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SBI’s MLS Best XI (First Half)

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Major League Soccer will be announcing it's All-Star First XI at halftime of Sunday's Portland-Seattle match, so it's a perfect time to roll out SBI's picks of the league's top performers for the first half of the season.

We've picked three teams, using a 3-5-2 formation that is typical of an MLS All-Star Game ballot. The teams don't necessarily represent a workable formation with players at their natural postitions, but they do indicate who we feel have been the top players in the league at their respective positions through the first half of the season.

Here is SBI's MLS First-Half Best XI (as voted on by SBI staff):

SBI's MLS FIRST-HALF BEST XI

SBIBestXI

FIRST TEAM

GK: Faryd Mondragon

DEF: George John, Omar Gonzalez, Nat Borchers

MF: Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Brek Shea, Brad Davis, Joel Lindpere

F: Thierry Henry, Chris Wondolowski

SECOND TEAM

GK: Kevin Hartman

DEF: Chad Marshall, Jan Gunnar Solli, Jamison Olave

MF: Jack Jewsbury, Marco Pappa, Osvaldo Alonso, Mauro Rosales, Juninho

F: Charlie Davies, Luke Rodgers

THIRD TEAM

GK: Nick Rimando

DEF: Heath Pearce, Ugo Ihemelu, Carlos Valdes

MF: Nick LaBrocca, Graham Zusi, Sharlie Joseph, Kyle Beckerman, Davide Chiumiento

F: Eric Hassli, Andres Mendoza

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What do you think of SBI's MLS Best XI for the first half of the season? Think any players are not deserving of their spots? What changes would you make?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. you watch the goals, then watch the 110+ saves…rimando is short and would have missed some of those diving saves frei made, hartman is old and slow and wouldn’t have left his box on some of the breakaways frei was able to break up, mondragon i could agree with, and ricketts is too injury prone to be worth a damn

    Reply
  2. Could be right. I don’t watch galaxy games as intensely as FCD games so i wouldn’t know their younger players as well as you.

    I’ll be sure to keep a closer on the pair.

    Reply
  3. People who think the Castrol Index is bunk are probably just stat haters. There are still plenty of neanderthals that think Baseball Prospectus is useless…

    Reply
  4. He’s 69, which seems a bit low for a guy on a best list. BUT he’s between Beckerman, Jackson, De Rosario, and Dunivant.
    Beckerman also made the list, Dunivant has been mentioned multiple times in this thread, and Jackson once.

    Reply
  5. 6 goals 2 assists in league play this year, and he missed 4 games for the Gold Cup.

    The Castrol Index has Wondolowski 6th in the entire league this year, behind Henry, John, Borchers, Donovan, and Gonzalez. All of those guys made the Best XI.

    Reply

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