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D.C. United add Branko Bošković as Designated Player

Branko Boskovic

With the World Cup is in full swing, all the focus is on the tournament in South Africa. With the league in the middle of its two week Cup-imposed hiatus, D.C. United became the first team to make a move, announcing the signing of Branko Bošković on Monday.

The 29-year-old attacking midfielder (who will turn 30 next week) hails from Montenegro in Eastern Europe. He will join United as a Designated Player, and is coming off a stint in the Austrian Bundesliga with Rapid Vienna. Previously, he spent time with Red Star Belgrade and Paris St. Germain.

Bošković will fill the vacant attacking midfield role, hoping to add a creative spark that United badly needs in the center of the park. United is in need of offensive help, last in the league in goal scored with just 10 in 12 games. He will likely be available against Seattle Sounders on July 15, when the international transfer window opens.

What do you think of Bošković’s addition? Can he help D.C. resurrect its playoff hopes? Will he be another Designated Player-bust?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. how many people knew about Gomez before he signed with dcu, he turned out pretty good, same with Emilio for a few seasons in the beginning. Give the dude a chance, lets see what he can do

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  2. i read somewhere that he wasnt counted as a DP this season…thats all i said, i really dont know too many details and i dont remember where i read it

    anyways, Hanauer said that SSFC would take full advantage of the DP rule a few months back, so i wouldnt be so sure about them not getting someone else…another words, they could still buy the third slot

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  3. Depending on salary cap space availability the league could have up to 48 designated players signed by the end of the transfer window (54 for next season). By my count there only 8 DP’s so far committed to rosters this year. That leaves 40 more opportunities. I am not going to be critical of a franchise that goes out and tries to make their club better by signing a DP when their are so many clubs that are not signing any DP’s or appear to be even seriously considering any DP’s. If he is good enough to start and inject some life into their attack I don’t see what the problem is.

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  4. I agree with your post, but the OCD in me can’t control itself; it’s “conceited” not “conceded”. Although, “conceited” doesn’t make much sense either. Ah, whatever… It’s a soccer chat board. I need my meds. 😉

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  5. DCU doesn’t need a DP to put buts in the seats. They have a solid fan base, especially when the team has a winning season. If this guy can help the team get back to winning ways, then the same amount of fans will come irregardless of whos on the field. Maybe a big name is needed in a place like NY, where 60-75% of the soccer fans are Eurosnobs and frontrunners (no disrespect to die hard NY fans). Right now though, DCU just needs to focus on getting back to its winning ways and this guy appears to be a decent first step.

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  6. Not necessarily, but bring a name that people recognize, or at least are familiar with. Then again, what is done is done, will see what this guy is made of and if it does not work he goes home.

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  7. Agree- Angel was a well-known name throughout the world because of his time with River and in England. NYRB were very lucky and are blessed to have a guy like him come here at a somewhat young age and be willing to stick it out with one of the worst teams ever in the worst stadium ever. This guy, however, is completely anonymous, with no track record of excellence or success, and 12 caps with Serbia and Montenegro- a side that went 0 and 3 in 2006 with 2 goals scored, mind you. Since, he has 18 caps and a goal for Montenegro. Well, I’m sold!!

    He didn’t cut it at PSG, and he’s apparently an above average player, with a good strike rate, in the Austrian league. And we’re paying him DP money and using a DP slot on him? This is where I take issue. I’d be really excited if he were coming for, say, $200,000 or so. But the point of a DP is to help generate fan interest, and unless he singlehandedly leads us to the playoffs, I can’t see any impact at the box office because of his signing. Stop scolding us for complaining or sneering at us for having never heard of this man whose name would raise eyebrows and shrugged shoulders throughout Europe and the world, we have some very good reasons to complain.

    And if it works out, then I’ll be first in line at the Eat Your Own Words Cafe, and will have a delicious lunch. But for now, I’m very worried about what a big flop this could turn out to be.

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  8. That’s more what I meant. Frankly, all of our players should be getting at LEAST what we call “DP” money ($335,000+), but the slot is all that matters because I don’t think the club is going to go bankrupt by paying a guy about $500,000-1,000,000 or so, and there’s plenty of cap space. I sure hope he’s worth the DP slot, but look at our other DPs: Gallardo and Emilio. Ugh.

    And nam, you’re not really bursting a bubble, I’d just like to hear of a player, or at least be able to verify that he is a proven commodity (which he most certainly is not), before my team spends money and a valuable DP slot on him. I guess that’s pretty conceded of me, huh?

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  9. DC United currently has 7 players from either Central or South America. You really think adding another one would make that much of a difference?

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  10. Exactly. The point isnt that its impossible to find random Eastern European players that can help your team.

    The point is that if you know where to look, you should be able to find ones that dont cost DP money.

    Seriously, if you cant consistantly play for the Montenegro national team, how good can you be?

