Recently in Pointless Awards Category

Galaxy Head Coach and General Manager Bruce Arena, ably assisted by Assistant Head Coach Dave Sarachan, revitalized the fortunes of the once-moribund Galaxy this season and has the team in the Western Conference Final against the Houston Dynamo at 8 p.m. Friday at Home Depot Center.

And deservedly so after leading the Galaxy from worst to first in MLS and adding a second MLS Coach of the Year honor a dozen years after first claiming the award with D.C. United.

From the Galaxy press release:

In his first full season with the Galaxy, Arena helped lead the Galaxy to a 12-6-12 record and a first place finish in the Western Conference, giving the club their first postseason berth since the 2005 season. Arena claimed the award after garnering the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches and members of the media.

Arena, 58, was named the Galaxy's head coach on August 18, 2008, replacing the recently departed Ruud Gullit. He helped guide the club to a 2-5-3 record in his 10 games in charge at the end of the 2008 season. Following his initial season in Los Angeles, Arena overhauled the Galaxy roster, with 16 of the 26 players on the club's current roster having joined the club since the end of the 2008 season.

With his new look roster in place, Arena guided the Galaxy to a club record 12 shutouts in the regular season and just 31 goals allowed, exactly half of the league-worst 62 goals that they conceded in 2008. Arena's improvements paid dividends in the attack as well, with the club receiving nine goals and 15 assists from players that he brought in following the 2008 season.

Seattle Sounders FC Coach Sigi Schmid and Columbus Crew Coach Robert Warzycha were the other finalists this year.

BTW, Arena paid tribute to the role the players have played this season after last weekend's game:

"These are special games and on Friday it will be a special game. I'm real pleased to be part of this group. This has been one of my more enjoyable jobs in the last 30-35 years. You come in every day (and) these guys are a pleasure to work with. I think their vested interest in this team has made a difference. They buy into everything."

Also, here's Arena's not-so-secret strategy for Friday night: "Show up."

A more detailed preview is here.

Arena's introduction.

Previous Coach of the year winners:
2008: Sigi Schmid - Columbus Crew
2007: Preki - Chivas USA
2006: Bob Bradley - Chivas USA
2005: Dominic Kinnear - San Jose Earthquakes
2004: Greg Andrulis - Columbus Crew
2003: Dave Sarachan - Chicago Fire
2002: Steve Nicol - New England Revolution
2001: Frank Yallop - San Jose Earthquakes
2000: Bob Gansler - Kansas City Wizards
1999: Sigi Schmid - Los Angeles Galaxy
1998: Bob Bradley - Chicago Fire
1997: Bruce Arena - D.C. United
1996: Thomas Rongen - Tampa Bay Mutiny

It's one of the more pointless awards MLS hands out, but for what it's worth the reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year beat out the Chicago Fire's Brian McBride (who may have stopped playing in MLS, but never stopped playing excellent attacking soccer - is he available next year in South Africa?) and D.C. United's Ben Olsen (who last I heard hadn't really come back and was contemplating retirement because of injury).

But Thornton, 36, is as worthy a winner as they come considering he won his first MLS Goalkeeper of the Year title in 1998 with the Fire, a season in which he also helped the team to both the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup. Thornton won his last significant team honor with the Fire in 2003 when they won the Supporters Shield.

But in 2007 after eight seasons with Chicago, Thornton left and played for three clubs (Colorado, New York and Chivas) in two years and almost found himself out of the game.

Zach is back indeed.

Go to Previous message | Go to Next message | Back to MessagesMark as Unread | Print ReplyReply AllMove...Mum emailsMusicRandom photosrecipessoccer infoSoccer picsStuffwork stuff
Flag this messageChivas USA's Zach Thornton named Major League Soccer's Comeback Player of the YearTuesday, November 10, 2009 11:08 AM
From: "David Lindholm" View contact detailsTo: undisclosed-recipients

Contacto | Contact :

Eduard Cauich, ecauich@cdchivasusa.com, +1 (310) 982-3656

David Lindholm, dlindholm@cdchivasusa.com, +1 (310) 974-2987

CHIVAS USA'S ZACH THORNTON NAMED MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER'S COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Thornton wins award after leading MLS in goals against average and shutouts during the regular season

CARSON, Calif. (Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009) - Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton was named Major League Soccer's Comeback Player of the Year today, adding another trophy to his 2009 collection after being named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year last week. The 36 year-old goalkeeper from Edgewood, Md., led Chivas USA to its fourth consecutive playoff berth in 2009 and had the top mark in MLS in both shutouts and goals against average.

