He should’ve scored in his first game back. But a goal and assist in his second one will suffice for Fabián Espíndola, whose return to the fold has added an exponential increase in offensive potential for a D.C. United squad that is already making history.
It wasn’t clear what the Argentinian Designated Player’s role would be when he made the cross-country trip with D.C. United to face the Vancouver Whitecaps on April 25 in his first regular season appearance of 2015. Sitting out the opening six games of the campaign could’ve taken its toll, both on his sharpness and his fitness.
As it turned out, he started right where he left off in 2014, putting BC Place on notice and the Vancouver defense on its heels from the start, playing a critical role in United’s attention-grabbing 2-1 victory. All of the traits that had propelled Espíndola to being named team MVP the season before were on display. He forced a pair of yellow cards on Matías Laba on two plays that otherwise would’ve ended up as one-on-one chances versus goalkeeper David Ousted. He also tested Ousted directly with a blast off his non-dominant right foot; it was bound for the far corner if not for the goalkeeper’s full stretch diving stop. The only thing missing was a goal.
Which meant Espíndola would have to wait just a bit longer – barely 15 minutes into United’s 2-0 win over Columbus on May 2 at RFK Stadium, to be exact. Combining with Chris Rolfe, he turned a routine counterattack after a Crew corner kick into a ruthless opening goal. Before the halftime whistle had blown, he added his first assist, delivering a corner kick to a wide-open Sean Franklin at the back post.
“He’s a monster,” Bill Hamid, United goalkeeper, said during an interview with Comcast SportsNet.
As it turns out, the questions about how Espíndola would play after his layoff were mostly a case of D.C. United being coy.
“Fabi getting back into form wasn’t a real concern of ours,” United Head Coach Ben Olsen said. “Physically and mentally this is what he does; he plays soccer for a living and he wants to score goals. It’s great to have him back out there. He plays with a fire that we all love and I think the guys rally behind his energy.”
In the locker room, the satisfaction was evident on Espíndola’s face.
"I’m just happy to have scored and happy to have gotten it done so quickly,” he told MLSsoccer.com in a Spanish-language interview. “Obviously it’s been a while since I’ve been out there, and it’s good to get it out of the way. More than anything I’m just overjoyed that we got the win, and we’re still rolling.”
While he and most of the players didn’t realize that the win had clinched the best eight-game start in United’s 20-season history, the Black-and-Red can still improve. Luis Silva, who tied Espíndola for the team scoring title last year with 11 goals, is yet to start game. Rolfe now has a goal or assist in four straight matches, the second-longest streak in MLS this season. United is 11-1-3 when he and Espíndola are in the starting lineup together. The Argentinian’s presence up top is a tantalizing prospect with eight games in the next five weeks.
“It’s easy for me to play with Fabi in the sense that if I get the ball I just know that I need to find him, and he’ll take care of the rest,” Rolfe told reporters after the Columbus victory. “He makes it pretty easy at times, honestly. You’ve gotta give him a lot of credit for how he trained during his suspension, that couldn’t have been easy."
