Barclay's Premier League Best XI and Review 2014

Man City lifted the trophy for the second time in three seasons.

It may be hard to believe, but another season of the Barclay's Premier League has come and gone.  There was no shortage of story lines this season between manager antics, the resurgence of a traditional power, and the title race again coming down to the last day.    If those stories don't suit you, how about the fall of a league giant or perhaps one the greatest relegation escapes in recent memory?  It was all there this year.

First off, congratulations are in order for Manchester City, who clinched their second title in three years by virtue of a 2-0 win over West Ham at the Etihad yesterday.  No disrespect to Liverpool, but City was the class of the league this season.  The biggest reason for this is defense.  City only yielded 37 goals this season, while Liverpool gave up 50.  Crystal Palace gave up 2 fewer goals than the Reds, and Hull City only gave up three more.  You can't say enough for Manuel Pellegrini and the job he did for City this season.

Of course the best defense in the league this year went to Chelsea.  They only gave up 27, ten fewer than City, who were in second place.  Unfortunately for Jose Mourinho's squad, they once again lacked the fire power to score with the likes of City and Liverpool.  Samuel Eto'o and Fernando Torres both scored some big goals along the way for the Blues, but neither proved able to score consistently and make themselves a constant threat up top.  Still, 3rd place and a run to the Champion's League semifinal is a decent year for Chelsea, and they'll certainly be looking to spend big this summer, with both Diego Costa and Edinson Cavani's names being bantered around the rumor mill.  It will also be interesting to see if Mourinho brings Romelu Lukaku into the fold after he had another great year on loan.

Back to Liverpool though.  What a tremendous season they had.  If not for a stinging home defeat to Chelsea and last week's huge stumble at Crystal Palace, they might have really pushed City to the limits.  However, the defense issue reared it's head at Selhurst Park, as Palace scored three goals in the last 11 minutes to tie Liverpool and all but end their title hopes.  Brendan Rodgers has brought Liverpool back into the Champions League and back into title relevance, but look for them to try to fix some of their issues at the back this summer.

But now, let's get to some awards, highs, and lows.   Let's start with a refresher on the Champions League Spots and teams that were relegated.

BPL Champions League Qualification Spots--
Manchester City
Liverpool
Chelsea
Arsenal.  (Playoff Qualification Round).

Teams Relegated From the BPL--
Cardiff City
Fulham
Norwich

As for the relegated folks, I seriously feel for Cardiff supporters.  I loved watching their matches and the passion they bring, despite having some flake of an owner try to alter their club identity to fit his National promotion agenda.  To that I say good riddance, Vincent Tan.  Fulham was just bad this year, and they were all over the place both in the transfer market and in the manager scene.  Hopefully they can find some stability in the Championship and bounce back up next year.  Norwich?  Meh.  They had a good run, but just couldn't sustain it.  Even the firing of Chris Hughton late in the season couldn't help them as they became the victim in Sunderland's great escape.

Surprise Team of the Year: CRYSTAL PALACE
Palace looked to be in serious trouble at midseason, bleeding goals and scoring none themselves.  They were mired in the bottom three and looked to be a good bet for relegation.  Then they did something incredibly smart, they hired Tony Pulis.  Pulis had been instrumental in Stoke's BPL rise, but was let go after last season as the Potters wanted to go in a different direction from Pulis's defensive style.  As it turns out, that defensive style was just what the doctor ordered for Palace.  They found themselves not only propelled out of the bottom three, but all the way to an 11th place finish.  I'll be looking forward to seeing them in the league again next season.

Disappointment of the Year: MANCHESTER UNITED
Is there any way that this can go to any other club?  The appointment of David Moyes turned out to be a complete disaster as United fell from champions to seventh, behind Moyes' old club Everton.  The defense was a complete screw up for most of the season and United suffered with injuries in the attack with Wayne Rooney and RvP missing significant time.  Moyes bought Juan Mata in January, but that seemed nothing more than a booby prize in the end as the former Chelsea man failed to be a game changer in the midfield and was often a defensive liability.  In the end, Moyes was sacked and Ryan Giggs guided United to an unremarkable finish, but at least he wasn't Moyes.  That brings us to our....

Story of the Year: David Moyes, damaged goods.
Moyes was the hand picked successor to Sir Alex, and hey, he won the Community Shield, but it was all down hill from there for United.  A decent run in the Champions League wasn't enough to save Moyes, as he often looked like he was in way over his head with the pressure on, something he didn't have to deal with much at Everton.  Is he really damaged goods now?  It will be interesting to see where he ends up.  Somebody will give him a shot.

