1. Cuauhtemac Blanco – the elder statesman has really started strong for the Chicago Fire and had his hand in both goals of the Fire’s revenge 2-0 shutout of the Wizards; he also had an assist in the early week matchup against KC that saw them yield 3 goals (two after going a man down); I think we’ll see Chicago grab that last spot thanks mainly to this guy
2. Maykel Galindo – back near the top and MLS player of the week; Galindo scored two goals to sink the hapless Galaxy as we learned most importantly that David Beckham is – in fact – human; Galindo’s constant presence on the field makes us wonder when we might see Lester More in action?
3. FC Dallas Front Office – Denilson has had a career of ups and downs so far, but how can you not be happy with the FCD FO for this move; a World Cup winner (no matter his small involvement in it) and at one point someone thought enough of him to break the bank; is that was the Hoops are doing though? I think you’re gonna find that this works – especially in there with Toja, Ricchetti, and Ricardinho up top – say goodbye to Adrian Serioux though as it looks like he’s the odd SI out.
4. Jaime Moreno – the Bolivian got his scoring record in the only fashion he knows how this year – a PK; yes, he’s lost his step but we all saw that goal he had for Bolivia in the Copa America; he’s still MLS caliber but unfortunately he’s competing with some of the top firepower in the league on D.C.; either way he’s got the record of 109
5. Fred – his play in both wins over New York and Toronto was phenomenal; even more so, it has been great to watch him wrestle with new aspects of the game and the adaptation to American soccer which has clearly been a long process; I think Fred is here and it’s safe to say the former Melbourne Victory stud might have made the Trio a Foursome.
6. Francisco Mendoza – Panchito has gradually been playing better and better all season and his role (1 g, 1 a) in the shutout of the Galaxy only keynotes his recent resurgence in form; it was his first goal in a SuperClasico as well
7. Jose Burciaga, Jr. – you know, I love to hate this guy mainly for some vicious tackles, lack of sportsmanship, and a general sense of finding himself into every damn scoresheet as an attacking fullback; he makes mistakes quite frequently but he often makes up for them – Burciaga found himself involved in the all three of the KCW goals against Chicago early on the week, but was overrun in the return leg 2-0 loss
8. Real Salt Lake defense – a valiant (in this since the word valiant is coupled with a hint of pity) attempt to shut down the reeling Chivas USA offense; unfortunately, they failed but the quality of the back four seems to improve with every match; can we celebrate about 3 goals in the last 3 games? No, probably not – but when you’re RSL you have to be positive about something and I don’t know whether or not I can be about the trio of Argentinians just brought in
9. Carlos Mendes – Jozy Altidore scored early and Twellman grabbed one back, but it looked as if the Red Bulls could, in fact, score again; Mendes had the ball on the left side and decided to backpass to Conway in order to ‘swing the field’; the ball was well hit but nothing out of the ordinary really – Conway must have been surveying the field or something because once Mendes’ pass reached him, he was still looking up; Conway dove to try and stop it but no luck, the ball was past him and the Revs were gifted a 2-1 win; Mendes’ gets the 9th spot due to his consistent play all season that never warrants him any sort of attention, note to Red Bulls: never pass back to Waterreus OR Conway.
10. Marc Burch – you play him, D.C. seems to win; you don’t, they lose; it could just be a matter of coincidence but the truth is, Burch has provided a sense of consistency in the back that D.C. has been longing for this year; he played a major part in man-marking the Altidore/Angel partnership in their win against NY; he was also there in their shutout of Toronto away
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