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D.C. United acquire Indonesian midfielder Alam on loan

D.C. United have bolstered their attacking options, signing midfielder Syamsir Alam on loan from Belgium club C.S. Vise.

United announced the addition of the 20-year-old Indonesian on Friday morning, and Alam joins the club after having spent time at SC Heerenveen and Vitesse Arnhem of the Eredivisie, and Uruguayan side Penarol. Alam is from Jakarta, Indonesia, the same hometown of one of D.C. United’s new owners, Erick Thohir.

“Syamsir is a young, attacking midfielder with good technical ability, and we look forward to having him on loan with us,” said D.C. United general manager Dave Kasper in a statement released by the club.

Per league and club policy, details of the deal were not disclosed.

What do you think of United signing Alam on loan? Believe he will make an impact on the 2013 season? Wishing the club would have looked at options within MLS?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

    • looking at populations alone i wish dc would eventually turn even more resources to scouting china, brazil, and nigeria

      and i think nobody in MLS is attempting to lure young north africans either
      morocco and egypt have procuced lots of talented players even though their world cup play has been inconsistent

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  1. drew are you actually a fan of united? just curious to know if the vitriol is based on fervor for your club or something else entirely

    i’ve been a fan since day one in 96 and i’m not only happy with this decision, i’m happy with the general direction of the club

    trust me there are some things i wish would change and there were moments during the past year (watching the heavy reliance on Dero, bosko and salihi treatment, pajoy starting, and the longball approach) that made me want to pull my hair out

    but building our team around young unproven players is NOT something i take issue with. i’ve been wishing for years that they would attempt to break into the virtually untapped markets around the world and whether this particular kid works out or not i hope DC blazes a trail in finding the real gems in Asia and other regions

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    • Agree plus we just stole Casey Townsend from the goats so the tradition of fleecing other teams continues… As a DCU supporter I’m thrilled to have a new ownership with money who is involved. And no joke on the exposure that one of these Indonesian kids could bring if successful. (remember how much attention that one Indian guy on the Sporks got for a year even though he didn’t play… Indonesia isn’t as big a country but still quite populous) Little risk for potentially huge win.

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      • hoping we can steal joao plata from toronto but i’m afraid payne is too wily to part with him for beans (even if he’s not in TFCs future plans)

        that would be crazy i think he’d make a decent option on our squad

    • Yes, I went to matches in the ’90s when I lived in DC. I still follow the team and watch most matches on MLS Live.. The club has a rich history and deserves better. RFK is an embarrassment.

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      • cool

        alot has changed since those days man
        i still cry about la norte being lifted out

        you get to go to any of the playoff / championship games?

  2. If an owner with DEEP pockets wants to give a hometown kid a CHANCE then so be it. Nobody is saying the kid is going to be starting for DCU. He is 20 years old and coming on loan for a chance to develop as a player. Nothing more. If Mr. Thohir brings a stadium to DC then I bet you all get real quiet about his “nepotism”. Can you blame him for having a soft spot for a hometown kid anyways? And again, this kid isn’t being given anything other than exposure and a chance.

    On the business side of things… There is a lot to be gained here. Thohir owns television stations in Indonesia, a country of over 230M people. That is almost as big as the US. IF the kid works out and is a good player, then DCU suddenly have a huge following. Almost nothing to lose and everything to gain. MLS isn’t the EPL yet, I’m sure the exposure won’t hurt.

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      • The trajectory of the club is going in the wrong direction. Naturally, people are going to react to any bit of questionable news.

      • Your club just made the playoffs again, and has a good core of young players. Tell me how that trajectory is wrong? Im glad you aren’t an artillery officer.

        And yes, naturally, some fans will OVER-react.

      • Hey, I hope I am wrong. But an absentee owner has yet to prove he is serious about MLS outside of buying the team. Nothing yet RE training ground, stadium, high profile DPs, etc.

        None of that yet plenty of time to fire half the front office and try out a squad of Indonesian players. OK, great.

      • The dudes just GOT HERE. Have we suffered alot over the years? Yes. Are things moving slowly, perhaps slower than most of us want? Ansolutely. But to deny the progress and the promise of our young team and the poteintial of owners who have yet to really disappoint us? That’s a little bit of an over reaction in my book.

        Let’s give them a chance. Changes are happening and I for one will watch patiently and look on the bright side of things.

    • The problem is if the team is squandering an international roster slot on a player who really isn’t up to this level of soccer, just to appease the owner.

      United beat reporter, Steven Goff tweeted that the kid will be on the developmental roster. I don’t know what this means. Is it just another way to describe the off-budget roster slots? Or, is MLS creating some new category in light of the USL-Pro affiliation? Can United put him on some new developmental roster without losing one of the international roster slots for the regular roster? Would love some answers.

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      • dude
        squandering international roster spots is what we do…thats just part of DC’s recent legacy

        i’d rather they try for malleable young players and fail, thus squandering the slot, than bring in “proven” guys like salihi or gallardo that they dont even end up using

        err on the side of potential

  3. Indonesia? They play football over there? Please get some players not places where football is followed more than producing talents.

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      • What I thought. The same Americans that b!@#$ about Europeans having a bias against our players and not giving them a chance are the first to do it in turn to lesser countries.

        If you can play, you can play. I don’t care what country you are from, just like I don’t care about age, color, sexuality, etc. All that I care is that the player can play, and that they are a decent person that represents their team and league well. Yes, I actually do care about that last part.