And now finally here is the Puddle's Best XI for the Barclay's Premier League, 2014.  I'm sure all the players mentioned will value this extremely high honor.....ahem.

GK--David De Gea: Manchester United

Defenders--Branislav Ivanovic: Chelsea.  Gary Cahill: Chelsea.   Vincent Kompany: Manchester City. Leighton Baines: Everton.

Midfielders--Adam Lallana: Southampton.  Steven Gerrard: Liverpool.  Yaya Toure: Manchester City.  Eden Hazard: Chelsea.

Forwards--Luis Suarez: Liverpool.  Daniel Sturridge--Liverpool.

Player of the Year--Luis Suarez: Liverpool

Manger of the Year--Brendan Rodgers: Liverpool.

One last note, I want to thank NBC Sports for the tremendous job they did in their first year with the BPL broadcast rights.  It was so awesome to be able to watch any match I wanted to, live or on demand.  Now we just need to get Rebecca Lowe on twitter.

I hope you all enjoyed the BPL season as much as I did.  With the World Cup and the summer transfer window coming up, there will be plenty to talk about this summer, but I can't wait for August.

Puddle's MLS Best XI and Awards: 2013.

I know I'm a little late to the party on this, but I was on vacation during MLS Cup week, and it's been a bit tough to get back into the swing of all things footy given the tough recent run of RSL news.  Nevertheless, I know you've all been waiting with great anticipation to see who I will name to the prestigious "Puddle on the Pitch MLS Best XI."  So....here we go:


GOALKEEPER: Nick Rimando, Real Salt Lake.
I thought this was a no brainer.  Obviously MLS didn't agree with me.  Still, I don't think you can discount the year that Rimando had.  He's consistently one of the top 2-3 GKs in MLS year in and year out, and he pulled RSL from the fire more than a few times this year, racking up quite a few "saves of the week" along the away.

DEFENDERS: Chris Klute, Colorado Rapids. Jose Goncalves, New England Revolution.  Omar Gonzalez, L.A. Galaxy.  Tony Beltran, Real Salt Lake.
I don't hold any truck with three at the back, so I'm sticking with the traditional back four.  For my money, Klute and Beltran are the two best, most exciting FBs, defending well and getting in on the offense.  Klute's stock is just going to go up, I promise you.  At CB, I have zero issue with Goncalves as Defender of the Year, as he was a rock for the Revs all season.  Still, I always take Omar as my first choice CB in MLS circles, and he was rightly rewarded with the DP deal this year.

MIDFIELDERS: Graham Zusi, Sporting Kansas City. Dax McCarty, New York Red Bulls. Diego Valeri, Portland Timbers. Kyle Beckerman, Real Salt Lake.
So these choices might look a little odd to you, but I have my reasons.  Zusi is obvious, as he is one of the best, most influential MFs in the league right now and I'd love to have him taking my set pieces.  McCarty is the beating heart of that Red Bulls team, and I'm not sure that there is anyone who plays harder in the league than he does.  Diego Valeri is very deserving of the recognition he's gotten, and he sets the Timbers up for a long time to come.  Of course, for me Kyle Beckerman is the bedrock of RSL and the best CDM in the league.  If he played in NY or Portland, he'd get the recognition that he deserves.

FORWARDS:  Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy.  Camilo, Vancouver Whitecaps.
Robbie Keane is still the most dangerous attacker in the league in my mind, and had a hell of a year again for the Galaxy.  I don't know if he could still do it in Europe, but he is still torching MLS, and that's a fact.  As for Camilo, he nearly carried the Whitecaps into the playoffs by himself.  Despite the fact that defenses continued to key in on him, he continued to score goals.  I think he'll continue to be a huge rising star in MLS.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
GK--Jimmy Nielsen, Sporting Kansas City
DF--Matt Besler, Sporting Kansas City, Jamison Olave, New York Red Bulls, Seth Sinovic, Sporting Kansas City, Sean Franklin, LA Galaxy.
MF--Osvaldo Alonso, Seattle Sounders.  Brad Evans, Seattle Sounders.  Will Johnson, Portland Timbers, Dillon Powers, Colorado Rapids
F--Mike Magee, Chicago Fire, Alvaro Saborio, RSL.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Dillon Powers, Colorado Rapids

MVP: Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy

COACH OF THE YEAR: Oscar Pareja, Colorado Rapids

Puddle's Surprise Team of the Season: Portland Timbers

Puddle's Flop Team of the Season: DC United.

