There’s still no mistaking his Southern California style. Sean Franklin is calm, cool and collected, a veteran defender unfazed by what’s happening around him. He is always at ease, ready for whatever is thrown his way.
But don’t mistake his laid-back demeanor for a lack of passion or determination. Eight years into his career, with a pair of MLS Cups to his name, Franklin knows what it takes to thrive at the end of a long MLS season. He knows what contenders look like and how they should play as the season heads down the home stretch.
D.C. United put a halt to their disappointing season-long three-game losing streak with a 1-1 draw on the road against the Colorado Rapids. As the long MLS season inevitably ebbs and flows, a team of this caliber for the majority of the campaign gets frustrated when the losing happens late in the season. But this was the same group that had set its sights on a deep run in the playoffs and knew it had the pieces to get there. Franklin recognized those traits.
“We know how good we can be,” said Franklin. “I think for our team and for our locker room, it’s about being positive. We’ve gone through a pretty bad stretch. I know guys are frustrated with things, whether it be playing time or losses. This is an important time of year.”
Midseason slides are part and parcel of Major League Soccer’s eight-month, 34-game marathon. The trick is riding through the low points and kicking into gear at the right time later in the year. Franklin was a part of Galaxy teams that did just that in 2011 and 2012.
“You’ve got to be hitting your stride at this point in the season,” he said. “We should’ve been hitting it earlier in the year. This is the time when you’ve got to be sharp because come playoffs, if you’re not on the same page, if you’re not ready, you’re going to get knocked out.”
Franklin still has an honest affinity for the West, where the battle for this year’s playoff group includes nearly every team in the conference. It’s not the same case in the East, but with almost two years on this side of the league, Franklin has seen the potential of expansion teams and their big signings as well as the quality of the historic favorites.
“I still feel the West is a pretty strong powerhouse,” he said. “But the East is tough this year.”
Like D.C. United, Franklin has had his own ups and downs, battling through injuries and focusing on getting his game to peak at the right time.
“I know there are games where I’m not going to play my best, and there’s plenty of games where I haven’t played my best,” he said. “But it’s all about getting past that and adjusting to things that are going to make you a better player.”
Franklin’s threatening presence going forward from his right fullback position was a big part of United’s comeback against Colorado. Fighting through an unfortunate goal for the Rapids in the first half, the Black-and-Red found their footing after halftime, fought tirelessly until they got the equalizer late, and then held on until the final whistle.
It was proof of the type of resilience the team will have to put on display to secure solid playoff positioning and to be a force in the postseason.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good position from week one,” Franklin said. “Although we slipped a little bit, we still are in a pretty good position to be at the top of the East. We’ve just got to keep it in the right vein, stay positive and know this group needs to come together and do something special.”
