Foreign Exchange: Three questions with Jason Anderson of Green Line Soccer
It was just one match, but D.C. United already looks better in 2026 than they did in 2025. We sought out an expert to share some insights,
Austin FC plays a Sunday matinee match (1:30 pm CT) against D.C. United, and though it's a team Verde's played before (three times, in fact, winning all three times, it's one that fans on this side of the Mississippi aren't entirely familiar with.
You may know they "won" the Wooden Spoon this year, and swapped out their head coach and sporting director. You also may know they beat the Union 1-0 least week, and in this very young season, they're fourth in the East.
To help us learn more about the 2026 version of D.C. United, we turned to Jason Anderson, who recently launched Green Line Soccer. Let's get into it.
It's been a time of great change for D.C. United, starting with new sporting director Erkut Sogut and head coach René Weiler. What ideas are they bringing for building and shaping the team, and how do you see that working out so far?
The great changes seemingly never end at D.C. United, who have been in some form of turmoil for the entire time that there have been Austin FC matches in MLS. René Weiler's arrival back in July signalled a switch that's less about tactics (though those are far different than Troy Lesesne's enormous emphasis on pressing out of a 3-4-2-1) and more about principles. United, after flailing back and forth between polar opposite game models over the years, simply didn't have the players to execute Lesesne's highly specific approach, with each player given a long to-do list in every phase of play.
Under Weiler, things have been simplified. The experienced Swiss coach wants players who can read the game and respond quickly, rather than a group that sticks to a locked-in script. It's not that there's no plan — the win over the Union was rooted in identifying Philadelphia's weaknesses and making sure the entire game was about those issues — but rather that the plan leaves plenty of room for improvisation. The simple structure means there's a lot of trust placed in players to find different paths to exploit the flaws in the opponent and to hide United's own weak points.
Basically, it's throwback soccer in a certain way, more Bruce Arena than Gregg Berhalter. Players like Matti Peltola, Lucas Bartlett, and Kye Rowles have responded to the changes, increasing DCU's defensive solidity. Whether the attack can keep up remains to be seen.
Tai Baribo came over from Philly to D.C. and got to score against Philly in the opener. How will he fit into D.C.'s overall attack?
Baribo will be the centerpiece of United's offensive plans. He wasn't the most expensive acquisition this winter thanks to Louis Munteanu's $7 million move from CFR Cluj, but United has been clear that the Israeli striker is the player they'll be leaning on the most in 2026. The idea is that Baribo will be a classic No. 9, using his understanding of spacing in the box, his anticipation, and a well-studied approach to how opposition defenses operate to get into spaces that are hard to defend and easy to access with the ball.
Last weekend's win was a perfect example of the idea, with Baribo's clinical goal turning out to be the game-winner. Beyond that, he had an earlier tap-in called back for offside (this is a good moment to shout out D.C.'s new left back Keisuke Kurokawa, who had the assist on the non-goal, as a threat going forward), hit the post after catching his old side off-guard, and generally working his socks off trying to hunt a second goal. MLSSoccer.com credited United with 1.4 xG on the night, and Baribo accounted for 1.0 of that total. The Black-and-Red probably don't want to be that heavily dependent on one player, but they do want to make sure that the biggest share of their chances end up going to Baribo.
I know it's just one match, but looking at it compared to the 2025 season, what's one encouraging sign and one carryover from last year that you remain concerned about?
The encouraging sign for United from week one was the clarity and sense of purpose the group played with. In attacking and defending, everyone understood what they were supposed to be doing, the effort levels were high, and there were decent signs of chemistry building in a group that featured four new starters and seven total players making their club debut. We're grading on a curve here, since DCU won the Wooden Spoon last year, but they cleared the first hurdle pretty convincingly. A solid enough, cohesive 1-0 home win over a good team is one of the club's best showings in years.
There are still plenty of concerns, but to pick one, it'd have to be Baribo's partner up top. Munteanu is a club-record purchase, but (a) was only given 20 minutes off the bench despite being fully fit, and (b) wasn't able to impact the game even as Philadelphia played 10 v. 11 and took big risks hunting an equalizer. Meanwhile, the starting second forward in Weiler's 4-4-2, Gabriel Pirani, only influenced the game in a couple of sporadic moments. He played his part in the goal, to be fair, but the story with Pirani throughout his time in MLS is one of a very talented player who vanishes on a regular basis.
He's also just a slow starter in MLS. Over the past two seasons, Pirani has produced 14 goals and 6 assists, but in matches played in roughly the first half of the season (I'm talking February to June here), he's only put up 3g/3a. It's only been after DCU's season has fallen apart and fans are urging the club to sell the Brazil U23 attacker that he starts producing. Between Pirani and Munteanu, someone's got to step up and seize the role as Baribo's partner. Until United gets an answer there, the team's ceiling is still pretty limited.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
At Thursday's media availability, Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez talked about a more exciting attack. Perhaps it has been made more exciting with the surprise addition of an aging but capable No. 9.