Congratulations to Club Leon, 2013 LigaMx Apertura Champions!

Club Leon beat America to grab the 2013 Apertura Title.

The Puddle would like to pass on congratulations to the 2013 Champions of the LigaMx Apertura: Club Leon.  They took down Club America 3-1 at the Azteca and 5-1 on aggregate to claim the title.  It's the sixth Primera Division title for Leon, but their first since 1992.  All in all this is pretty huge for their club and their fans.  MLS readers will no doubt note the presence of Rafa Marquez in the above photo, as he has kicked his career back into gear as captain of Leon.

It was a pretty exciting two legged series to watch, well at least if you're a Leon fan.  They dropped two goals on America in the opener, but figured they might have a tougher time at the Azteca.  They didn't though as America never really looked to get into the tie.  Kyle McCarthy offers an extremely well written match review over at FoxSoccer.com

LigaMX will now take a break until after the first year, when they'll kick of the 2014 Clausura.  If you're not checking out the product that they're putting out on the field, you're missing some entertaining soccer.   Look up LigaMx on your local Spanish language stations and prepare for some fun, unpredictable footy.

Congratulations to New York Red Bulls, 2013 Supporter's Shield Champions

The gorgeous Supporters Shield Trophy is going to spend time in the Big Apple.

They pointed out that you've never won a major MLS honor.  They pointed out that a lot of your big signings have been busts.  They pointed out that the league was building you a big brother in your backyard.  Then you went ahead and posted the best record in the league, and won that first trophy.  That's what I call a pretty good response.

Coming into the final weekend of league play in MLS, the New York Red Bulls controlled their own destiny for the Shield, beat the Chicago Fire, and the hardware is yours.  Mike Magee gave them a fright, scoring in the 6th minute, but the Red Bulls have this guy named Thierry Henry, who if you haven't heard, is pretty good himself.  He equalized in the 25th minute, and the Red Bulls went on from there, winning 5-2.  The result not only gives the Red Bulls the Shield and the number one seed throughout the MLS playoffs, but it helped eliminate the Chicago Fire from postseason contention.

As alluded to earlier, this is the first major honor for the franchise, so it's a pretty big deal.  Also, RSL fans should be happy for a few of our former folks: Jamison Olave, Fabian Espindola, Jonny Steele, and especially assistant coach Robin Fraser, who I thought got an unfair amount of flack for the happenings at Chivas USA. 

As for the playoff run, the Red Bulls will meet the winner of the play-in game between the Houston Dynamo and the Montreal Impact in Houston.  As of this writing, dates and times were still being determined. Check with MLSsoccer.com tomorrow for playoff dates, venues, and times.

MLS Coach of the Year: My Take

Right now you're thinking I'm totally gonna RSL homer this post.  Read on to see if I do.......

As the Major League Soccer regular season comes to a close, there's a lot of banter going on about this year's post season awards.  The award for Coach of the Year has been getting some serious heat on the MLS comment site and social media networks.  Here I'll present my top 4 candidates for the award and give the best reasons that I can think of for and against before presenting my pick for the award.  I'm sure that whoever I pick will be just as thrilled to get my pick as the actual award.

Caleb Porter--Portland Timbers--The turnaround of the Portland Timbers is certainly one of the major stories in MLS this year, and a large part of it is due to the attitude and system installed by Caleb Porter.  Porter has been considered to be one of the bright young American soccer minds for awhile, but that rep kind of took a hit when he failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics with the USA U-23 team.  That image has certainly been restored this year.  Portland has been solidly in contention all season long, and here with one game to go they have a legit shot not just at first in the west, but the Supporter's Shield as well.  This certainly bodes well for his chances, and he's seemed to be the odds on media favorite.  A major drawback to me is the number of draws that Portland have settled for.  Yes, you can call it getting results, but the Timbers have also failed to finish off teams a number of times this year, including two high profile matches at home against Real Salt Lake.  This could bite them in the playoffs.

Jason Kreis--Real Salt Lake--Speaking of RSL, how about the job that Jason Kreis has done?  Now, stay with me here.  A lot of folks wrote RSL off this season, picking them barely into the playoffs or perhaps out of the playoffs with the loss of Will Johnson, Jamison Olave, and Fabian Espindola among others.  They called it a "rebuilding year."  Kreis went out and replaced these guys, and managed to up RSL's goal scoring in the process.  In this "rebuilding year," RSL will finish 2nd or 1st in the west, depending on results this weekend.  Kreis and this club also accomplished this while missing their number 1 keeper, their Captain, their top goal scorer, and their best fullback for a month of the season as those players were away on international duty.  To me, that increases the odds.  However, RSL's somewhat lackluster finish to the season and reputation for folding in big matches will hurt his candidacy.

