Welcome to Starting XI, our Friday rundown of what to watch for this weekend in MLS and beyond. And don't forget to get your Spanish-language fix with FutbolMLS.com.
Recommended musical pairing from new media editor Andrew Wiebe is "Elevate" by St. Lucia because Fridays were made for upbeat electro-pop and saxophones.
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1. GREATEST PLAYOFF WEEKEND EVER?: You'd be hard-pressed to find a day in the 19-year history of the MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T, that compares to the matchups, the star power, the attacking prowess, the storylines, the atmosphere and the national TV stage of Sunday's first-leg doubleheader (1:30 pm ET on NBC and 5 pm ET on ESPN). Two sell-out crowds in soccer-specific stadiums will watch the likes of Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan, Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey put it all on the line in what should be wide-open matches between four of the most entertaining teams of 2014. Time to cancel any plans that have you out of the house on Sunday. – SIMON BORG
2. BIG NAMES, BIG GAMES: Robbie Keane and Obafemi Martins last played each other on Oct. 19, the first of two back-to-back LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders games to close out the season. That game finished 2-2, with Martins gaining the upper hand among the Volkswagen MVP finalists with two assists. On Sunday, they’ll have the next chance to battle for supremacy, when they face off in the Western Conference Championship first leg at StubHub Center (5 pm ET, ESPN). Which highly successful DP import will set himself apart with all of MLS watching?. – ALICIA RODRIGUEZ
3. GONZO TAKING FLIGHT: There's probably not a more eccentric player still involved in these MLS Cup Playoffs, pres. by AT&T, with a more unique new hobby than LA Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez. He confirmed to ExtraTime Radio on Thursday what you can see on his YouTube page: He flies a drone, one that has a camera attached. And it makes for some good footage. But does it have an alternate use? "I'm going to fly the drone right next to Sigi [Schmid, Seattle Sounders coach] so I can get the game plan and figure it all out." – SIMON BORG
4. GOLDEN BOOTED: As it turns out, Bradley Wright-Phillips’ 27 goals this season were not enough to make him an MVP finalist. It’s too late to change voters’ minds, but BWP will get a perfect opportunity to prove them wrong when he faces one of the players who did make the cut – New England’s Lee Nguyen, in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Championship (Sunday, 1:30 pm ET, NBC). There’s plenty more to watch out for in this series, but when it’s all said and done we’ll know which player can get it done when push comes to shove in the playoffs.
And we also know that BWP's already shown a flair for the dramatic on the national stage. – NICHOLAS ROSANO
5. THE NEXT CROP: All eyes in the North American soccer sphere will be on the MLS Cup Playoffs, presented by AT&T, on Sunday. That includes reps from three prospective expansion cities who made their cases this week at MLS headquarters in New York City. Savor those playoff appearances folks, because as the league expands in the coming years postseason spots will be at a premium with New York City FC, Orlando City and Atlanta in the mix and Miami, Sacramento, Minneapolis and Las Vegas doing their best to tag along as well. – ANDREW WIEBE
6. DEFENSE, DEFENSE, WHEREFORE ART THOU, DEFENSE?: Go ahead, be wowed by the big attacking power on display in the Conference Championships, but mark my words: These series will be decided be the backlines. And there is plenty of defensive talent on hand, including Defender of the Year finalists Omar Gonzalez (LA) and Chad Marshall (Seattle), plus the Red Bulls' Ibrahim Sekagya, who has quietly come to the backline's rescue more than once, and the Revolution's Jose Goncalves, who was last year's MLS Defender of the Year and still might be the most underrated player in MLS. – GREG LALAS
7. TO THE CUP: We’ve watched lots of great goals and made our voices heard in the polls, and now it’s time to honor one of four remaining strikes with the 2014 AT&T Goal of the Year award. This year’s field has it all – a stunning volley from Will Johnson, Obafemi Martins’ unlikely chip, a blast from Thierry Henry, and a nifty set of moves by Lee Nguyen and the New England Revolution. Cast your vote now, and you can enter to win a trip to MLS Cup! – NICHOLAS ROSANO
8. IS TWO BETTER THAN ONE? A pair of excellent double saves lead the way among the finalists for 2014 Save of the Year, thanks to some good work from Raul Fernandez and Luis Robles. But don’t sleep on Nick Rimando’s clutch penalty stop to save a Week 1 win for RSL, or Donovan Ricketts’ fine work against the LA Galaxy. Cast your vote! – NICHOLAS ROSANO
9. STANDING ROOM ONLY: 19,149 was the official average attendance in MLS this year, good for eighth-best in the world.– MATTHEW DOYLE
10. TWEET OF THE WEEK: Twitter is not the place to be when the USMNT has a bad week:
11. A TRAGEDY IN ANY LANGUAGE: US fans might not be huge fans of Mexican superstar Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, but I’ll definitely give him some credit this week. The Real Madrid striker took to his Twitter account on Thursday to voice his support for the 43 student teachers missing Mexico since late September and presumed dead, posting a stark black and white photo of himself in a hooded sweatshirt with the hashtag #TodosSomosAyotzinapa. The move comes little more than a week after both Mexican and Dutch fans chanted “Justice! Justice!” during the team’s international friendly last week in Amsterdam. Chicharito isn’t reinventing the wheel for athlete commentary on social issues, but worth watching to see if any other players get involved as the saga drags on.– NICK FIRCHAU
