Well that didn’t take long, did it? Just a few months after being acquired by the team from the Portland Timbers, who inexplicably didn’t want him, D.C. United have named former FC Dallas man Dax McCarty as their captain. And really, it makes a lot of sense. Though McCarty is not the dirty player that lots of people want to characterize Ben Olsen as, McCarty is very similar to his coach in that he’s a box to box central midfielder who is a competent passer and tackler.

I was lucky enough to watch McCarty and D.C. United in Charleston at the Carolina Challenge Cup a couple of weeks ago, and he was extremely impressive. Though D.C. were just playing the Charleston Battery, a USL Pro side, McCarty was fantastic and completely controlled the pace and style of the game. He’s the player that the Black and Red have been lacking for a long time and he seems like a leader on the pitch, so despite the fact that he’s a new addition to the team, it’s not a huge surprise that Olsen has named him captain.