Oscar Pareja--Colorado Rapids--While RSL has gets most of the press in the Rocky Mountain region, Pareja has very quietly reforged the 2010 MLS Cup Champions not only into a playoff team, but in my mind, a genuine contender for MLS Cup.  The Rapids went through a preseason dump as large as, or maybe greater than, that of RSL.  Pareja's draft picks (Deshorn Brown and Dillon Powers) are the odds on favorites for Rookie of the Year, and have both contributed significantly.  The additions of Vincente Sanchez and Gaby Torres (the club's first DP) have made the Rapids all the more dangerous.  Let's not forget the emergence of Clint Irwin in goal or Chris Klute on defense either.  Pareja has brought these young men along in spectacular fashion.  The Rapids thrashing of the Sounders was kind of a coming out party in the the MLS media, but not to me.  I've been preaching Pareja and the Rapids in the Playoffs all year long.  They'll be more dangerous next year too.  Unfortunately for Pareja, the lack of media attention given to the Rapids could very possibly derail his chances.

Mike Petke--New York Red Bulls--Don't look now folks, but the Red Bulls are damn close to actually winning a trophy, though the Fire will try to have a say in that this weekend.  I think Petke has done a phenomenal job in his first year in charge of a club that has long been the pinnacle of  high salaried dysfunction in MLS.  He brought in Robin Fraser to help him out, oh yeah and he is the biggest beneficiary of RSL's preseason salary dump.  Petke has addressed the long standing issues in defense for the club more than adequately, and Luis Robles has finally stabilized the situation in net.  Couple these things with the emergence of Tim Cahill, and the Red Bulls might finally be able to fulfill their aspirations, and I think Petke is a huge part of that.  Now, some people will say that with the caliber of players at Petke's disposal, he ought to be where he is.  There will also be continued skepticism of RBNY's ability to close the deal until they win MLS cup, but I think he's still a solid candidate.

So there you have the case for these four men laid out as best as I can manage. In my mind, all four are totally deserving and I wouldn't mind if any of them win it.  However, in my mind, the award goes to..........

Oscar Pareja of the Colorado Rapids.

Sorry Porter, at least Oscar can beat Jason Kreis, and I'd take the Timbers in the playoffs over the Rapids in the playoffs any day of the week.  Congrats to Pareja and the Rapids on a great season.

My MLS Best XI at the Halfway Point, or "All-Stars."

This week the voting ends for the 2013 MLS All-Star "Fan XI."  I don't vote, mainly because I don't agree with having what amounts to glorified friendly right in the middle of the league season.  I still have nightmares about Olave getting hurt against Manchester United a couple of years back.  Also, like all All-Star games, it's just a popularity contest, but that's all another story for another article.

If I WERE going to vote, which I'm not, here's how I'd vote.  Now I'm not necessarily sticking to the official league list, so this is basically just a Best XI.  I'll be using a 4-4-2 formation.

GK: Nick Rimando (RSL)
I know you're all thinking, "Oh here we go, it's a homer best XI."  I promise it's not.  I really do think Rimando has been the best so far this season.  He's made many terrific saves keeping points in hand for RSL, who lead the Supporter's Shield race.  Really, what more can you ask of the guy? (Honorable Mention--Donovan Ricketts, Portland Timbers.)

Defenders (4): Matt Hedges (FC Dallas), Matt Besler (Sporting KC), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders), Justin Morrow (SJ Earthquakes).
I really think Hedges has been a great consistent performer for Dallas, even though they've cooled off some.  Besler is the best defender in MLS for my money right now.  I think Seattle is a different team with Yedlin in the lineup, and he's gotten U-20 recognition as well.  Morrow is still one of the best in the league in attack and defense for the Quakes. (Honorable Mentions--Jamison Olave, NYRB, Nat Borchers, RSL.)

Midfielders (4): Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Graham Zusi (Sporting KC), Javier Morales (RSL), Will Johnson (Portland Timbers)
Mike Magee, because DUH!  Zusi has been in good form for the USMNT and SKC, Javi is back to his old self pretty much, and says he can still do better!  Will Johnson has been the major factor, I believe, in Portland's drive.  He has been a huge force. (Honorable Mentions--Atiba Harris, Colorado Rapids and Diego Valeri, Portland Timbers.)

