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SBI MLS Best XI: Week Two

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(Wondering who the best players were in last weekend’s MLS matches? Here is my take on the MLS Best XI for Week Two in what will be the first installment of a weekly series, and yes, it will run earlier in the week from now on.)

In a week were goals were scored in bunches and great defensive performances were more scarce than memorable attacking displays, it wasn’t easy trying to piece together the defensive side of an MLS Best XI for Week Two. The goalkeeper candidate list was a short one, as was the one for defenders.

SBI MLS Player of the Week Chad Barrett as well as Los Angeles Galaxy tandem David Beckham and Landon Donovan lead this week’s installment of the SBI Best XI for Week Two:

—-Landon Donovan———Kenny Cooper———-Chad Barrett——

Dave Van Den Bergh—————————————Arturo Alvarez

——————-David Beckham——-Sacha Kljestan——————–

Kevin Goldthwaite———–Jimmy Conrad————–Sean Franklin

———————————Jon Conway——————————–

The Red Bulls and Los Angeles Galaxy led the way with three players apiece while FC Dallas boasted two selections.

What do you think of these picks? Share your thoughts, and your own MLS Best XI for Week Two, in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. I agree with you on Franklin. I was at the game. First half he looked a little shakey, out of position a few times, manhandled other times. Gullit pulled him to the sideline, had a chat with him. Kid was a lock the rest of the game. I think with confidence, he’ll be a good one. Let’s hope he doesn’t have a family business to ‘retire’ to.

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  2. I’m sorry but Segares should be on there. The guy completely shut down Nyassi and owned the left wing against NE.

    He’s one of the best LB’s in the league and it’s high time he start getting some accolades.

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  3. Would be fun to watch the Red Bulls vs Pachuca. Somehow I doubt after going down a goal they’d come back to win the game.

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  4. It’s just a Best XI guys, if you don’t agree then don’t agree, but spare me the conspiracy theories about how I come up with my teams.

    And Blah, or DC Fan or any of the 20 names you have used on here, I had D.C. United No. 1 or 2 overall in my pre-season Power Rankings and talked them up as being a title contender in my ESPN preview of them, but I hate D.C.? Come on now.

    Should a D.C. player have made the Best XI? Probably, but that’s the team I wound up with.

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  5. United fans can suck my balls. van den Bergh was exceptional on the field and deserves his place.

    I will give you Goldwaithe though, i thought be got real lucky a bunch of time when he lost his marks. Scored a weak sauce goal too. Granted anything possitive he does is a shock but he wasnt deserving of the honor.

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  6. Dude, look it’s clear Ives hates DC United. He is a Red Bull fanboy, we all know that by now. Let him make his MLS best XI’s while United wins the league and makes him look foolish.

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  7. This lineup is a joke. 3 Gals and 3 Red Balls players, when each of their teams played bottom-table clubs and still only scored 2 goals apiece? Yet the Fire shut out the subcampeones eternales and get one player, and also only one player from the (through week 2 at least) 2-0 Wizards.

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  8. Guys, the formation wasn’t meant to be completely accurate to position. My Best XI won’t have a best left back or right wing every week. it’ll have the best defenders, midfielders and forwards, regardless of where on the field they play.

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  9. On one hand it hardly seems possible to include Sutton due to all the goals that DC scored, but he was nonetheless really really impressive.

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  10. honestly, our thrashing of the revs was obviously due to the fact they had 10 men… however, lets not put too much factor on that 1 aspect of the game… while it aided in our victory, we did come out on all cylinders…. altho we dont know if we couldve kept a full squad on their heels, they shouldve solidified on defense…..

    i will not object to having only 1 person on the best XI of week 2…

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  11. New York > Columbus > Toronto…ok

    New York scored two goals, DC scored four, LA scored two against a team playing its first real game…ever…at the very least, they are all even competition wise. Plus, Toronto had Robert for the first time who is a tidy player. I just keep noticing that LA gets all this recognition. I am not necessarily blaming Ives at all, but it gets frustrating as a DC fan. TV and MLS are so quick to jump on the Beck-ham bandwagon as a marketing ploy. If I think it is bad for DC, I can’t imagine how it must be in Columbus or Kansas City.

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  12. I am a Red Bulls fan and I am not sold about Van den Bergh as a Best 11. Granted he scored a goal and had a good game, but it was against a Columbus team that was not doing much. The DC United people complaining about New York or LA playing weak teams, I believed they played Toronto. And Toronto happened to get destroyed by Columbus who was subsequently destroyed by New York.

    So in terms of bad teams, I would say Toronto and San Jose are probably the worst in the league so neither win is that big of a feat. At the same time, I am not expecting a big season from the Red Bulls because Columbus isn’t too good either.

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  13. Sorry Ives, but Santino Quaranta did more for DC United than Arturo Alvarez or Dave Van Den Bergh. And yes, Tino’s goal did come before TFC’s guy was sent off.

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  14. Gonzalo Segaras shuts down the Gambian express and is overlooked…I think it had more to do than only 10 Revs.

    Who would have thought a Galaxy defender makes anyone’s best 11?

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  15. I have to agree with Tyler, what gives with Beckham playing in the center of midfield?

    I’m not taking a rip at you, but it’s a bit strange as he played on the right wing during the San Jose game. Would he be effective in the middle, probably, but I don’t know what his work rate would be like.

    Would he get back and help on defense like Cesc does because surely he won’t be the bull dog shadowing and stopping the other team’s attacking mid-fielders like Flamini does.

    Just saying….

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  16. RB and Galaxy got 3 players each and they played very underwhelming teams. Fire wins by 4 @ Revs and get one. Sure they played @ 10 players, but is that any worse than playing SJ?

    Anyway, every week there will be deserving players left off the list, ain’t no thing. They’ll just have to play better next week to make the all important Ives best XI.

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  17. A win is a win for Chicago, but c’mon, boasting about that travesty as “destruction” is ridiculous. That ref should either hang up his boots and whistle or hang himself…

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  18. DC Played with less players as well, but we had two goals already by the time he was sent off and they get…..none. Lando and Beck-ham….? They did play San Jose, right?

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  19. Joe, you played 11 v 10 after a questionable sending off.

    I think Ives needs to have Justin Mapp in the team for his glorious swan dive. Even the East German judge was impressed.

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