With the departure of Nick DeLeon, the long-term injury of Oniel Fisher and Chris Odoi-Atsem recovering from Hodgkin's Lymphoma, D.C. United had to address the right back situation during the offseason. Leonardo Jara was brought in on loan from Argentinian giants Boca Juniors, while Akeem Ward was drafted from Creighton University. United also brought in Chris McCann, who spent most of his appearances in 2018 at left back for Atlanta United.
And at center back, United signed homegrown player Donovan Pines, who is fresh off of winning the national championship with the University of Maryland.
For the opener on March 3 against Atlanta, there should be little mystery as to who Ben Olsen selects for his backline. Here is a breakdown of the backline, with an in-depth look at all the options available for the Black-and-Red.
Center back: Steven Birnbaum and . . . ?
There’s no question as to who will lead the backline for United. It’s Steven Birnbaum, who is entering his sixth year in the league, all with D.C. The former first-round draft pick had a subpar 2017 season, but rebounded nicely in 2018, working with both Frederic Brillant and Kofi Opare in the second half of the season, to keep five clean sheets in the final 14 games. As one of the longest-tenured players on the team, Birnbaum directs a lot of traffic on the field, even though he doesn’t wear the captain’s armband.
Who will play next to him in 2019 provides the only question going into the season. It appears that his partner will be Frederic Brillant, who joined the club before the 2018 season. Brillant had some struggles after his move from New York City FC, but Birnbaum and Brillant performed well down the stretch. With Opare out of the picture, Olsen will likely opt for the 33-year-old Frenchman in defense.
Waiting in reserve are two homegrown player options in Jalen Robinson and Donovan Pines. Robinson has been with the club since 2014, having made 16 league appearances. Pines, 20, is a 6-foot-5 towering center back. He earned some praise from Olsen before the start of preseason, when the head coach said it could be possible that the former academy player might push his way into the starting lineup sometime during the 2019 campaign.
Pines had a solid preseason, but did have a back pass that lead to the game-winning goal for the Philadelphia Union in last week’s preseason friendly. That’s the type of mistake a player can learn quickly from, and should he continue to improve during the season, then he might just take over next to Birnbaum.
Robinson, on the other hand, at under six feet tall, doesn’t seemed to be favored by Olsen, despite strong performances in the past in emergency duty. The former Wake Forest defender got a chance to start alongside Birnbaum against the Union, and did well enough for the first 45 minutes, before the pair were removed for Brillant and Pines. But in the preseason finale against the Montreal Impact, Brillant was back in the starting lineup, likely signaling Olsen’s intent for the start of the season.
Right back: Can Leo Jara shine?
This spot was Nick DeLeon’s in 2018, until he got injured and missed a significant part of the season. Oniel Fisher stepped in, played more games than he ever had in a MLS season, showed improvement over the course of the season and then suffered a bad knee injury that will keep him out until the summer.
United took care of this by bringing in Leonardo Jara on loan from Boca Juniors. Jara was most recently competing against River Plate in the Copa Libertadores Final, the biggest stage of South American club soccer. Given his experience, stepping right into the DCU set up and excelling wouldn’t have been a surprise. But his preseason performances have had mixed results, and one bad moment came on Saturday, when he fell to the ground trying to defend Mathieu Choinière’s cut back against the Montreal Impact.
But there’s no reason to think that Jara can’t work out the kinks and fill in just as well as Fisher or DeLeon at right back. And for now, his replacement is Akeem Ward, who was just drafted in January. Ward is from this area, and he's known to the coaches, which bodes well for being called upon if needed. There were no glaring mistakes in the preseason for the rookie, who just doesn’t have the same experience as Jara.
When they come back, both Fisher and Odoi-Atsem would provide more depth at the right back position. However, there is no exact timetable for the return of either, meaning in the case of extreme emergency, Jalen Robinson or Paul Arriola would have to play here.
Left back: Joseph Mora and Chris McCann
Mora had to be rushed into the side last March, when United figured out that Taylor Kemp was going to be out long-term. Kemp eventually retired without ever seeing the field again, and Mora, who started against the Houston Dynamo immediately after signing, had some early struggles adjusting to MLS from Costa Rica. By the halfway point of the season, there were still questions about Mora’s long-term viability in the league.
At some point during United’s run at home, however, Mora figured it out all, and became a solid contributor to the squad. With no other options behind him, United brought in Vytas Andriuškevičius in August to provide Mora with some cover. Vytas got injured before he could take the field, but it didn’t matter much anyway. Mora had found his rhythm and made the questions at left back disappear for the most part.
Mora looks to be the starter heading into the 2019 season, but United needed someone as a backup, and brought in McCann from Atlanta. The 31-year-old Irishman has experience playing in the top two leagues in England, and then spent the last two years in Georgia, winning the MLS Cup in December. McCann provides more height to United’s backline over Mora, but at the same time, doesn’t provide quite as much going forward.
With Greg Garza injured last year, McCann stepped forward and played well enough for Atlanta on their trip to win it all. Against certain opponents, Olsen might prefer McCann over Mora, but for the time being, expect the Costa Rican international to line up at left back for the Black-and-Red.