Forwards (2): Jack McInerney (Philadelphia Union) and Marco Di Vaio (Montreal Impact).
These guys have been scoring machines for their respective clubs and have both teams in playoff position, where neither of them were last year.  I can't see how I can argue with that.  (Honorable Mentions--Camilo, Vancouver Whitecaps and Diego Fagundez, New England Revolution.)


So there you have it.  I'd love to see your lists as well!

Congratulations to Wigan Athletic, 2012-2013 FA Cup Champions!

Wigan Coach Roberto Martinez and Chairman Dave Whelan with the FA Cup (Lee Smith/Action Images)

Congratulations are in order for Wigan Athletic, who won their first ever major title on Saturday with an improbable FA Cup Final victory over a Premier League giant at Wembley.  The Latics stunned Manchester City 1-0 with a goal from Ben Watson right at the end of the match, leaving City, who were also down a man, with pretty much no time to push for an equalizer.

It was, one thinks, the perfect Wigan victory.  They were by far the more positive of the two sides all match long, playing football in their methodical fashion while City looked sluggish.  Honestly, despite the fact that there was a major trophy on the line, City looked as though they had already checked out to the beach or to the golf course for the summer, and Wigan took their one, best chance.

Check out Watson's stunning header as City stand around with their zonal marking:

The celebrations might be short lived for Wigan however, as they face a tough road to avoid relegation from the Barclay's Premier League. They have to win both of their final matches against Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday and at home against fellow relegation battlers Aston Villa on Sunday. To add to the difficulty of Tuesday, the match is pretty much a must win for Arsenal to qualify for the Champions League next season. The Gunners will be well rested and motivated. But whatever happens in the Premier League, Wigan deserve credit for creating one of the FA Cup's most memorable moments, and keeping the romance or the tournament alive and well. I'll be hoping they can hang on to the Premier League spot as well.

Congratulations to Manchester United, 2013 Premier League Champions

Manchester United clinched it's 20th top flight title yesterday with a win over Aston Villa

Last summer I made a critical error when I penned my EPL season preview, I didn't really want to do it, but hey, I thought I was a pretty smart guy here on the blog.  What was that error?  I counted out Manchester United.  I don't usually do that, and well, we now see what happens when the Red Devils are counted out.

Yesterday United claimed their record 20th title in the English top flight by virtue of a 3-0 mauling of Aston Villa.  Robin Van Persie scored a hat trick on the day, putting all three in the back of the net in the first 35 minutes as United destroyed Villa's poor excuse for a defense and pretty much started the festivities early at Old Trafford.  One can imagine that it was pretty special for Van Persie, who suffered through his years at Arsenal without a title, landing his first at United in his very first season.  I don't think that it's an exaggeration to say that that was THE transfer of the year last year.

So even as a Chelsea fan I pass on my congratulations to United.  They've put together a truly dominant campaign this year, and just might finish with a league record point share at the end.  Right now, it's tough to see who is going to catch them next year, though one is almost certain that Chelsea and Manchester City will be doing some spending during the summer to try.

So congrats to United and their fans.  Enjoy what's left of the season as United will truly have some time to play some "champagne football."

Congratulations to Swansea City: 2013 Capital One Cup Champions

Swansea City won the Capital One Cup on Sunday (telegraph.co.uk)

I know it's a couple of days late, but the Puddle would like to pass on congratulations to Swansea City FC, who won the Capital One Cup this weekend, capturing the first major trophy available to the Premier League Clubs this season.

The Swans took League 2 side Bradford City to the woodshed on Sunday, with a cracking 5-0 defeat at Wembley Stadium.  It only took Swansea 16 minutes to go ahead, and their cause was aided by a red card given to Bradford's Mark Duke early on in the second half.  The final margin was the largest in the history of the League Cup.

The victory is historic for a number of reasons.  First off, Swansea become the first Welsh side to win the League Cup.  It's also their first major trophy and punches a ticket to next year's Europa League.  Personally, I love to watch the Swans play football, they do it right.  It'll be really interesting to see how they stack up against other European sides next season!

I also wouldn't be surprised to see the side collect another trophy or two in the next few years.

