hello, Cornell Glen -- but no one's found him.
6. Mauricio Cienfuegos (El Salvador): Tough call, but Cien gets the nod over striker Raul Diaz Arce. Always loved Cienfuegos' passing and movement, not to mention his leadership. I also have a vivid memory of him chipping Zach Thornton in the waning moments of the 2001 conference semifinal series at Soldier Field to ice the Galaxy's Game 2 victory and move the Galaxy to MLS Cup. Cienfuegos will go down as one of those fantastic first-year signings by MLS. He was a guy who became an instant fan favorite and a longtime contributor to the league.
5. Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala): Now, here's a guy I've always enjoyed watching play in MLS, but who I can't stand watching play for his country. Anyone else share my sentiment? But, let's hand it to Sigi Schmid for finding a young striker who was ready to come to the States and tear it up. In 2002, Ruiz was indeed the final piece that the Galaxy needed to become champions, scoring 24 goals (many of them late game-winners) and adding an MLS Cup golden goal, to wrap up one of the greatest individual seasons ever in the league. I picked Ruiz over Martin Machon, who was a really nice guy and a good player, but no match for El Pescadito. And, is it really possible that Ruiz is already playing his third season in Dallas?
4. Claudio Suarez (Mexico): Many weeks ago, we chronicled the history of Mexican players in MLS, and it has not always been pretty. I give the nod to Suarez over Jorge Campos by the slightest of margins, and I don't have a really good reason why. Campos, many people forget, was very, very good for the 1996 Galaxy ... right up until his nightmare final in Foxboro. After that, it was downhill fast. Suarez has been a great leader for Chivas USA, helping them become a playoff team a year ago and making them look like contenders in 2007. As for the likes of Carlos Hermosillo, Luis Hernandez, Paco Palencia and Juan Pablo Garcia, for me, they do not rank ahead of current Chivas USA player Panchito Mendoza.
3. Maykel Galindo (Cuba): It's an incredible story, how Galindo defected to the U.S. during the 2005 Gold Cup. Now, the man is a bonafide star-in-the-making for Chivas USA. If you have not yet seen Galindo play, he's not only lightning-fast, he's also got a very good feel for how to work with Ante Razov and Chivas' attacking midfielders. He isn't the first Cuban in MLS (Alberto Delgado also defected at the '05 Gold Cup and played for Colorado, and Rey Angel Martinez also spent time with the Rapids). Could we see more Cuban players in MLS following this year's Gold Cup? As Galindo proved, one never knows.
2. Jorge Dely Valdes (Panama): If for no other reason, Dely Valdes earns the spot over Roberto Brown because of his cell-phone goal celebration. Actually, JDV was pretty good for the 1999 Rapids before falling out of favor with coach Mooch Myernick in 2000. He was very dangerous with his head in front of the goal, not as dangerous with his feet, but a better-than-average MLS striker, to say the least. And let me say that Jorge and brother Juan put a pretty good scare into the U.S. during the last go-round in qualifying, in Panama City.
1. Landon Donovan (USA): Tough call here, honestly, with so many great U.S. players having worked the fields of MLS over the past 11-plus seasons. There's Tony Meola, Cobi Jones, Jeff Agoos, Chris Henderson, Mark Chung, Ante Razov and Jason Kreis to name a few. But the nod goes to Donovan for his three MLS Cup rings and his ongoing love affair with the U.S. game and the U.S. league. There are far too many haters out there, in my opinion. When it comes to U.S. players in MLS, Donovan's been pure, solid, gold.
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.