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  11. What is a Branko Bošković? With the amount of Central and South Americans we have in the DC area, they bring this guy. – Not a very good business decision!

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  12. Except for very rare cases, I disagree. If he does not immediately add at the gate, than there is huge pressure, to not just be good, but to change the entire tone of the team.

    If not, then save your cash.

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  13. I don’t really know much about this guy but I will reserve judgement until I seem him on the pitch. I also didn’t know much about Emilio or Gomez when they arrived but those guys both played at high levels and helped DC United win. I know the argument will be they didn’t make DP money at the time but both evnentually signed big contracts and I’m hoping this guy is barely making DP $ and can contribute a lot offensively.

    DCU is building for the future right now, they have a core of players to build around like Jakovic, Wallace, Najar, Hamid, Castillo, Graye, Pontius, etc. It might not show this season (although DCU is undefeated in its last 5 I think), next season should be a big step up.

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  14. You’re confusing two things — He’s not making the full 480k this year, because they signed him for midseason — but the DP rule is structured to allow for half-season DPs, too. Anyone making 167,500 for a half-season can be a DP. I don’t know if Seattle is using a DP slot for Nkufo, but they’d be foolish not to. They’re not going to get someone else.

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  15. Yeah — comparing him to Angel is a bit absurd.

    I don’t object to the money the team is paying, but DP slots are precious commodities.

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  16. Not even close. DC traded this past draft’s first-round pick, not next year’s.

    Actually, Portland and Vancouver will flip a coin for the first (and second) pick.

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  17. According to his Wikipedia page, he was with the national team from ’02 – ’05. Saw some Euro qualifying action. Also with the Montenegro team since ’07. Is he worth DP money? Probably. Is he worth using up a DP slot? That’s another matter.

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  18. I dont like arguing with you, but they are wrong….he may have captained his national side before, and infact he could even be vice captain like what Donovan is for us, but Vucinic is there main Captain

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  19. Angel scored at a good rate for River Plate and then scored more than 40 goals for Aston Villa in the EPL. I understand Boskovic is a midfielder not a striker, but do his last couple of stops look like that? I haven’t seen him play beyond Youtube clips, but it looks like he washed out in Ligue 1.

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  20. I actually think it could be a great step for the MLS to be able to compete with second tier teams in Europe for players and be able to pay competitive salaries, not sure why all the hating

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  21. He didn’t play 4 years ago. He was never a regular on the team. He had potential when he first started with Serbia and Montenegro, but nothing ever really became of him.

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  22. 1. I don’t think the criteria for signing a DP should be “are you going to sell beaucoup tickets?”. That’s how you end up signing a Denilson.

    2. There are lots of guys who arrive in MLS and turn out to be fine players that we hadn’t heard of. Juan Toja anyone?

    3. Here’s the reality salary-wise: if you’re going to sign a player from Europe who comes from either a top tier league (England, spain, Italy, maybe Germany) or the next tier down (France, Holland, Austria, Scotland), unless that player is damaged goods (32 or older, major injury problems, hasn’t played in a long time, coming off of alcohol or drug problems or attitude/suspension issues) it takes a DP salary to sign them.

    I haven’t seen Boskovic play. I don’t know if he’ll be a real positive addition to the league or not. But if MLS is going to sign proven European players, unless they’re aging, hurt or coming from small leagues, we’re going to pay through the nose. It sounds as if Boskovic fits the scheme Onalfo is seeking to play (with a central mid who can create but is a legitimate 2-way player who defends, wins balls, gets stuck-in, plays 90 minutes), is in his prime (ie: aging) and hasn’t been a long-time bench role with no starting time. So on paper it sounds like an interesting signing. But I’m skeptical just like I was skeptical of Lindpere’s signing–most foreign players don’t adjust to MLS well (anyone remember the “King of Goals”?) including a lot of players who’ve proven themselves in leagues outside of MLS. So we’ll see how this plays out.

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    LINK: http://www.stadiogoal.com
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  24. I don’t know how to put this, but…I’m kind of a big deal.

    People know me…

    …ah, I’m very important. I own many leather bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.

    THAT’S WHO I AM, MLS! GET READY FOR ME…

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  25. to add to the addition above: after watching his youtube highlights for a third time, that “Canyon” in his leg, is freakin’ GRAND!

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  26. I don’t think it’s very healthy to have a canyon in your leg. Sounds rocky, might get infected, should definitely stitch that up.

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  27. to add to the above. I just saw some highlights of his play on youtube and he’s got a VERY good touch. In my opinion he’s been grossly underrated. Not only does he make pretty awesome passes, like Beckham but has a freaking Canyon in his leg and he’s made great goals from the midfield.

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  28. yeah, give him a chance people. While its true that players like Beckham have done great things in terms of marketing for the Galaxy, he honestly hasn’t done that much in terms of producing quality work on the field. What DC needs right now is somebody who can produce and yield dividends on the field more than anything; maybe this guy is the answer to that.

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