MLS Hands Out More Awards Prior to MLS Cup

Sporting KC's Jimmy Nielsen was named Goalkeeper of the Year

Major League Soccer has handed out three more of it's major awards since announcing their 2012 Best XI on Monday.  None of them were particularly surprising, though I suppose one could make a case for at least couple other guys for each award.  Here's the rundown:

Sporting Kansas City's Jimmy Nielsen, aka the "White Puma," was named MLS goalkeeper of the year.  That's not shocking at all as he was named in the best XI.  Nielsen helped lead Sporting to a US Open Cup win as well as the Eastern Conference top seed before they bowed out to Houston in the Playoffs.  Chivas USA's Dan Kennedy finished second, for some reason, followed by Seattle's Michael Gspurning (who should have won in my opinion) and RSL's Nick Rimando.

The Comeback player of the year award is always one of the most controversial, as the criteria seems to be somewhat nebulous.  This year it was awarded to Seattle's Eddie Johnson, who returned to MLS after a stint in Europe and failing to catch on in Mexico.  Johnson helped lead the Sounders to the Western Conference Finals and made a major impact for the US National Team in World Cup Qualifying.  DC's Chris Pontius and San Jose's Alan Gordon were also in the running for the award.

The league also handed out it's Newcomer of the Year award, giving it to Frederico Higuain of the Columbus Crew.  There's no question that Higuain was a huge plus for the Crew after coming in, but the criticism of this award has been that he only played in 13 games, as opposed to other candidates who played more of the season.  San Jose's Victor Bernardez, Seattle's Gspurning, Vancouver's Y.P. Lee, and Houston's Boniek Garcia were also up for the award.

Puddle's MLS Awards and Best XI

Here's MY humble take on the best of MLS from 2012

Yesterday Major League Soccer announced their best XI for the year, and they'll be announcing the rest of their awards throughout the rest of the week leading up to MLS Cup.  Here is my take on the awards, who I would give them to if I were MLS dictator.  I'm sure all of the players about to be mentioned will value these awards as one of the highlights of their careers, right up there with that time that they got in the face with a line drive shot.

Manager of the Year--Frank Yallop, San Jose Earthquakes.  Yallop was also announced today as the actual coach of the year, and it's really hard to argue with his selection given what the Quakes were able to accomplish.  The men from Buck Shaw tallied 66 points and scored a league high 72 goals en route to picking up the Supporter's Shield and earning a birth in the next CONCACAF Champions League.  I certainly didn't always agree with the way the Quakes played it, but one can't argue with the results in San Jose. (Honorable Mention--Ben Olsen, DC United.)

Goalkeeper of the Year--Michael Gspurning, Seattle Sounders.  I'm going to come out and say that Gspurning got jobbed in the official MLS Best XI.  While Jimmy Nielsen certainly had a great year and was a worthy candidate, The Seattle man had a better goals against average (0.73) and a better save percentage (77%) than the White Puma.  I'm also probably a little biased as I saw Gspurning pretty much stone RSL right out of the playoffs at Rio Tinto Stadium.  He also seems to be very humble and definitely earned a new fan that night. (Honorable Mention--Andy Gruenebaum, Columbus Crew.)

League Most Valuable Player--Chris Wondolowski, San Jose Earthquakes.  I really don't think there is any argument here.  Not only did Wondo tie the mark for most goals in a single season, he was just clutch all throughout the regular season, being totally instrumental in the Quakes' run.  I watched more than a couple of Quakes matches where Wondo would come in off the bench on a "night off" and save the team's bacon late on.  His on field leadership was fantastic and for the most part he stayed away from the antics of his teammates such as Steven Lenhart. (Honorable Mention--Chris Pontius, DC United)

Now with out further ado, my MLS Best XI for 2012:

Goalkeeper--
Michael Gspurning, Seattle Sounders. (H.M.--Andy Gruenebaum, Columbus Crew)

Defenders--
Matt Besler--Sporting Kansas City
Nat Borchers--Real Salt Lake
Justin Morrow--San Jose Earthquakes
Jermaine Taylor--Houston Dynamo
(H.M.--Aurelien Collin, Sporting Kansas City.  Austin Berry, Chicago Fire)

Midfielders--
Chris Pontius--DC United
Graham Zusi--Sporting Kansas City
Brad Davis--Houston Dynamo
(H.M.--Osvaldo Alonso, Seattle Sounders.  Kyle Beckerman, Real Salt Lake. Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy.)

Forwards--
Chris Wondolowski--San Jose Earthquakes
Alvaro Saborio--Real Salt Lake.
Eddie Johnson--Seattle Sounders.
(H.M.--Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy.  Jairo Arrieta, Columbus Crew.  Alan Gordon, San Jose Earthquakes.)

