Despite D.C. UnitedÆs decline in 2000, it remains MLSÆs most glorious club, with three of the leagueÆs five crowns and two international titles. Built by Bruce Arena, then passed on to Thomas Rongen, the club entertained and dominated until last seasonÆs fall.

As D.C. United sits at a crossroads in its young history, a question arises: Which will be more significant to the clubÆs future ù four of dominance and glory or one year of losing and uncertain ownership?

Yet even after a dismal 2000 season, D.C. United, among MLS clubs, remains unmatched in championships, identity, stability and international fame.

UnitedÆs string of success have made it easy to forget that it hit a crossroads once before.

In a league of fledgling teams wobbling to their feet, D.C. United almost got left behind. The inaugural MLS game was a 1-0 defeat for United in San Jose, and six losses followed in the next eight games. Those skeptical that Bruce Arena could extend his college success at Virginia to the pro level thought they had their proof, but team president and GM Kevin Payne supported Arena as he worked things out.

Arena, instead of revamping his approach to suit this pro game, revamped his roster to find players more willing to listen.

Just 10 days into the season, Arena cut five players. It looked like he and Payne had hit the panic button. But the players they chose to replace the growing list of cast-offs proved to be far more compatible: Steve Rammel, Mark Simpson, Tony Sanneh, John Maessner, David Vaudreuil.

Starting with its first two allocations, John Harkes and Jeff Agoos, United had a UVA flavor. After the shaky opening, Arena began relying more heavily on his nine Cavalier alums.

Marco Etcheverry shed the extra pounds he had brought to the United States. Payne and Arena challenged the Bolivian personally, and he responded.

ôI think Marco had a better understanding of where he would be by the end of the season than any of us,ö Arena said. ôHe knew it was a long season. He knew it would take time to get things together. … You build the team around Marco. That means having 10 other players who understand that.ö

A 1-0 win over Tampa Bay on July 12 bolstered confidence, and within a week, the team acquired another Bolivian, Jaime Moreno. He gave United better ball possession at forward and got three goals and four assists in nine games.

With Harkes supplying verbal leadership and Etcheverry adding flair to a disciplined group of role players, United won 12 of its last 15 games. The run culminated in a 3-2 overtime victory over Los Angeles during a downpour in Foxboro, Mass. Los Angeles took a 2-0 lead, but D.C. rallied. Defender Eddie Pope headed home EtcheverryÆs corner kick for the winning tally.

Three days after taking the first MLS Cup, United captured the ôdoubleö by defeating A-League Rochester in the U.S. Open Cup final.

MORE TITLES. In the offseason, United released three Virginia grads and selected defender Carlos Llamosa, a year removed from New York amateur leagues, in the supplemental draft.

D.C. United began 1997 with five wins. Improved defense helped the team cruise to a 21-11 record. Behind the scenes, the season was marked by a transition in leadership.

Etcheverry became more vocal. A midseason deal brought Roy Wegerle, who scored 10 goals in 17 matches and provided another authoritative locker-room voice.

In the 1997 MLS final, which D.C. hosted, Sanneh converted HarkesÆ cross at the back post to clinch a 2-1 victory over upstart Colorado.

In the offseason, salary cap issues prompted United to send top scorer Raul Diaz Arce to New England. Early in the 1998 season, Payne remedied the on-field loss of the Salvadoran by executing a trade that still stands among the most lopsided in league history ù a fading Wegerle to Tampa Bay for Roy Lassiter. Payne could not, however, alleviate the off-field impact and local Salvadoran fans turned angrily against United.

With United, Lassiter smoked opponents for two consecutive 18-goal seasons and gave the team a ferocious counterattack. Ben Olsen, the teamÆs first Project-40 allocation, added to this new element of pace.

Etcheverry now wore the armband and United was a well-oiled machine that steamrolled the league. A 12-game winning streak in the middle of the season included three in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. United shut out Mexican powers Leon and Toluca to garner its first international trophy.

Another MLS Cup looked probable, but former United assistant Bob Bradley, now coach of the Chicago Fire, had other ideas. BradleyÆs expertise on United helped lift Chicago to a 2-0 victory. After the season, however, United rallied in a two-game series against BrazilÆs Vasco da Gama to capture the Interamerican Cup.

ARENA MOVES ON. When Arena was hired as the U.S. coach, Payne picked former Tampa and New England coach Thomas Rongen. How much would the team miss ArenaÆs steadying hand?

Not much.

D.C. made a seamless transition and a primary factor was Etcheverry. In part to make salary cap space, the team traded Harkes to New England just before the season. The move also clearly stated that United was EtcheverryÆs team and his alone. ôEl Diabloö increased his influence accordingly, the players used the loss in MLS Cup æ98 as motivation and United again topped the league.

Etcheverry set up 17 goals during the regular season then six of UnitedÆs nine during the playoffs. He put United into the final with a one-goal, three-assist performance in the deciding game against Stern John-led Columbus, which had thrashed D.C. in Game 2.

In the final, the Galaxy fizzled after defender Robin Fraser left with an early collarbone injury. Moreno and Olsen chalked up the goals and questions about the coaching transition were silenced.

But then came 2000. United oozed confidence as it continued its youth movement. Lassiter went to Miami to complete the deal for Maessner, and Sonora was not re-signed. Chris Albright, 21, and Carey Talley, 23, were penciled in as replacements. Neither worked out, and the veterans played well below the standard they had set. United missed the playoffs.

Now the club must determine whether to retain the core of players who excelled for four years or begin serious rebuilding.

by Soccer America associate editor Will Kuhns in Washington, D.C.