First XI: Game of the Year
11. Rookie coaches. Sure, Bruce Arena's done a nice job in New York, but you've got to like the chances of two former players, Preki and Tom Soehn, to take Coach of the Year honors in 2007. It's not that either coach had a total makeover job like Arena, but both took good teams to an even higher level. And both coaches have their teams attacking.
10. New strikers. Luciano Emilio for D.C. United and Maykel Galindo for Chivas USA are near the top of the amazing class of newcomers in 2007. It's hard to imagine either of these clubs taking that step-up in level they've taken without the work of these guys. Emilio has a chance to become the first 20-goal scorer in MLS since 2002, when both Carlos Ruiz and Taylor Twellman reached that plateau. Galindo, quite simply, has given the field-stretching speed Chivas lacked a year ago.
9. Style masters. No knock on Houston and New England, who play some nice, hard-running soccer, but for my money the two best-playing teams in the league are the two teams who'll line up Thursday night. Both teams move the ball around, in and out of traffic, and both teams have players in all positions looking to get forward. Add to that the nice big playing surface at The Home Depot Center and this game should look good.
8. Home and away. Chivas USA is 7-0-1 at home this season while D.C., coming off a 4-0 demolition of FC Dallas away, is tied for the league lead in road wins with six. D.C. United also has scored an impressive 15 goals away from home this season while Chivas has only allowed two -- that's right, two -- goals at home. Something's gotta give here.
7. 'Keepers. Brad Guzan is having an amazing season, allowing just 0.94 goals per game while flat-out winning some games on his own for Chivas USA. Troy Perkins, who has played four more games than Guzan, has allowed exactly one goal per game. These guys are the next wave of MLS 'keepers, the guys who are here to carry the baton passed on to them by the likes of Tony Meola, Zach Thornton, Joe Cannon, Kevin Hartman and others.
6. Veteran snipers. Jaime Moreno recently became the league's all-time leading goal scorer, slipping home a penalty for career goal No. 109. Razov, who hasn't taken a penalty kick in a long, long time, is a couple of big games away from being right on Jaime's tail for that mark. How often do you get a chance to see the two active all-time scoring leaders go head to head? Not very often. Here's a bet that one of them puts a ball in the net.
5. Tough as nails. It's not all about the scorers. The guys fighting for possession, inspiring their team by winning loose balls, are just as important. In D.C. United's Ben Olsen and Chivas USA's Jesse Marsch, you have two of the league's most tenacious midfielders ever, and you can bet they'll be battling for 90 full minutes on Thursday night. Both of these players amaze me as neither looks any worse for the wear of playing in the league so long. Both are fixtures on their team and Olsen, in particular, might be having his best all-around season ever for D.C. United. He's not only winning balls, but also scoring. As for Marsch, he only scores on rare occasions, but his goals always seem to come in big games. That's been the case ever since he scored a shocking game-winner for the expansion Fire in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Galaxy in the 1998 playoffs.
4. Young blood. Whether it's Jonathan Bornstein or Panchito Mendoza streaking down the left side for Chivas USA, or Joshua Gros doing the same thing for D.C., I'm a big fan of the young talent on both of these teams. These players I just mentioned are all fast and exciting when they have room to run. I expect this game to open up nicely.
3. Nice threads. Hey, it's just a little side note, but I think in D.C. United and Chivas USA, you are looking at the two nicest uniforms in the league. Classy, indeed.
2. Hot, hot, hot. D.C. United is riding a six-game winning streak while Chivas USA enters the game with a 6-1-1 record in their last eight games. Who knows if this is a preview of the MLS Cup, and who cares? Honestly, there's so much to shake out between now and the Cup final it's silly to even think about who'll be matching up in D.C. on Nov. 18. But right now, at this very moment, it does not get any better than these two teams.
1. Passion. No, Chivas USA may not put up Galaxian attendance numbers, but it's hard to argue that the fans who show up are not as passionate as any supporters in the league. Their display of team colors, banners, streamers and confetti remind me of another team. Oh yeah ... that would be the team Chivas USA is about to line up against. Enjoy!
Jeff Bradley is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Send your comments and complaints (200 words or less, please) to Jeff at jbradleyespn2003@yahoo.com and he promises to read (but not respond to) all of them. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