Thornton earned the Comeback Player of the Year award due to his strong play throughout 2009 after enduring two difficult seasons in 2007 and 2008. He led Chivas USA to a 13-11-6 record and posted a career best 12 shutouts and 0.87 goals against average, which ranks second all-time in MLS history behind Pat Onstad's 0.82 mark in 2007. His 12 shutouts were one shy of the Chivas USA record, set in 2007 by Brad Guzan, who also earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors in that season. In being named Goalkeeper of the Year last week, Thornton became one of just three players to win the award twice, joining Joe Cannon and Pat Onstad.

After spending eight years as the starting goalkeeper for the Chicago Fire, Thornton spent the 2007 season with Colorado, playing just one game, and made no appearances with New York in 2008 before being traded to Chivas USA on Aug. 1 after Brad Guzan's departure for Aston Villa. Thornton took over as the starter, playing seven games before an injury sidelined him until the final regular season match, and posting a 1.80 goals against average in his eight matches played. Thornton worked in the offseason with Chivas USA Goalkeeper Coach Leo Percovich and on his own, entering the year slimmer and fitter, and started the season by leading the Red-and-White to a 7-1-1 record in the team's first nine games.

Thornton was drafted by the MetroStars in the 7th round of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft, playing two seasons with the club as a reserve behind Tony Meola before joining the Chicago Fire in the 1998 Expansion Draft. A star with the Fire for the bulk of the next nine seasons, Thornton also spent six months on loan with Benfica in Portugal in 2004. Winning his first MLS Goalkeeper of the Year title in 1998 with the Fire, a season in which he helped the team to both the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup, Thornton won two additional U.S. Open Cups with Chicago in 2000 and 2003, as well as the Supporters Shield in 2003. A six time All-Star (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009), Thornton ranks second in MLS history in shutouts (70) and wins (125), behind only Kevin Hartman in both categories.

Thornton led the voting for Comeback Player of the Year ahead of Chicago Fire forward Brian McBride and D.C. United midfielder Ben Olsen, the other finalists for the award. It is given to the player who earned the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, and members of the media.

BTW, here are the other MLS Comeback Player of the Year Winners over the years:

2008: Kenny Cooper - FC Dallas

2007: Eddie Johnson - Kansas City Wizards

2006: Richard Mulrooney - FC Dallas

2005: Chris Klein - Kansas City Wizards

2004: Brian Ching - San Jose Earthquakes

2003: Chris Armas - Chicago Fire

2002: Chris Klein - Kansas City Wizards

2001: Troy Dayak - San Jose Earthquakes

2000: Tony Meola - Kansas City Wizards

The big Zach attack. (AP Photo)

Readers of this blog didn't agree, but Chivas USA's Zach Thornton was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year today, 11 years after first taking the honor with the Chicago Fire.

That time span between awards was undoubtedly one of the reasons the 36-year-old took the honor, beating out the Galaxy's Donovan Ricketts and Seattle Sounders veteran Kasey Keller (both in their first MLS seasons). Thornton equals the feats of Joe Cannon and Pat Onstad in becoming one of only three MLS goalkeepers to win the award twice.

"Whenever you're mentioned in that class of goalkeeper, with [Joe and Pat], you have to feel good about yourself," said Thornton. "To wait this long and to have gone through what I've been through and to be able to win the award again is outstanding."

At one time Thornton was seen as a fading, aging, washed up goalkeeper with youngster Dan Kennedy eagerly waiting in the wings to seize his opportunity.

But Kennedy got injured, Thornton dropped 15-20 pounds at the urging of Chivas USA Coach Preki and all of a sudden Zach was back helped by a very good back four in front of him.

From the Chivas USA press release:

In 2009, Thornton led Chivas USA to a 13-11-6 record and posted a career-best 12 shutouts and 0.87 goals against average, both of which were the top marks in MLS.

Thornton's goals against average this season ranks second all-time in league history behind Pat Onstad's 0.82 in 2007, and his 12 shutouts were one shy of the club record, set by Brad Guzan in 2007.