MLS Announces 2012 Best XI

MVP Candidate Chris Wondolowski highlights the 2012 MLS Best XI

Today during his State of the League call, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced the 2012 MLS Best XI.  The votes are cast by players, club leadership, and media members.  Here is the list, by position.

Goalkeeper--
Jimmy Nielsen--Sporting Kansas City (Denmark)

Defenders--
Victor Bernardez--San Jose Earthquakes (Honduras)
Matt Besler--Sporting Kansas City (USA)
Aurelien Collin--Sporting Kansas City (France)

Midfielders--
Osvaldo Alonso--Seattle Sounders (Cuba)*
Landon Donovan--LA Galaxy (USA)
Graham Zusi----Sporting Kansas City (USA)
Chris Pontius--DC United (USA)

Forwards--
Thierry Henry--New York Red Bulls (France)
Robbie Keane--LA Galaxy (Ireland)
Chris Wondolowski--San Jose Earthquakes (USA)

*Osvaldo Alonso became a naturalized US Citizen earlier this year, however his nationality for FIFA purposes is still Cuba at this point.

The Puddle would like to congratulate these men for their excellent seasons in 2012.

Congrats to the San Jose Earthquakes: 2012 Supporters Shield Winners

Chris Wondolowski and the Earthquakes have clinched the Supporters Shield

The Puddle would like to pass on congratulations to the San Jose Earthquakes, who are now officially the 2012 Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield Winner.  The Shield is the honor given to the MLS team that finishes the regular season with the most points.  Earlier this evening, Sporting Kansas City played to a scoreless draw with the New York Red Bulls, leaving them at least four points back of the Quakes going into next week's final matches.  The Quakes host the LA Galaxy tomorrow night, looking to add to their current total of 64 points.

There are a couple of added benefits to winning the Shield.  First and foremost, they will get to host MLS Cup if they make it that far as the top seed in the playoffs.  If they accomplish this, they won't host at Buck Shaw Stadium though.  They'll play the winner of the Western Conference wild card game in the first round of the Playoffs proper.

Finally, the honor secures the Quakes a spot in next year's CONCACAF Champions League.  They join Sporting Kansas City, who have already qualified as US Open Cup Champions.  Their final regular season game will be at Portland next weekend.

Congratualtions to Sporting Kansas City, 2012 US Open Cup Champions

Sporting Kansas City lift the US Open Cup (Getty Images)

Congratulations are in order for Sporting Kansas City, who last night captured the 2012 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with a victory over the Seattle Sounders at Livestrong Sporting Park.  It took extra time and penalty kicks to settle the issue, with Sporting winning the shootout 3-2 to claim the trophy.

The result was not without some controversy though.  Late in the shootout, Seattle 'keeper Michael Gspurning saved Paulo Nagamura's PK, but was judged to have been off his line.  Nagamura retook the kick and buried it.  Seattle's Eddie Johnson then missed his final attempt as Livestrong park exploded into joy.

The win gives the Kansas City franchise their first trophy since 2004, and their second US Open Cup overall.  It's the first trophy since they rebranded themselves as Sporting Kansas City.  They will also represent MLS and the USA in next year's CONCACAF Champions League.

RSL's Saborio Wins Player of the Week

Alvaro Saborio (Center) jumps for a corner in the first half (Photo: Brandon Carter)

The Puddle would like to congratulate Alvaro Saborio of Real Salt Lake for winning MLS Player of the Week for week 18.  The Costa Rican international scored a hat-trick against the Portland Timbers Saturday night and ended RSL's four match winless streak.  The goals put him on ten for the season and vaults him into range of the golden boot leaders.  It was his first hat-trick in MLS and the third in RSL history.

Sabo is the first RSL man to win the honor since Jean Alexander (now of San Jose) won it last season in June.  It's the second time Sabo has won the award.  He garnered 11 of 16 first place votes with Philadelphia's Michael Farfan placing second.

Congrats to Spain! Euro 2012 Champions!

Action Images

The Puddle would like to extend congratulations to the players, staff, and supporters of Spain for capturing the Euro 2012 Championship.  Today they completed their incredible run to their latest trophy, beating Italy in convincing fashion, 4-0.

By capturing the title, they also made a little bit of history.  With previous wins in Euro 2008 and the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010, they earned their 3rd consecutive major international trophy.  Very impressive!  They're clearly the best in the world right now, and in my opinion, they have to be in the argument for best national side ever.

There's an extra little tidbit for my fellow Chelsea supporters:  Fernando Torres was awarded the Euro 2012 Golden Boot!

