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Hamid overcomes adversity to shine in goal for D.C. United

BillHamid (ISIPhotos.com)

It has been a roller coaster 2012 for young D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid.

He started it by earning his first U.S. national team cap, and was subsequently named by no less than Jurgen Klinsmann as the No. 2 goalkeeper in the U.S. national team pool. He was starting on the U.S. Under-23 national team, with the Olympics looming in the summer. All while starting for his hometown D.C. United.

Then things went bad in a hurry. He struggled during the U-23 team's failed Olympic qualifying bid, then suffered an injury that led to him being benched by D.C. United in favor of an in-form Joe Willis. Just like that, Hamid went from hot prospect back-up goalkeeper.

Here is my FOX Soccer feature on Hamid, who opened up about the adversity he has faced, and battling through it. He has had to grow up in a hurry, and he has become a more grounded and mature player since enduring those tough months earlier this year.

Give the story a read and feel free to share your own thoughts on Hamid's year. Think he's a future U.S. national team starter? Still not sold on him being the best of a strong generation of young American goalkeepers?

Share your thoughts below.

 

Comments

  1. also, i love that this guy is so insecure about his own opinions he has to MAKE UP people to agree with him. are you that stupid? you didn’t think SBI could see that the comments were all coming from the same IP address?!?!

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  2. dude, you are an idiot. you don’t need to post your lame comment on FSC and on here. i love that SBI called you out.

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  3. Brad, you obviously do not follow Bill Hamid’s performances for his club. He has been excellent for DCU. Hamid is a humble and hardworking young man, who has plenty of raw talent. Barring injuries, he will be in Europe sooner rather than later.

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  4. The U23s was not all Hamid’s fault. The coaching staff needed to take a longer look and then take him out right away. What worried me about Hamid was his tendency to catch crosses on his chest, not good technique at all.

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  5. JusT want to clarify that i am not Tyler. He just agreed with me. You however have now posted under 3 names and nobody agrees with you, at least as adamantly. I sense a sad NY or Philly fan.

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  6. Nah. The grammar is not the issue. The sentence structure is bad.

    Let me clarify the logic.

    Hamid is good enough to play for Olsen, even though he has “choked”.

    By the way the Olympic failure was not just Hamid’s “choke” but the fault of the entire team. At the very least, there were a number of guys who could have rugby tackled that winger before he shot. Yes, they would have been red carded but as long as it was outside of the penalty box it would have been okay and the Under-23’s would now probably be prepping for London. I guarantee you had the roles been reversed they would have done it in a heartbeat.

    Olsen must think Hamid, even with his possible liabilities,previous failures,and juvenile tweeting, gives DC United the best chance to win now, otherwise why does he play him?

    He also must think that Hamid will learn from his mistakes. This is the opposite of what Hamid’s critics think. It seems they feel he should be doing anything other than playing goalkeeper at a professional level.

    I think I’ll side with Olsen on this one.

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  7. Tyler, glad you’re on a first name basis with a guy you just looked up on Wikipedia. Pat Onstad is a bit more of a goal keeping legend than the wiki you just read must imply. Also, you are wrong about Hamid’s age. Finally, I’m not sure what you mean about him being a great role model, but whatever.

    Hey, you know that we can tell you are posting under different aliases when the icon is the same because your email is the same? Just so you know, elgringorico. Anyways, I think the points are just: 1) it would’ve been nice for the article to have a quote from Hamid’s GK coach, since he is a legend; 2) Hamid’s constant public pronouncements of going to the EPL can be a bit tedious for DCU fans, especially when he is barely keeping his starting role. Regardless of your opinion, you shouldn’t be calling anybody a fool, particularly when you keep making factual errors. I will ignore your posts now, given that you make unsubstantiated personal attacks.

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  8. Bill is a great keeper, one of the best in our league if not the best. The Olympics doesnt change that. Messi and Cristiano lost in the SF of UEFA CL, doesnt mean they arent the best players in the world. The future is very bright for him and DCU for that matter, as long as he is between the posts.

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  9. Pat is a coach. He played briefly for us but as it relates to Bill, there was no need to mention him. Just so you know, he’s just 22. He can tweet whatever he wants. Get off the man’s back, he’s still a grea role model. Anyone claiming Willis should start is a f(t)ool.

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  10. “MJC-DC, thank you for the novel-length post.” That’s a pretty personal way to start a post in my opinion.

    That said, your right my last sentence was unnecessary, rude and subtracts from my argument, same goes for my above post to Brad. I’ll try to avoid being smug in the future and I ask that you offer me the same courtesy in return.

    As far as Hamid, I guess we’ll see in a couple years if the EPL is just a dream and if he can redeem himself with the Nats. You know my stance, I believe his natural talent, combined with the great coaching at DC will lead to nothing but success for Bill.

    Furthermore, as a DC supporter I personally wish nothing but success for all DC players.

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  11. “so please stop being spiteful and go to sleep, content that the US is outta the Olympics.”

