Luciano Emilio's return: Act of desperation or shrewd piece of business?

Lost in the build up to the U.S. Open Cup match was D.C. United's re-acquisition of former MLS MVP Luciano Emilio in the hours leading up to last night's win over Dallas.

It's a move that comes with little surprise given the injury shake-up and Danny Allsopp's slow start -- and must have come at the right price. After all, the two sides likely split during the offseason over the dollar figure, with Emilio likely valuing himself at a higher rate than he was offered. And to be fair to United, his scoring rate had dropped over the last two seasons after his stellar debut season.

The club is hoping that the three-month contract will be a win-win situation -- that Emilio can reclaim some of his prior form, inject some scoring into a goal-starved attack, and walk away with either another offer or a longer deal to remain at the club.

“Well, we were able to reach a deal that fits our cap. That was the main consideration,” D.C. general manager Dave Kasper told MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday. “If you’d asked us two weeks ago if that was possible, it’s not possible. Once a trade was not in the works, given our injury situation – plus a player who can be available right now – it was a no-brainer.”

But is really the answer for a club that has yet to right the ship in terms of foreign acquisitions over the last three years? The long line of foreign busts is growing -- Ange N'Silu, Marcelo Gallardo, Gonzalo Martinez, Gonzalo Peralta -- all came and were shown the door in a short amount of time, contributing to the problem that D.C. finds themselves in today. There's no established core with a strong sense of familiarity, no rhythm, and the club's state of transition is accurately reflected by the four league matches thus far.

Plenty of factors are working against Emilio: a short time to impress, having played his last game on March 3, not to mention the dearth of a creative presence in the midfield. It's not like Emilio is a creative force that can set up opportunities -- he finishes them. So if the team can't generate the proper attacking sequences going forward for the Brazilian, then his addition is a moot point.

Still, credit is due to the club for the low-risk, high reward move. No player has to be cut because Marc Burch is moved to injured reserve. Emilio also has a lot to prove and plenty of incentive -- much more than when he was making Designated Player money -- to show that he can still succeed in MLS and secure that long term deal. Add to that the competition it creates at forward, giving Allsopp, Adam Cristman and Jaime Moreno further reason to go hard and not waste opportunities.

Given the direction United's season is heading in, things looked like they could get worse before they got any better. Coupled with a first win, and Emilio's return, the pressure is on as league action resumes on Saturday, May 1.