in particular his point-blank saves on Josh Wolff and Dema Kovalenko -- made Miklos Molnar's early goal stand up for a 1-0 victory. And, who knows if Meola would've been able to win another cup in '04, when Bob Gansler elected to start Bo Oshionyi in the final. That's a debate for the pub.
10. Eddie Robinson/Wade Barrett. Sorry,but I couldn't pick one over the other. Robinson helped the Quakes/Dynamo to titles in '03 and '05 while Barrett was a key player in '01 and '05. These are lifetime achievement awards, so to speak, and Robinson and Barrett represent the current Dynamo defense on this all-time squad.
9. Eddie Pope. He won three MLS Cups in four years for D.C. United, but makes this team for scoring the most memorable goal in Cup history, his golden goal header in the wind and rain at the old Foxboro Stadium. Of course, the main reason for Pope's inclusion on this squad was his rock-solid play in the defense. A big game player, plain and simple.
8. Jeff Agoos. He won three cups in D.C. and two more in San Jose, cementing his place on this team. Seriously, you can't even make a decent argument against his inclusion. Like Pope, Goose was a rock in the defense, whether he was playing centrally or on the left. He was also a dangerous free kick-taker and, while he never scored in an MLS Cup Final, he did score a huge free kick goal to get the Quakes out of the first round in 2003. Without question, the greatest winner in the league's history.
7. Cobi Jones. His teams lost three finals before winning two, but Jones makes the all-time All-Cup team for persistence (and because we're a little sentimental that he is calling it a career). There was a time when I called Jones the best U.S. attacking player in league history. I'm afraid that nod goes to Landon Donovan now, but I'll call Jones the best of the "original" MLS attacking players. He was always fun to watch.
6. Peter Nowak. Tough call here, whether to give the position to Nowak or his teammate Chris Armas, but we'll lean to Nowak for his MVP performance in the '98 final, where he set up both Chicago goals. What's often forgotten in Nowak's career is that he played the 2000 final after missing the conference final series vs. New York with a hamstring injury. He was less than 100 percent that day when the Fire fell to K.C. at RFK, but still gave everything he had to try and will Chicago to a second MLS Cup.
5. Marco Etcheverry. The maestro in the middle of D.C.'s first three MLS Cup titles. I have three enduring images of El Diablo in the MLS Cup. The first two are of Marco controlling the ball in the rain and slop of the first two finals, the first at Foxboro, the second at RFK. His mastery of the ball was amazing as others slipped and sloshed around him. The other image is of Marco, two hours after the '99 final, still in uniform in the D.C. lockerroom, conducting an interview in English for what is believed to be the first time. He did a great job. And, when someone told Marco and Jaime Moreno that the bus was leaving for the team party and they might want to shower, both said, "No, we'll just go like this." And they rode off to the party, in uniform right down to their shin guards.
4. Landon Donovan. Hard to imagine anyone bursting onto the MLS scene more emphatically than Donovan in 2001, when he led the worst-to-first Quakes to their first title. His half-volley goal in that final is one of the best ever struck in the competition. Oh yeah, Donovan added to his big-game reputation when he won his second cup in San Jose (scoring another goal in the final), and helped L.A. to their improbable title (and double) in '05. Hard to believe LD has not played a playoff game since that last MLS Cup Final.
3. Dwayne De Rosario. He won his first two Cups in San Jose as a reserve, believe it or not, coming off the bench in both the '01 and '03 finals to help the Quakes to titles. His biggest moment, of course, was his golden goal in the '01 final, but he also came on and registered an important assist on Landon Donovan's insurance goal in the '03 final, when San Jose and Chicago raced up and down the field. When DeRo won his third title, he was on the field for all 120 minutes and scored one of Dynamo's penalty kicks in the shootout. If he wins a fourth Cup this weekend, he becomes an MLS immortal.
2. Jaime Moreno. If it wasn't enough that Moreno was an irreplaceable part of D.C.'s first three MLS Cup-winning teams, how about Jaime's miraculous return in '04, when D.C. won cup No. 4? Clearly, in '96, '97 and '99, everyone knew Moreno was a force. But when his play slipped due to injury from 2000-2002, and then he was traded to the MetroStars in 2003, when he really looked to be finished ... no one could've anticipated what happened in 2004, when he returned to D.C. to play for Peter Nowak and led United to their fourth cup -- and probably deserved the MLS MVP award that season, as well.
1. Carlos Ruiz. While it's true that Ruiz has only won one cup, I give him the other forward slot on the team simply because he was the man who helped get the Galaxy over the hump in 2002. He scored every big goal for the Galaxy that year, including the biggest of them all, the golden goal at Foxboro Stadium. Like Meola's performance in 2000, Ruiz's one huge performance is enough to earn him a slot on this squad.
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.