      • Indonesian boys–especially Javanese ones–play as much futsal as they study, and I’m pretty sure they can joga bonito with the best of them. Still, the country is too poor to have a meaningful player development system, and incredible talent falls through the cracks every year. As a result, TimNas Indonesian isn’t much better than a good NCAA team. Still has a strong national history and deserves some recognition at least for that.

        As to the tr

  4. Its not even the first of April!…what kind of sick twisted joke is this…

    …DCU has TRADITION… Now GO bring some South Americans …

    El Diablo, Emilio, Gomez, Moreno, Fred = Tradition

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    • i agree they need to go get more players from sudamerica but for different reasons…reading between your lines theres an undercurrent of racism man

      besides they’ve got raphael augusto and rafael texeira both from brasil

      and even trading within the league i hope they go after joao plata cause i think he would fit well here

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  5. Things seem to be rapidly unraveling in DC in both the front office & squad. Not good timing with the never ending stadium quest still in progress.

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      • Absentee owner dumping this guy on the team. FO staff bloodbath cuts, DPs leaving and none slated to arrive. You want more?

        This is building up to be a dismal year in an empty RFK for DCU. Have fun.

      • The kid is here on a free loan, he’ll probably end up with reserves or with Richmond, who cares.

        The only DP who left was Bronko, and he really only played when DeRo was injured. He never really had a starting spot in the first place. Nor did Salihi (if you want to go there).

        The team already has young talent and they are loading up on even more young technical players. They have a great coach to help them raise their game to the next level, with veteran leaders in DeRo and Pontius leading the way. Sure they aren’t spending the big bucks, but who cares? That has mixed results (see: NYRB)

      • Nothing to worry about. They will probably sell several million DCU jerseys in Indonesia and cut the guy if he does not pan out. If you want to pick on a club with a dysfunctional front office, you should talk to NYRB fans.

      • While some of the things you’ve flagged arehappening or have happened – you’re perspective of them, or at the very least the way you have stated them here is quite bleak.

        * An owner picks (not dumps) a player – gosh, that’s NEVER happened before.

        * There’s trunover/change (not bloodbath cuts) in the FO as new owners get involved – nope, never saw that heppen before either.

        * DPS leaving (we all knew that our DPs were not really doing the business) and none slated to arrive? How do you know this? Are you a DC sout? Could it be, perhaps, that we need to get rid of the guys who are not doing the business BEFORE we get new DPs? Could talks be in progress that we are not aware of?

        * And no I do not want more…not with that point of view.

        * Dude we were a few injuries and bad calls away from palying MLS cup with a young team. Yeah we’re still in RFK thanks for the newsflash…and yes, we will have fun.

        Sheesh!

    • The front office just made the steal trade of the off-season, in getting Casey Townsend from Chivas, for a 2nd round pick. How’s that for unraveling?

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  6. MLS needs to step in immediately behind the scenes and put and end to actions like this before they become any more regular. This behavior destroys leagues.

    It is the essence of why our ODP system is a disaster. Nepotism rampant. Friends with the coach? Kid on the team. Support the team financially? Kid on the team.

    Can you imagine a team in a top league signing players to contracts because they were the kid of some friend? Even Man United waited to tap into the asian markets until someone as hard working and talented as Park Ji-Sung came along.

    Overrate or let slide for poor players and you get Andy Carroll for 35 million pounds–one of the worst football contracts in history.

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    • It’s nothing worth getting worked up over. Goff is reporting that it’s a free loan and that he’s on the developmental roster so he’s not actually costing United much, if anything at all. This is just to please the boss and maybe the kid turns out to be worthwhile. More than likely, he’ll end up playing in reserve games. Stuff like this happens all the time.

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    • Normally, I find you to be an insufferable jerk and your posts singularly trollish and offensive. On this one point you’re right. If United is turned into a development program for the Indonesian national side, it will be to the detriment of the team, its fans and the league as a whole.

      Hopefully, this will be a one-off sop to the owner.

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  7. Erick Thohir co-owns some tv stations with the Indonesian owner of CS Vise. Nice to see how Indonesians are all buddy buddy with each other.

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  8. “Alam is from Jakarta, Indonesia, the same hometown of one of D.C. United’s new owners, Erick Thohir.”

    Oh yeah, I’m sure this kid is a top notch player bahahaha.

    CS Vise is a SECOND DIVISION mid table Belgium club and he’s on LOAN from them? He can’t even break the starting line up for a mid table SECOND DIVISION Belgium club and he’s going to come in and produce for United?

    I’ll gladly eat crow if this kid is some hidden world beater, but this looks like just inexcusable ownership interference for personal reasons.

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    • Because those are not official numbers from the league, but are compiled by the players association through surveys after the fact. And that immediately following an announcement, no “official” numbers would be available through there.

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    • If you notice, those data are released mid-season. We won’t know what that kid’s contract for 2013 is until the new numbers are made public in a few months.

      Ryan Meara and Connor Lade signed new contracts so the data on that site are wrong for this season. Get it?

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    • Building off that point but taking it to the source of the issue, I don’t understand why this *league* always says “Per league and club policy, details of the deal were not disclosed”.

      The general lack of information is maddening for a league that more chatter, discussion and debate over “good moves, bad moves” can always help.

      It just feels hollow at times.

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    • hey, please let me know where on that link they show his salary, because as far as i can see, it hasn’t been updated since October.

      He says “perleague and club policy details of the deal were not disclosed” BECAUSE THEY AREN’T DISCLOSED. This is why the salary list you linked to gets so much attention when it’s released each season.

      Reply

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