06 March 2007

Diablo on Demand

Just a quick further word on Marco Etcheverry being hired by DC United. Yes, as fan this makes the cockles of my heart warm. But as an amateur analyst, I have to ask this question: What is Marco doing, and what is he not doing? According to the press release that Kinney linked to earlier, Diablo's duties are:

...scouting activities, serving as a liaison to Latin American countries and working as an ambassador for D.C. United domestically and internationally. Etcheverry will also work closely with D.C. United Director of Youth Development John Maessner in providing training and technical support for United's youth teams and academy programs.

All good stuff, and all valuable contributions to D.C. United. I mean, he's kind of a minister without portfolio. My wife called him Kevin Payne's new "Karl Rove, only not evil." Still, I seem to recall that Marco had gotten his coaching certifications (wasn't he working on at least a "C" license at one point?). And while there's a lot of club management related activity, there doesn't seem to be a lot of coaching responsibility here. And I have to wonder: What if a coaching opportunity comes along?

There's another possibility here. Given these various demands, Marco could lean a great deal about running a professional club. If offered coach/ownership of the right club in the Liga Boliviano, might he take it? Yes, that's a wild bit of speculation, but part of me can shake the feeling that while it's great to have El Diablo back in black and red, it might only be for a few years. Okay, speculation over. I'm just going to enjoy having him around now.

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