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D.C. United’s new coach says the team’s fitness is not up to speed

To play his up-tempo, high-pressure style, D.C. United Coach Hernán Losada will require his players to perform at peak fitness for 90 minutes. Eleven days before the season opener against New York City FC, Losada said Tuesday his new team is nowhere near ready to meet those demands.

“At this point, we can only play the way we want for 60, 65, 70 minutes, not more than that,” he said during a video conference call with reporters. “It will take some time to get that intensity and energy we are using in the games to be able to play that way for 90 minutes.