COLUMBUS, Ohio - Commissioner Don Garber announced during his annual State of the League address that Crew defender Chad Marshall has been named to the 2009 MLS Best XI squad. The Best XI recognizes the League's top 11 players at each position on the field - one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards. Six members of the 2009 Best XI are prior recipients of the honor, while five have been named to the squad for the first time.
The Best XI members received the most votes from the media, MLS players and MLS coaches and general managers.
Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton earned his third major award of this year and his second career Best XI nod. This year's Goalkeeper of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year, Thornton was a Best XI member in 1998 when he helped lead the Chicago Fire to an MLS Cup championship.
The Best XI defense includes Marshall, a six-year MLS veteran, two-time Best XI member and this year's Visa Defender of the Year, who has established himself as the top center back in League. Marshall, who also was named the 2008 Defender of the Year and was a 2009 MLS All-Star, anchored a Columbus defense that allowed only 31 goals during the regular season, which established a new club record en route to its second straight Supporters' Shield. Marshall started all 18 games in which he played during the regular season, missing four while serving National Team duty with the U.S. and another six with a knee sprain at the end of the season.
Marshall won MLS Player of the Month honors for August after leading the Crew to a 4-1-0 record during the month, which included four shutouts. The 6-foot-4 defender proved again that he is not only an imposing force on the back line, but also poses a scoring threat whenever he gets forward. He finished third on the team with four goals scored, including game-winners vs. New York (June 27), Colorado (Aug. 1) and FC Dallas (Aug. 15). The 25-year-old Riverside, Calif., native was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft by the Crew.
Joining Marshall on the back line are two first-time recipients - the Houston Dynamo's Geoff Cameron and the Chicago Fire's Wilman Conde.
The midfield includes two four-time honorees, Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), and Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC). Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) earned his third selection. MLS Newcomer of the Year finalist Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle Sounders FC) earned MLS Best XI honors for the first time, as did Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo).
The 2009 Golden Boot winner, Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), joins his closest rival in that race, Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids) at forward. Cunningham was named to the team for a third time, while this is the first Best XI selection for Casey.
This season 10 clubs are represented on the Best XI. Houston is the only club with two representatives. Of the top 11 players, 10 were members of the 2009 MLS All-Star team, and seven are finalists for the League's top end-of-season awards, including Volkswagen MLS MVP finalists Cunningham, Donovan and Joseph. Nine members of the Best XI have senior national team appearances. Conde and Cameron are the only two without a full national team cap.
Below is a breakdown of the MLS Best XI by position and in alphabetical order:
2009 MLS Best XI:
GOALKEEPER (1): Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)
DEFENDERS (3): Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Wilman Conde (Chicago Fire), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle Sounders FC)
FORWARDS (2): Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas)
