arrives from Almirante Brown, an Argentine second division club, and at 6 feet 2, will vie for a starting role in central defense.

"He is an organizer and leader in the back," United General Manager Dave Kasper said. "He has a big presence."

Peralta might end up alongside Mart¿nez, 32, who played several years in Italy and has represented Colombia's national team. Niell, 24, who is generously listed at 5-4, will join a forward corps that lacked depth last season.

"We're excited to get going," Kasper said. "It's been a very good offseason for us and we are looking forward to everything ahead of us."

United Notes: Emilio and Fred are in their native Brazil awaiting visas and will join the team when camp moves to Bradenton, Fla., this week. . . . West Virginia's Pat Carroll (West Springfield), Penn State's Grady Renfrow (Gonzaga) and former Los Angeles midfielder Josh Gardner have been invited to camp. . . . Reserve midfielder Stephen deRoux's contract was not renewed and he is exploring other opportunities, Kasper said.