    How is supporting a member of the team, which I’ve supported for years, being spiteful or hateful? Let it go, man.

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  12. With field players I agree but he’s fine right now. He’s a young goalkeeper starting for his club. If he goes to Europe, he’s going to sit for a while. With goalkeepers, I think it’s better for them to be getting game experience when they’re young. He has plenty of time to earn a transfer and move to Europe.

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  13. 1) I am a woman.
    2) Why make posting personal, talking about hate and spite? Clearly, many of us are not Hamid fans. That’s okay. He chokes. We don’t have to like him. It’s just a game. Relax. Get some sleep.

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  14. Ha, now you’re citing evidence of his performance in one game against one of the worst teams in MLS history who had just fired their coach days before as evidence that Hamid does not choke?! OK, then how about the game before, against the exact same lame PU team when he choked? Regardless, we obviously differ on our opinions of Hamid, so please stop being spiteful and go to sleep, content that the US is outta the Olympics.

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  15. So he chokes?

    He’s 21 and if Olsen has a 21 year old keeper and plays him then it tells me that he accepts Hamid will be going through growing pains but is still good enough to play now.

    Are you saying he will never improve and get better? That what you see now is all Bill Hamid will ever be?

    Because if you are right then Olsen should be fired right now for putting the team at risk and putting Hamid on the field.

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  16. One game, and here’s one to say he doesn’t. Just last week vs. Philadelphia a game we had no business winning, Hamid made save after save to keep us in game and guarantee the three points. Let go of the hate man, you’ll be better for it.

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  17. An 85% save percentage proves he is among the best shot stoppers in the league. You can keep ignoring my arguments and harp on all he does is “choke” narrative all you want, but repeating something doesn’t make it anymore true. Oh and how was that “choke” performance he had last Saturday at Philadelphia?

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  18. MJC-DC, thank you for the novel-length post. But, here’s a fact to agree that Hamid chokes: the US men’s team won’t be in the Olympics this summer.

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  19. Nothing in your “facts” demonstrates that Hamid doesn’t choke. In fact, it just shows that Willis has played more minutes. The true test will be if Hamid can keep his mind on playing for DC and not choke anymore. He doesn’t know when to commit off the line under pressure. Nor does he know how to organize a defense. Do you want to try to refute that he chokes? Regardless, I’d rather have a player like Willis who actually wants to be here (or pretends to), instead of the EPL fantasizing.

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  20. Ummmmm, do you know who Pat Onstad is? How about goalkeeping? How about DC United? As for the tweets, go look them up…he posts relentlessly under his own name. Joe Willis should start. Enough with Hamid the Choker.

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  21. Hamid, Johnson, or Porter –Don’t want to hear about them for a long time, specially as we get closer to the Olympics kick off. The wounds still fresh!

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  22. Someone hasn’t been watching him play recently.

    Yes, Hamid was poor with the U-23’s. However, since recovering from injury and regaining his starting spot over Joe Willis (no small feat given how great Willis played), Hamid has reestablished himself as one of the best young American keepers. His 85% save percentage is third best in the league:

    http://www.mlssoccer.com/stats/season?sort=desc&order=Sv%25&season_year=2012&group=SAVES

    Furthermore, the two guys ahead of him on that list have only seen one game of action each, so among regular starting goalkeepers Hamid leads the league in save percentage. Now the true test will be to see if he can maintain that level of shot blocking ability while improving his distribution and ability to read and react to open play and dead ball crosses. Also, lets not forget the young man is only 21 years old. Please be less spiteful and more critical (i.e cite facts) when you post on these boards.

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  23. First part of that comment is ridiculous. Why does he need to write about Pat Onstad when the article is about Bill Hamid? And as far as the tweets, do you mind sharing them with us?

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  24. I believe “was” is the word you are looking for. Past tense buddy. The article clearly says he WAS at one point #2 and then went down the depth chart after a poor run, but now is reemerging as a top prospect to replace Howard someday.

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  25. I’m normally a fan of this columnist, but what a silly pr fluff piece. First, how can you ever write about DCU goalkeeping without mentioning Pat Onstad?? Second, the writer forgot to mention that we have now all seen that Bill Hamid is just an average keeper, who is prone to choking under pressure. Hamid spends all his time tweeting about wanting to play in Europe, instead of practicing, so can barely “keep” a starting spot.

    (SBI-I believe getting comments from Ben Olsen and Tim Howard is enough for the story to work. I wanted to speak to Onstad, and would have gotten Onstad, but he was no longer in the D.C. locker room when I went in to talk to people. That said, there’s no reason that speaking to him was a MUST for this story.

    My question is why do you feel the need to post under three different names to perpetuate the false notion that people agree with you? Explain that one Brad/Maria/Baltimore United (yes, all three posting from the same URL.)

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  26. Hopefully he gets out the MLS soon and moves to Europe. We need our good young players to prove themselves in Europe.

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