MLS Top XI and US Men's Player of the Year

The BASAs are quickly coming to a close but before we get there, there are a few more awards being offered up.

First up in the MLS Best XI. Scaryice had an interesting way of deciding who made the team. He worked a 3-4-3 formation. Here is the team:

Goal
Matt Reis (NE)

Defense
Jose Burciaga (KC)
Bobby Boswell (DC)
Chris Albright (LA)

Midfield
Clint Dempsey (NE)
Dwayne De Rosario (HOU)
Kenny Cooper (DAL)
Christian Gomez (DC)

Forward
Landon Donovan (LA)
Ante Razov (CHV)
Jeff Cunningham (RSL)

That is a very good team. By the way, six of these players were named to the 'First XI' ahead of the All-Star game with Chelsea, but three of them were not even named to the reserve All-Star team (Reis, Burciaga and Cooper).

Here is my vote. I went with a 4-4-2

GK – Matt Reis (NE)
D – Bobby Boswell (DC), Jose Burciaga Jr (KC), Chris Albright (LA),Eddie Robinson (Houston)
M - Dwayne De Rosario (Houston), Juan Pablo Garcia (Chivas), Clint Dempsey (NE), Christian Gomez (DC)
F - Kenny Cooper (FCD), Alecko Eskandarian (DC)

Of all my choices, Dempsey was actually the toughest. He is a wonderful player when he decides to be, but his work in the MLS this year has not been spectacular. If he was out, I would move Cooper back into the middle and place Jeff Cunningham up top.

By the way, my vote for Eskandarian was one of my most fun. His season was not wonderful, but he played well even with the headgear. Since I didn't vote for him anywhere else, I wanted to give him a nod here.


The other BASA went to US Men's Player of Year. And the winner is, Clint Dempsey. No surprise here.

Kasey Keller found second while Oguchi Onyewu got a much deserved third place. Brian McBride just out paced Bobby Convey for fourth while Landon Donovan came in sixth.

Here is my vote:
1- Clint Dempsey
2- Kasey Keller
3- Oguchi Onyewu
4- Brian McBride
5- Bobby Convey

That's right, my vote is the exact order of the final award. Blows my mind.

Anyway, Dempsey was the name of the World Cup for the US, so his number one spot was never in jeopardy. Keller did some good work in goal while Onyewu showed us the future of the US backline. McBride put everything he had into those matches, but when you are not getting fed balls and are the only person up top, it is going to be hard to get results. Convey was a good flash.

I am surprised to see Landon take sixth as this year has been a horrible one for him on the national team. Even against much weaker teams, he wasn't looking right.

Congratulations to all the winners and tune into tomorrow for the final BASA of the year.