Austin FC players felt they were the better team on Saturday night against Minnesota. An unlucky injury led to the 90th-minute goal that turned three points into one.
An opening goal from Brendan Hines-Ike and a surprising (in how it ensued) goal from Myrto Uzuni was almost enough to seal a second straight opening day win. But then came the 90th minute.
Austin FC plays a Sunday matinee match (1:30 pm CT) against D.C. United, and though it's a team Verde's played before (three times, in fact, winning all three times, it's one that fans on this side of the Mississippi aren't entirely familiar with.
You may know they "won" the Wooden Spoon this year, and swapped out their head coach and sporting director. You also may know they beat the Union 1-0 least week, and in this very young season, they're fourth in the East.
To help us learn more about the 2026 version of D.C. United, we turned to Jason Anderson, who recently launched Green Line Soccer. Let's get into it.
It's been a time of great change for D.C. United, starting with new sporting director Erkut Sogut and head coach René Weiler. What ideas are they bringing for building and shaping the team, and how do you see that working out so far?
The great changes seemingly never end at D.C. United, who have been in some form of turmoil for the entire time that there have been Austin FC matches in MLS. René Weiler's arrival back in July signalled a switch that's less about tactics (though those are far different than Troy Lesesne's enormous emphasis on pressing out of a 3-4-2-1) and more about principles. United, after flailing back and forth between polar opposite game models over the years, simply didn't have the players to execute Lesesne's highly specific approach, with each player given a long to-do list in every phase of play.
Under Weiler, things have been simplified. The experienced Swiss coach wants players who can read the game and respond quickly, rather than a group that sticks to a locked-in script. It's not that there's no plan — the win over the Union was rooted in identifying Philadelphia's weaknesses and making sure the entire game was about those issues — but rather that the plan leaves plenty of room for improvisation. The simple structure means there's a lot of trust placed in players to find different paths to exploit the flaws in the opponent and to hide United's own weak points.
Basically, it's throwback soccer in a certain way, more Bruce Arena than Gregg Berhalter. Players like Matti Peltola, Lucas Bartlett, and Kye Rowles have responded to the changes, increasing DCU's defensive solidity. Whether the attack can keep up remains to be seen.
Tai Baribo came over from Philly to D.C. and got to score against Philly in the opener. How will he fit into D.C.'s overall attack?
Baribo will be the centerpiece of United's offensive plans. He wasn't the most expensive acquisition this winter thanks to Louis Munteanu's $7 million move from CFR Cluj, but United has been clear that the Israeli striker is the player they'll be leaning on the most in 2026. The idea is that Baribo will be a classic No. 9, using his understanding of spacing in the box, his anticipation, and a well-studied approach to how opposition defenses operate to get into spaces that are hard to defend and easy to access with the ball.
Last weekend's win was a perfect example of the idea, with Baribo's clinical goal turning out to be the game-winner. Beyond that, he had an earlier tap-in called back for offside (this is a good moment to shout out D.C.'s new left back Keisuke Kurokawa, who had the assist on the non-goal, as a threat going forward), hit the post after catching his old side off-guard, and generally working his socks off trying to hunt a second goal. MLSSoccer.com credited United with 1.4 xG on the night, and Baribo accounted for 1.0 of that total. The Black-and-Red probably don't want to be that heavily dependent on one player, but they do want to make sure that the biggest share of their chances end up going to Baribo.
I know it's just one match, but looking at it compared to the 2025 season, what's one encouraging sign and one carryover from last year that you remain concerned about?
The encouraging sign for United from week one was the clarity and sense of purpose the group played with. In attacking and defending, everyone understood what they were supposed to be doing, the effort levels were high, and there were decent signs of chemistry building in a group that featured four new starters and seven total players making their club debut. We're grading on a curve here, since DCU won the Wooden Spoon last year, but they cleared the first hurdle pretty convincingly. A solid enough, cohesive 1-0 home win over a good team is one of the club's best showings in years.
There are still plenty of concerns, but to pick one, it'd have to be Baribo's partner up top. Munteanu is a club-record purchase, but (a) was only given 20 minutes off the bench despite being fully fit, and (b) wasn't able to impact the game even as Philadelphia played 10 v. 11 and took big risks hunting an equalizer. Meanwhile, the starting second forward in Weiler's 4-4-2, Gabriel Pirani, only influenced the game in a couple of sporadic moments. He played his part in the goal, to be fair, but the story with Pirani throughout his time in MLS is one of a very talented player who vanishes on a regular basis.
He's also just a slow starter in MLS. Over the past two seasons, Pirani has produced 14 goals and 6 assists, but in matches played in roughly the first half of the season (I'm talking February to June here), he's only put up 3g/3a. It's only been after DCU's season has fallen apart and fans are urging the club to sell the Brazil U23 attacker that he starts producing. Between Pirani and Munteanu, someone's got to step up and seize the role as Baribo's partner. Until United gets an answer there, the team's ceiling is still pretty limited.
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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