Congratulations to Santos Laguna: 2012 Mexican Clausura Champions

Santos Laguna hoists the trophy as 2012 Mexican Clausura Champions

The Puddle would like to extend congratulations to Santos Laguna, who beat 2 time defending CONCACAF Champions Monterrey 3-2 over two legs to claim the 2012 Mexican Clausura title.  The title is their 4th overall in the Mexican Primera Division..

The win is huge for the Mexican side founded in 1983.  Coming into this final, they had been to 3 of the last 4 finals in Mexico, losing them all.  They also lost to Monterrey in the finals of the CONCACAF Champions League last month.  This should be, and deserves to be, very sweet for the Torreon side.

The first leg was played in Monterrey earlier this week and ended in a 1-1 draw.  Santos won last night's 2nd leg in Torreon 2-1 with goals from Oribe Peralta and Daniel Luduena.  Monterrey manager Victor Manuel Vucetich suffered his first ever loss in a final.. His stats include 5 Mexico Primera titles and the 2 CONCACAF titles.

Last night was all about Santos though, and I hope the team and their supporters enjoy it!

Congratulations to Chelsea FC, 2012 Champions of Europe!

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech holds the European Cup as his team hoists him on their shoulders

I've never been happier to make a blog posting than I am tonight.  If you read my blog or follow my tweets, you probably know that I'm a Chelsea supporter.  Thus I am extremely happy and proud of my team for winning the 2012 UEFA Champions League Title.

It was very much against the odds in the final as well.  The Blues had to take on Bayern Munich in Munich to win the title.  Obviously, Bayern were the heavy favorites.  However Chelsea brought Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, and a ton of heart.

The match was scoreless into the 83rd minute when Thomas Muller finally broke through the Chelsea defense to make it 1-0, and Bayern had one hand on the trophy.  Chelsea pulled that hand back 5 minutes later when Didier Drogba equalized.  The match went into extra time, but no further goals were scored. 

Juan Mata missed his first PK, and Bayern took the advantage making their first three.  Then Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger missed their last two, handing the advantage to Chelsea as David Luiz, Frank Lampard, and Ashley Cole had all iced their kicks.  Didier Drogba nailed the final shot to hand Chelsea the European Cup on what could be his last act for the team.

I don't think you could have even thought to write a script like that.

Chelsea will also earn the final English spot in next year's Champions League.  Tottenham Hotspur, who had finished 4th in the Premier League, will now drop to the Europa League with Newcastle and Liverpool.

Suffice it to say, I'm a very happy footy fan this week.  Congrats to my Chelsea boys!

Congratulations to Manchester City, 2012 Premier League Champions!

City Manager Roberto Mancini Holds the BPL Trophy (PremierLeague.com)

The Puddle would like to congratulate Manager Roberto Mancini, Captain Vincent Kompany, and Manchester City on winning the 2012 Barclay's Premier League title.  The Citizens did it in spectacular fashion, coming from behind by scoring two goals in stoppage time to beat QPR.  In the process, they literally stole the title from Manchester United, who had already begun celebrating in Sunderland after winning 0-1 there.  In video, Sir Alex can be seen urging his players off the pitch as the news is delivered.

A lot of folks have been saying Man City bought the title.  I guess there's some merit to that, but I like the way Alexi Lalas put it on twitter today.  He said that City didn't buy the title, they bought the best tools with which to win it.

In the end, it all came down to goal difference which just proves that every goal and every point matters.  It also shows the glory of the beautiful game and the fact that you don't need to use some kind of a playoff to manufacture the drama.  Are you watching, MLS?

So I'm sure the blue half of Manchester will be partying well into the night, the night when the Blue Moon finally rose over the Barclay's Premier League.

Congratulations to Atletico Madrid: 2012 Europa League Champions!

Atletico Madrid celebrate with the Europa League trophy (AP Images)

Congratulations to Atletico Madrid, who beat Athletic Bilbao to win the 2012 Europa League final in an all La Liga affair.  They won their second Europa league title in 3 seasons behind two goals from Radamel Falcao, who also scored for Porto in their win of the Europa League final last year.

Bilbao had a great run in the tournament, but saw it ended at the hands of their La Liga rivals, who won 12 matches in the competition.  As for Atletico, they've failed to hold on to strikers like Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero the last couple of seasons, it will be interesting to see what interest Falcao attracts now after his performance.

They'll compete for the 2012 UEFA Super Cup against the winner of the Champions League final.