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D.C. United's Wayne Rooney: Set-Piece Surgeon & Positional Chameleon

D.C. United's Wayne Rooney: Set-Piece Surgeon & Positional Chameleon

Wayne Rooney's impact on D.C. United goes well beyond scoring goals as a traditional No. 9.

Apr 3, 2019 by Hunter Sharpless
D.C. United's Wayne Rooney: Set-Piece Surgeon & Positional Chameleon

Wayne Rooney started slow—super slow, actually. 

In the season-opening win against Atlanta United at Audi Field, D.C. United’s No. 9 registered two shots on goal, neither of which was on target. He touched the ball only 60 times, good for sixth-most on the home side. And he completed just 73 percent of his passes, launching more crosses (eight) than anyone else on the Black-and-Red.

Rooney’s second performance followed a similar script: two shots, none on target, 74 percent passing, six crosses. 

Then, of course, Rooney ate lunch against Real Salt Lake. A collective sigh of relief might have issued out from Audi Field, but everybody knew the English international would come around eventually. 

It’s easy to forget that Rooney has been in the country for less than a year. He hasn’t been around his teammates for even 12 months, around his coach, around his new league. He’s still getting acclimated. But through four games in 2019—four games after which D.C. United are leading the Eastern Conference—we’ve seen him affect two areas of the game that go well beyond the purview of a traditional No. 9.

‘We’re dangerous on set pieces again’

That’s what Ben Olsen said after the Real Salt Lake demolition, a game in which two red cards stilted the result a bit, but which also saw Rooney assist Lucas Rodriguez on a screamer of a corner kick. Yes, now it appeared set pieces were lethal once again.



Little did Benny know that, two weeks later, his side would win on two free kicks in Orlando, Florida. 

The first set piece happened on the right side of the field after a hand ball, just five minutes after kickoff. Rooney dinked the ball into the box with expert placement and without much pace, but the position of the ball didn’t allow Orlando goalkeeper Brian Rowe the time to attempt a bunch. Steve Birnbaum, meanwhile, snaked his way through defenders—marking horrendously—and sent the ball into the net. 



Twenty-four minutes later, Rooney was granted a free kick that drew the lingering ire of Orlando City players and fans alike (not to mention the social media account of the club, too). There are viable arguments on either side of the aisle as to whether the call was correct or not, but in the end it obviously doesn’t matter: A foul was called, and a free kick was awarded.



The placement was a mirror image of the last free kick, and once again No. 9 squared up behind it. He sent an in-swinger lofting high, high up through the air as it curved well out of Rowe’s reach—the keeper, incidentally, was given a healthy nudge from Brillant—and into the top right corner of the net. Orlando tried to get cheeky on their Twitter account by suggesting Rooney wasn’t going for goal, but he literally tried the same thing a week before and almost made it happen.

“Are you kidding me?” is the only acceptable reaction.

Even in set-piece situations that haven’t converted, you can see the threat Rooney poses from all over the field. Here’s an early free kick from the Real Salt Lake game that gives Arriola a half-chance:



Again Rooney gives the ball perfect weight and curve, always going away from the keeper, and giving his guys a chance. 

And so, Olsen is right: D.C. United are dangerous on set pieces again. Very dangerous. Their first goal of the season came off a set piece thanks to a Paul Arriola poach. Their fourth goal against Real Salt Lake came off a set piece. And both goals against Orlando City came off set pieces. If you do the super complicated math, that’s four of nine goals off a set piece and—*checks notes*—that’s very good!

Rooney is a soccer chameleon

Wayne Rooney’s game has evolved over the course of his long and illustrious career. He excelled earlier in his career as a second striker and, later in his Manchester United days, dropped a bit deeper to No. 10, and even deeper occasionally in his last stint with Everton. But it’s not a perfect transition or a perfect trajectory, because at D.C. United he’s done a little bit of both, and quite well. 

For the most part he’s been true to the number on the back of his jersey: No. 9, the lone striker, albeit with significant supporter in Lucho as No. 10 and Arriola and Titi as the wingers. His second goal against Real Salt Lake was a poacher’s move after DCU won back possession with a heavy press:



Later in the game he missed his first opportunity at a hat trick just feet away from goal when he sent a header wide. 

In other words, he’s playing quite a bit as the man up top—lurking, waiting, capitalizing. 

But it can get lonely at the top, and you saw the hunger and frustration from the first two games change Rooney’s approach in the third. Like we looked at in the beginning of this piece, Rooney only logged the sixth-most touches on the team with 60 against Atlanta. The next matchup against NYC FC was a bit more contained, and while he finished third for the Black-and-Red in touches he only managed 48 the entire game. Most of his influence at Yankee Stadium was just beyond the halfway line.

When this happens to strikers, especially ones who’ve been used to greater ball control for large spans of their career, they do one thing: They go get the rock. And that’s exactly what Rooney did.

Against Real Salt Lake, Rooney touched the ball 83 times. Only Junior Moreno (93) and Lucho (91) totaled more. Sure, RSL shot themselves in the foot a couple of times to go a man down, ceding large swaths of the game to the home side, but that doesn’t change the fact that Rooney was in a hungry mood.



Passing chart courtesy of WhoScored.

His passing patterns don’t look completely different in the earlier games, but what does look different is the even distribution across the field and the frequency of touch. He wanted the ball at his feet. 

And boy, did it pay dividends: He had 11 shots, five of which were on target. Five key passes, four crosses, and 12 long balls (10 completed). Rooney did what all great players do: exert extreme influence. 

He won’t be able to do that every night, and the next stretch of the season is going to force Rooney to the bench for a few games, but if he’s able to do this against the top competition—looking at you, LAFC—then D.C. United will indeed be primed for a title run. 

I hate needlessly repeating myself, but I do think it’s worth it: Rooney hasn’t even been here for 12 months. He’s still adjusting, still learning his teammates and coaching staff, still learning this league. That he has played and excelled in so many different roles through the course of his career is good for D.C. United and bad for D.C. United’s opponents, who are dealing with a No. 9 who can do a little No. 10 or No. 8 when it suits him.