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Wondolowski earns third Player of the Week award

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

After a weekend that saw Chris Wondolowski lock up the Golden Boot as the top scorer in MLS, the San Jose Earthquakes forward added to his laurels Monday, earning the nod as MLS Player of the Week.

Wondolowski started his week with a hat trick off the bench in San Jose's 3-0 victory over Chivas USA on Wednesday. He tallied San Jose's lone goal in a 4-1 loss to the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday, taking his season goal total 18, one more than Edson Buddle.

The award is Wondolowski's third on the year, as he was voted Player of the Week in Weeks 26 and 28 as well. His late goal-scoring run not only pushed him past Buddle for the Golden Boot, but also into strong contention for the MLS Most Valuable Player award.

What do you think of Wondolowski winning the award? Glad to see him close out his strong season this way? Should he win MVP?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. wow. great to see klose post on ives. you;ve been a great example for me as a player and scorer. hopefully ill see you in the next world cup. thanks for all the support from everyone on san jose’s great run. miss playin in houston. lets make a run in the playoffs boys. Dale

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  2. “The question is how much investment will Bob Bradley put into someone of his age, at this point in the cycle. ”

    The US is in no position to ignore a legitimate goalscorer. If Wondo keeps scoring and proves he can do it at a higher level there is no reason to ignore him for 2014.

    “He has a really accurate shot from close- to mid-range (particularly on the volley), a high work rate, and a decent ability to hold up play with his back to the goal.”

    You’ve just described some of the most vital talents of good strikers.

    “But realize that a lot of his goals came when he was unmarked against teams with lousy defense.”

    That’s not his fault and there are plenty of guys out there who could not take advantage of that. Don’t the other strikers in the MLS play against the same defenses that Wondo plays against? Why don’t those guys score as much as him?

    Look it’s hard to score goals even if you are playing against stationary trafic cones. Good strikers learn to to lose their markers. And then when they are open they have to put the shot on target. An awful lot of people can’t do that.

    So it his him or the lousy defenses? We’ll see.

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  3. Flash in the Pan = Jozy Altidore!

    Or should I say, FLUSH in the Pan?

    (SBI-I would love to know what it is Altidore did to you to make you hate him as much as you did. A quick search of your history of comments (including all your user names) reveals that more than half your comments are pot shots at Jozy Altidore. Care to share why you spend so much time hating on him?)

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  4. Not my intent to dismiss him at all. I’m a Quakes fan, and would love to see him get a shot. The question is how much investment will Bob Bradley put into someone of his age, at this point in the cycle.

    I would like to cool the growing hype a bit, though. He has a really accurate shot from close- to mid-range (particularly on the volley), a high work rate, and a decent ability to hold up play with his back to the goal. But realize that a lot of his goals came when he was unmarked against teams with lousy defense.

    I’m looking forward to seeing him continue to grow into the position and prove me wrong!

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  5. Sure. Whatever you say.

    Well, Brian McBride was 30 in the 2002 World Cup which came before his move to Fulham where he became an even better striker. And there is Miro Klose. And that useless,old (31) Forlan sure was a bust at this year’s World Cup wasn’t he, ex_sweeper?

    Wondo may be a flash in the pan or maybe he’s just starting figure it out.

    Why don’t you wait a bit before you flush him down the toilet.

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  6. Uh what are you talking about? I am in my 30’s and I am performing great for my national team. 10 goals and counting in WC and Euro qualifying so far this year.

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  7. Buddle had 3 goals against Chivas this season. What’s your point? It’s a balanced schedule so everyone had an equal shot at Chivas.

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  8. He’s from the San Jose area, went to Chico State, was picked up by San Jose in the fourth round of the 2005 Supplemental draft after impressing SJ coaching staff at a combine. Moved to Houston with the rest of the San Jose organization in 2006 and played about 10 games worth of minutes for Houston in the next 3 and a half years (scoring 4 goals). Was traded to SJ in June 2009 and made 14 appearances scoring 3 goals. Coming into 2010 Wondo was pretty much expected to be a depth guy and he didn’t play the first two games. Some injuries led to Wondo getting some chances, he scored goals in four consecutive games right as he came into the team, and he’s never looked back.

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  9. MLS should do a best XI with a captain instead of one player of the week, i doubt a defender has ever won this title! Its either the striker with the most goals or occasionally the keeper who made a number of diving saves.

    i didn’t watch all the games so suggestions below… also they should do one for the year!
    —This Week XI—
    F: Wondo
    F: Diop
    M: Donovan
    M: Beckham
    M: Richards?
    M: Lindpere?
    D:
    D:
    D:
    D:
    GK:

    —2011 XI—-
    F: Wondo/Saboria
    F: Buddle/Cummings
    M: Donovan
    M: DeRosario
    M: Ferrierra/Davis
    M: Le Toux/Pappa
    D: Gonzalez
    D: Ream
    D: Marquez/Borchers
    D: Moor
    GK: Hartman/Rimando

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  10. I’m not a hardcore MLS fan, but besides hearing about the recent goals and player of the week awards, I know nothing about Wondolowski. Can anybody fill in his basic background – Where’s he from? Did he play in college? Been with San Jose his whole MLS career? Thanks.

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  11. I’d guess he gets an invite to camp some time. Even if he turns out to be a flash in the pan, past Golden Boot winners have earned at least an audition (see Cooper, Kenny). But in spite of how dire our need is for a forward who can actually score goals, Wondo isn’t the long-term answer. He’ll be 31 at the next World Cup – strikers in their 30s don’t compete too well(see Italy).

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  12. Wondolowski scored four goals against crappy scrub third-string goalkeepers and crap teams who already failed to qualify for the playoffs. Meh.

    Diop’s feat was more remarkable.

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  13. He’s done enough to merit an invite to the next national team camp. It’s not like they have a glut of quality forwards and he deserves a shot to earn a spot.

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  14. My mistake. I knew he had just scored a hat trick but I forgot it was midweek (or rather, my brain refused to believe MLS would schedule San Jose for two league games in 3 days.)

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  15. Ridiculous. He scored one goal in a 4-1 drubbing and he’s player of the week? How about Diop scoring a hat trick to help his team win 4-1.

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  16. PK’s count, but you could argue whether or not it’s “unfair.” Wynalda used to always joke that he rarely took PK’s, so Landon’s usmnt numbers are inflated.

    Also, Wondo only started taking PK’s regularly this season because he was scoring so much. Either Andre Luiz or a forward used to take em before.

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  17. Do penalty kicks count toward the Golden Boot? Seems like that would not be fair for Buddle if Landon takes all the penalty kicks.

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  18. Earthquakes are already talking giving him a new contract. I wonder how much of a raise he may get? I think he’s making 40k a year now.

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