First XI: Surprises in 2009
Saluting one of the wackiest seasons on record
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11. Success on one goal per game? Astounding that Chivas USA, averaging just more than a goal per game (second-worst in the league), are still in the hunt and, should they take advantage of their games in hand on the opposition, might be able to grab some home-field advantage come playoff time. Don't see that happening, though. I know the cliché that defense wins championships, but it's too much to ask for a clean sheet every single game. You have to score some goals, and the Red-and-White certainly could have used a healthy Ante Razov in 2009.
10. The middle of the pack. Go ahead and call Columbus and Houston the favorites if you want, but as you work your way down through the playoff standings, it's hard to figure out exactly what separates the next nine teams in MLS. Match just about any of them up and I'm flipping a coin. I mean, when Dallas put up six on LA at The Home Depot Center that kind of threw the whole middle of MLS into a blender for me.
9. You can't be this bad, can you? Of all the surprising teams this season, it's hard to fathom that the Red Bulls went from the MLS Cup Final to utter despair in such a short period of time. How did it happen? Who saw Juan Carlos Osorio losing control of this team in such dramatic fashion? Not me. I actually thought the Red Bulls, led by Juan Pablo Angel, would threaten to win the East this year. Shows you you how much I know. All that's left for the team I've followed more closely than any other since 1996 is to see if Richie Williams gets a much-deserved chance to become the full-time head coach.
8. Sound start. I thought the body of work was enough for me to say that no expansion team would ever make a big splash in MLS again. When you looked at how long it took for a team like Real Salt Lake, Toronto FC, or even Chivas USA, to become truly competitive, it did not seem likely that a team could pull off something like what the 1998 Chicago Fire accomplished. Well, Seattle won the Open Cup on the road, has battled every game all season long and by no means can be ruled out as MLS Cup contenders.
7. When the road becomes home. What is up with Chicago and Los Angeles? Both are well-supported at home, yet both have rolled up more points on the road than they have at home. On the plus side, you have to like both of those team's chances in the playoffs when they have to travel. On the negative side, better play at home and they'd both be threatening for the Supporters' Shield.
6. Slow start? No problem. How about Columbus, a team that did not get a win until its eighth game of the season, now looking like a lock to win the Shield? For the second straight year, the Crew are looking more like a "team" than any other collection of players in MLS. What Sigi Schmid started Robert Warzycha has seemingly been able to continue. Perhaps more impressive than any stat in MLS is that Columbus has only been beaten four times in 26 games. Does make you wonder, though, how one of those "L's" came to the Red Bulls?
5. A month without a goal. When Kansas City fans look back at the 2009 season, they'll likely try to forget the month of August, when the Wizards went 0-4 and failed to score a goal. Heck, if you combine the month of July with August, the Wizards scored only one goal. For a team that's always been a model of consistent performance, that's hard to grasp. When the Wizards went on the road for their first game in September and scored four goals in a victory over the Revolution, you have to wonder if K.C. players laughed or cried?
4. Unfortunate first. Did you see Sacha Kljestan's missed penalty last Saturday night, in stoppage time against the Red Bulls? It was the first missed PK of Sacha's career and it couldn't have come at a worse time. When three points would've put Chivas on easy street for the playoffs and back in the hunt for home field (they're not out of it), wide left. Kljestan certainly had to lose some sleep over it, especially when he watches the tape and sees Bouna Coundoul diving the wrong way. All Kljestan had to do at that point was hit the target. The frustration of Chivas USA's season was written all over his face at that moment.
3. A void. Steve Ralston is out for the season and that means the MLS postseason will not feature Ralston for the second year in a row. Before last season when injury kept him out, the last time Ralston missed the playoffs was 2001 when he was a member of the very last Tampa Bay Mutiny team. It just doesn't seem right to watch October MLS action and not see No. 14.
2. The return of the beast. With all of Chivas USA's goal-scoring difficulties, you look to the other end of the field and there's Zach Thornton. This has got to be one of the best comeback stories in league history, a guy who had not really been a first-choice 'keeper since 2006 is now looking like a lock for Goalkeeper of the Year honors. If you did not see Thornton's highlight reel from Chivas and Seattle's 0-0 draw on Sept. 19, do yourself a favor. Thornton, the MLS 'Keeper of the Year 11 years ago, was better than ever.
1. The amazing race. The Golden Boot race is on and, yeah, while there might have been those who thought Conor Casey would have a big season, I want to know who saw Jeff Cunningham -- the same Jeff Cunningham who has been bounced around the league like a ping-pong ball since 2005 -- tied at the top and on fire as the season draws to a close. Not to get ahead of myself here, but you wonder if Cunningham's big second half will propel him to eventually catch Jaime Moreno and become the all-time leading goal scorer in MLS history?
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.