Thornton became the second Chivas USA goalkeeper to win the award, following Guzan's record-setting campaign in 2007.

Thornton ranks second all-time in MLS in shutouts (70) and wins (125), behind only former Galaxy goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

So this seems as good as any segue to mention that Thornton's efforts between the posts are among the 32 nominees (he has two of them) for MLS Save of the Year. The top 10 saves will be announced a week from today, with the winner announced Nov. 18.

Watch the video:

Vote here.

Here's the full list as released today by MLS:

Goalkeeper of the Year
Kasey Keller - Seattle Sounders FC
Donovan Ricketts - Los Angeles Galaxy
Zach Thornton - Chivas USA

Fair Play Finalists - Individual
Kasey Keller - Seattle Sounders FC
Pat Onstad - Houston Dynamo
Steve Ralston - New England Revolution

Comeback Player of the Year
Brian McBride - Chicago Fire
Ben Olsen - D.C. United
Zach Thornton - Chivas USA

Visa Defender of the Year
Geoff Cameron - Houston Dynamo
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado - Seattle Sounders FC
Chad Marshall - Columbus Crew

adidas Referee of the Year
Alex Prus
Ricardo Salazar
Kevin Stott

Rookie of the Year
Stefan Frei - Toronto FC
Omar Gonzalez - Los Angeles Galaxy
Chris Pontius - D.C. United

Coach of the Year
Bruce Arena - Los Angeles Galaxy
Sigi Schmid - Seattle Sounders FC
Robert Warzycha - Columbus Crew

Newcomer of the Year
Kasey Keller - Seattle Sounders FC
Freddie Ljungberg - Seattle Sounders FC
Fredy Montero - Seattle Sounders FC

Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player
Jeff Cunningham - FC Dallas
Landon Donovan - Los Angeles Galaxy
Shalrie Joseph - New England Revolution

MLS begins handing out awards Wednesday when the Goalkeeper of the Year and Fair Play Award (Individual & Team) are named.

Not much to quibble about there. Any notable omissions? Surprise contenders? But if Dallas had made the playoffs, Cunningham would have had a strong case for MVP. And did Olsen really "come back?"

The first one is a toughie and has an obvious local angle.

(With apologies to Mr. Thornton for misspelling his surname in the poll).

A busy weekend of soccer with all three pro teams playing at home and the U.S. in the final of a FIFA competition for the first time:

10 a.m. Saturday - The runaway WPS-leading Sol plays its last weekend game of the season at the early hour at Home Depot Center against the Chicago Red Stars. There's a ticket special: two for $30 plus a Marta bobblehead and a $50 ESPN Zone game card. Call 1-877-4-SOL-TIX.

7 p.m. Saturday - Chicago must defeat Tigres Saturday and then Chivas USA must beat San Luis by at least two clear goals to advance in SuperLiga. Tickets start at $15. Call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 for tickets.

11 a.m. Sunday - Coverage begins on ESPN and Univision for the U.S. showdown with Brazil in the Confederations Cup final. BTW, the National Soccer Hall of Fame tweeted that the organization "is requesting a game ball from Sunday's championship match for display What else should we ask for?" What about a U.S. win?

7 p.m. Sunday - $1 beer, $1 dogs as the 2-3-9 Galaxy play the Western Conference leading Houston Dynamo in Carson. Call 1-877-3GALAXY for tickets.

In related news, the Galaxy's Landon Donovan has again been nominated for an ESPY.

So has the Sol's Marta. The current and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year is up against Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa, Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice and Russian tennis player Dinara Safina in the category of Best Female International Athlete. I'm told only ESPN's international viewers can vote in this one.

ESPN hands out the awards in July at the Nokia Theater at LA Live.

Busy (and slow-starting) day working on Tuesday's column, a preview of this weekend's game of the MLS season so far: Saturday's match-up between MLS leader Chivas USA and second-place team the Seattle Sounders at Home Depot Center. I'll post that in the morning. (The Galaxy play in San Jose Saturday, BTW).

Names in the news include:

*Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who today became only the club's third to be named MLS Player of the Week after making five saves in the 0-0 draw with Chivas USA on his MLS debut. Ricketts joins Kevin Hartman and Joe Cannon as the only goalkeepers in Galaxy history to keep a clean sheet in their first-ever start for the club.

