Gallardo vs Gomez

Before the season started, DC United inked their first Designated Player - Marcello Gallardo. To make room for the crafty Argentinian, DC sent perennial all-star and the barra's favorite drummer Christian Gomez to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for a first round pick in the 2009 Superdraft and the always intriguing "future considerations."

The common logic was that DC needed to blow up the team to win some silverware, and that Gallardo would be the mastermind of the new DC attack. So, with less than a third of the season left, are they on track? Is DC really any better off with Gallardo than they were when Gomez ran the attack?

The stats so far:

Gomez 19 games (1373 min) 3 goals, 6 assists
Gallardo 12 games (995 min) 4 goals, 3 assists


Gallardo has spent a fair amount of time injured this year. He didn't contribute anything to United's run to the US Open Cup final, nor did his presence keep them from being bounced from the CONCACAF Champions Cup. As a neutral fan Colorado looks to be slightly ahead on this deal... but the remaining scenarios make this interesting:

1. If Colorado wins MLS Cup with Gomez, the Rapids win this hands down.
2. If DC wins MLS Cup and Gallardo contributes mightily, Kevin Payne will have achieved his objective.
3. If DC wins the CONCACAF Champions League with Gallardo running the attack, that would also be a significant trophy.
4. DC still has a well-placed SuperDraft pick to use. If it's still even at the end of the year and DC ends up with a real stud from the draft, the balance of this deal could shift in their favor.

It should be interesting to see how this pans out. I'll revisit this at the end of the year.