The only other Galaxy goalkeepers named MLS Player of the Week: Jorge Campos (1996) and Kevin Hartman (1999 and 2002).

*Question: Will David Beckham improve his chances of playing for England at the 2010 World Cup sitting on the bench in Milan or playing in L.A.? Daily Mail.

*Midfielder Alberto Lopez, 17, from Aurora, IL, won the nationally-televised player search Sueño MLS 2009 and will receive an invitation to join the Chicago Fire Juniors.

*South (Torrance) High's Lauren Hein was named Daily Breeze Player of the Year, while South's Brad Gomez was named Coach of the Year.

It wasn't even close (thanks to an e-mail campaign resourceful CSUDH soccer fans employed to drum up votes).

But it is no less deserved after bringing a national title back to the South Bay.

Here's hoping for an equally successful 2009 for Flanagan and the Toros.

And thanks to all who took the time to vote.

Happy New Year!

'Tis the season.

Not only for journalists to use that over-used phrase, but for largely meaningless end of year awards. Still, they're also fun.

So this blog is joining the party with a highly prestigious (ahem) award of our own: the 100 Percent Soccer Southern California Soccer Personality of the Year.

Read the column then cast your vote. We'll announce the winner New Year's Day.

Thanks for reading.

Capping a breakout year, Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan was named U.S. Young Soccer Athlete of the Year Thursday, He scored a team-leading two goals in three games at the Olympics and played an increasingly influential role for Chivas USA directing traffic and sparking offensive assaults from midfield. He also scored the U.S. Soccer Goal of the Year.

More on the other award winners here.

In Detroit tonight, it was U.S. 1 China 0. Attendance: 11,933 (in economically depressed Michigan on a freezing night, a far better attendance than at the HDC).

Game story.

Gratuitous list of the week.

Sacha Kljestan's Olympic goal against Holland was the U.S. Soccer Goal of the Year. (Click on day 3).

And thanks to everyone who participated in the annual Daily Breeze ball drive. The final score was 3,500 - a record.

It's that time of the year.

Real Salt Lake forward Will Johnson's game-winner in a crucial Oct. 18 game against Dallas was voted the MLs Goal of the Year in balloting revealed today. Nicely-controlled and well-executed, but Goal of the Year material? I think not.

MLS detractors will seize upon this as more evidence of the stolidly unspectacular level of play in the league. I will simply note there were better candidates. See it here.

Which begs the question: how many of these previous Goals of the Year do you recall?
2007: Cuauhtémoc Blanco - Chicago Fire
2006: Brian Ching - Houston Dynamo
2005: Dwayne De Rosario - San Jose Earthquakes
2004: Dwayne De Rosario - San Jose Earthquakes
2003: Damani Ralph - Chicago Fire
2002: Carlos Ruiz - Los Angeles Galaxy
2001: Clint Mathis - MetroStars
2000: Marcelo Balboa - Colorado Rapids
1999: Marco Etcheverry - D.C. United
1998: Brian McBride - Columbus Crew
1997: Marco Etcheverry - D.C. United
1996: Eric Wynalda - San Jose Clash

Meanwhile, those still seething that Landon Donovan prevailed over Tim Howard for the Honda Player of the Year Award have a chance to put things right in the annual U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year competition. Those two are among the finalists for the Male Athlete of the Year Award. Voting began today.

Shannon Boxx of Torrance is a contender for the women's version.

Robbie Rogers of Rolling Hills Estates and Maurice Edu of Fontana are among those up for Young Male Athlete of the Year, along with Sacha Kljestan of Chivas USA.

The complete list:
U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year Candidates
Shannon Boxx, Midfielder
Lori Chalupny, Defender
Angela, Hucles, Midfielder/Forward
Carli Lloyd, Midfielder
Christie Rampone Defender
Hope Solo, Goalkeeper

U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year Candidates
Carlos Bocanegra, Defender
Michael Bradley, Midfielder
Clint Dempsey, Midfielder
Landon Donovan, Midfielder/Forward
Tim Howard, Goalkeeeper
Oguchi Onyewu, Defender

U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year Candidates
Kristie Mewis, Midfielder
Vicki DiMartino, Forward
Michelle Enyeart, Forward
Alyssa Naeher, Goalkeeper
Keelin Winters, Midfielder
Courtney Verloo, Forward

U.S. Soccer Young Male Athlete of the Year Candidates
Maurice Edu, Midfielder/Defender
Stuart Holden, Midfielder
Sacha Kljestan, Midfielder
Michael Orozco, Defender
Robbie Rogers, Midfielder
Marvell Wynne, Defender

Vote here.

Finally, UCLA Coach Jorge Salcido was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year after leading a young Bruin team (12 newcomers) to a fifth conference title in seven years and a dominant 7-1-2 record.

And junior midfielder Michael Stephens was named the Pac-10 Men's Soccer Player of the Year, the third Bruin - Matt Taylor (2003) and Patrick Ianni (2004) were the others - to receive the honor. He has seven goals and nine assists on the season.

I had never written a fairytale before.

But the literary device seemed apt for today's column.

Of course, Red Bull New York is a bit of a Cinderella story, too, so come Sunday we'll see who lives happily ever after.

Columbus management gave Sigi the time and perhaps most importantly, didn't interfere in the playing side of things, and are now reaping the reward. Are you listening, Galaxy front office?

"I've always felt if you hire somebody to do the job let them do the job and if you're not going to let them do the job don't hire them," Schmid said. "It's impossible for anyone to have too many fingers in (too many) pies."

Updated:
UCLA beat San Diego 1-0 Monday on an own goal in a game delayed by the unhealthy air quality caused by the wildfires this weekend to advance to the last 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins play USC at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Drake Stadium.

Quotable:

"This is the NCAA Tournament and nothing is going to be easy and nothing is going to be handed to you," said UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis. "To be able to win and not play as well as we can play - we have to take that as a positive. Good teams find a way to win. San Diego certainly didn't make it easy for us."

Notable:
*UCLA outshot San Diego 20-9 on the night.
*The Bruins have allowed goals in just four of their 22 games this season.
*It is the fourth season in a row that UCLA has reached the 20-win mark, and the Bruins' 10th straight appearance in the round of 16.
*The Bruins defeated the Trojans 2-1 earlier this season.

U.S. Soccer has named its annual award finalists. Voting begins today here.

MLS today named Cal State Northridge product and Galaxy defender Sean Franklin as its Rookie of the Year. Franklin is scheduled to talk to reporters later today from the U.S. Men's National Team training camp in Colorado.

How big of an accomplishment is this?

Franklin played all year in the center of a bad Galaxy defense, yet according to Coach Bruce Arena he's not a central defender.

In other MLS awards-related news, Rolling Hills Estates Robbie Rogers is one of the five finalists for Goal of the Year. Vote here. Roger already beat out Beckham to become one of the finalists; can he do the same to Blanco?

And in other Galaxy-related news, Bayern Munich's Web site has more on Landon Donovan's German adventure. Hmmm, is he going to be there 10 days or 10 weeks?

Oh, and even though this was reported a while back the Galaxy has officially announced that Tristan Bowen, 17, of Van Nuys has become the first player to come through its youth academy to sign a multiyear contract with the club.

"Tristan is an exciting and talented young player who has impressed me and all of our coaches during his time training with the club," Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena said. "He has many of the attributes which are required in order to become a good player in MLS and has shown the drive and desire to improve all areas of his game. We are excited to have him join the club and look forward to seeing him grow in a Galaxy uniform."

In Wednesday night games, Mexico beat Ecuador 2-1 in Arizona and CD Guadalajara lost 2-0 in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana semifinal.

At 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2 the Crew and Fire face off in the Eastern Conference final with the winner heading to MLS Cup on Nov. 23 at Home Depot Center.

Even though former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid is being circumspect about what it would mean to him to walk out on the home field of the club that fired him in the league's title game, Crew forward Alejandro Moreno - who played for him in L.A. - isn't as reticent:

"We know it's special and we know he's a California guy. I think what's special is that I was in L.A. when Sigi got fired and probably at the time I thought it was wrong and even now I thought it was wrong and even with the Galaxy having won the MLS Cup after that I still think it was wrong.

"There was a lot of people who wrote him off and there was a lot of people who didn't think he was the coach he was when he was back with the Galaxy and I'm here to tell you he's still the coach (he was)."

Sigi talks here:

The Galaxy's Landon Donovan was named the Honda Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and the fifth time in the last seven years at a ceremony today in downtown L.A.

Donovan accumulated 297 points in the balloting by 213 journalists, ahead of goalkeeper Tim Howard, (249 points) and Clint Dempsey (176 points). A player receives three points for each first-place vote, two points for second-place vote and so on.

Full disclosure: I voted for Donovan.

His accomplishments this year included becoming the all-time U.S. leading scorer with 37 goals.

His reward: a Honda Civic Hybrid and a (likely) transfer to Europe.

Also today, U.S. Men's National Team Coach Bob Bradley named a 19-man training squad for a four-day camp that begins Wednesday. Invitees include the Galaxy's Sean Franklin and Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein and Sacha Kljestan.

The full squad: goalkeepers Brian Edwards (Toronto FC), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Matt Pickens (out of contract); defenders Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Cory Gibbs (Colorado Rapids), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution); midfielders Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Nick LaBrocca (Colorado Rapids), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids); forwards Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Chad Barrett (Toronto FC), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas).

Bradley names the U.S. squad to face Guatemala in Colorado Nov. 19 in the meaningless final World Cup qualifier at the conclusion of the camp.

Mexico's Burden
With the head of the Mexican Football Federation in L.A. Monday, it seemed like a good time to look at the continuing struggles of that nation ahead of its final first round World Cup qualifying game for today's column.

As always, it's hard to fit everything into a column.

Here's a few bonus quotes from Lalas (and while he declined to speak in detail about his Galaxy experience until January - presumably he's still under some form of contractual obligation - you can read between the lines with some of his quotes).

On the new environment Eriksson finds himself in, despite his track record:

*"I have some experience with making a big splash in terms of who you sign, but ultimately it's in the results. Just because somebody has experience doesn't mean that translates into success. Just because somebody has made a name for themselves some place else doesn't mean it translates into coming into some place else.

He's a great coach and he thinks about things in a certain way, but he has his work cut out for him here in CONCACAF and I think he's recognizing some of the challenges."

*On where Mexico lags the U.S. and other nations:

"I don't think they have enough players who are playing around the world and I don't think they encourage enough players to come into the Mexican league to augment what they have because it is a great league and it is at times wonderfully entertaining.

"Certainly if you look at the Mexican futbol league compared to MLS they have a much greater history and much more to build on, but it's not translating into results."

*On what the U.S.has done right in comparison to Mexico:

"We've been open-minded in terms of the different types of coaches and different types of philosophies. We've encouraged players to play overseas and use that experience in terms of bringing them back.

"We've also recognized that maybe the physical advantage that Americans enjoyed for a while and used to their advantage wasn't enough - the tactical part of it had to be sound also. We also got more wily and less naive in our approach on and off the field in that we understand how to manage games, we understand the difference in playing a home and away game.

"We've thrown a lot of money and a lot of resources into developing our younger players and our national team. It's paid off."

Donovan in Germany
In the least surprising news of the day, the Galaxy's Landon Donovan will train with Juergen Klinsmann's Bayern Munich for 10 days to "stay fit." Yeah, sure.

Of course, Donovan is looking to play overseas, Klinsmann has had close ties with the Galaxy in the past and has said he's in search of a new striker when the January transfer window opens. Goodbye and good luck, Landon.

MLS Awards
Former Galaxy Coach and long-time Sigi Schmid was not surprisingly named MLS Coach of the Year today after leading his Columbus Crew to first in MLS during the regular season.

Here's a look at Schmid's career by the numbers, courtesy of the Crew:

*17 - His number of playoff wins is the best in MLS.

*57 - The Crew's point total this season was the best in club history.

*17 - The Crew's win total this season was the best in club history.

Lalas, who will continue as MLS analyst for Thursday's Crew-Fire playoff game and for MLS Cup, said Columbus is his pick to win the title:

"I am nothing if not a believer in karma and that you are rewarded for your efforts over a period of time. It doesn't always work like that in MLS and in fact we almost discourage that, but a team like Columbus that has played consistently well, that has given their fans an entertaining and ultimately successful product from the beginning of the season - that that will bear out."

Huck's Trucks
Finally, San Jose's Darren Huckerby was named MLS Newcomer of the Year today after scoring six goals and assisting on four others in just 14 games after joining the Earthquakes in mid-season.

I'll be back later in the day with the Honda Player of the Year winner and more.