When Brian Mullan zeroed in on Steve Zakuani, made his run from about 10 yards away and crashed into the speedy midfielder with little regard to the damage that might be done, he did more than likely end the promising 23-year-old's season. Mullan also dealt a serious blow to any goals the Seattle Sounders had for the season and, potentially more importantly, robbed MLS of one its more marketable players.
MLS Week 6 Review: Steve Zakuani, David Ferreira Injuries Overshadow Action
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While Zakuani is not yet a household name, he is considered to be one of the league’s brightest offensive talents, to speak nothing of a great personality, and was starting to draw interest from clubs overseas. On any given week, Zakuani was the rare player capable of making a highlight reel play, combining blazing speed, absurd quickness and remarkable on-ball talents. In his third MLS season, he was also developing into a leader capable of pushing his teammates to new heights.
His broken leg, suffered on Friday after Mullan’s remarkably reckless tackle, casts all of that into doubt. While players have certainly recovered from worse, there is no guarantee that Zakuani will ever be the same player. At the very least, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll play another game this season and could very well spend much of next year regaining his confidence and touch, which will only come after he’s regained his fitness. The Sounders have reasonable midfield depth can’t help but feel the loss.
In a similar sense, the league can hardly afford to lose a player of Zakuani’s caliber. This league is already accused of being more about physicality than skill and Zakuani was very clearly of the “skill” vintage. It’s doubtful that his name alone was drawing people in droves to MLS stadiums, but players like him are in short supply.
Unfortunately, another one of those "skill" players suffered his own potentially costly injury this week, too. David Ferreira, the league's reigning MVP and arguably its most exciting player, broke his ankle in Saturday's game against the Vancouver Whitecaps. No timetable has yet been set for his return, but 4-6 weeks would seem to be the bare minimum that FC Dallas will have to make do without their best player.
Taken in conjunction, the loss of these two players is the exact kind of thing MLS can’t afford. Harsh tackles are, indeed, a part of every soccer league in the world, but MLS can’t afford to get a reputation for a league where these kinds of things are condoned. If that means handing out even more red cards (refs are already on a record-breaking pace for MLS), that seems like a price all of us should be willing to pay.
Red Bulls Flexing Their Muscle
The New York Red Bulls took awhile to get going, but they are now looking like the juggernaut everyone expected them to be at the start of the season. In the last two weeks, they've outscored their opponents 7-0. The latest victim was DC United, a team that itself was coming off a 3-0 victory. This was billed as a test of two of the top teams in the Eastern Conferences, and while the 4-0 scoreline was a bit deceiving, it was clear that the Red Bulls are still a class above United.
Luke Rodgers, who was inserted into the starting lineup two matches ago, had another strong outing. The diminutive striker did not register a goal or an assist, but he once again helped create some space for Thierry Henry, who scored two goals and now has three in his past two matches. Just for good measure, Juan Agudelo came off the bench to remind everyone that he's still one of the top-up-and-coming players in the league, scoring a magnificent goal to put the cap on the victory.
Jan Gunnar Solli, who's quietly turning into the most dangerous right back in the league, added two assists (he was originally credited with three, but one was apparently taken away) and now has three this year. With Solli, more of a natural midfielder, playing in the back and Teemu Tainio playing as a defensive mid, that gives the Red Bulls offensively skilled players at eight of their 10 outfield positions.
Granted, it’s still just two games that the Red Bulls have really been able to put it all together, but it does illustrate how this team is as good as any on any given night. The trick, now, will be ensuring that those good nights outweigh the mediocre ones.
Making Their Case
Without looking, guess who has the longest unbeaten streaks in the league. I'm assuming you didn't pick the Columbus Crew and the Houston Dynamo, both of whom are currently unbeaten in their last five. Neither team looked exactly dominant this week, as each settled for 1-1 ties with teams that hardly look like world beaters, but they are stringing together results and that can't be ignored.
The Crew have hardly been juggernauts, scoring more than one goal just once this season, but they are among the top defensive teams, allowing just .67 goals per match (fourth best). They’ve also been a solid passing team (completing at least 70 percent of their passes during each game of their unbeaten streak) and have done a good job of not giving away games. They aren’t necessarily fun to watch -- in fact they are downright difficult a lot of the time -- but if they keep playing like this, they are going to be a playoff team.
The Dynamo have built their streak in a similar fashion, in that they have only scored more than one goal once, but they do lead the league in shots and are creating chances as well as anyone. With the addition of Sergio Koke, the cap room to sign another impact player, and a defense that has not allowed more than a single goal in any match, they are starting to look like a team that could actually be getting better.
Benny And The Revs
When New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol decided to use his newest addition, Benny Feilhaber, just a few days after he had joined the team, it seemed to be a desperate ploy. After all, how well could Feilhaber possibly work with teammates with whom he has never played. Feilhaber hadn't even played in a competitive match since the World Cup.
But Nicol sure looked smart after Feilhaber assisted on the Revs’ first goal and was instrumental in helping his new team turning in its most cohesive offensive effort to day. The three goals they scored were a season high and while they continued their streak of getting out possessed in every match, they at least weren’t back on their heels the whole time.
Rajko Lekic, the other recently added piece, scored his first MLS goal on an impressive header from about 10 yards out and Ousmane Dabo made his first appearance on the gameday 18. Combined with Feilhaber, that trio may very well be the best central midfield in the league.
The Stars Are Aligning
David Beckham, Juan Pablo Angel and Landon Donovan played together for just the third time this season and the Los Angeles Galaxy turned in easily their best performance of the year. All three played a role in the goals, with Donovan scoring two -- one off an assist from Angel and the other on a penalty that was created by a Beckham pass -- and he assisted on the other.
The goal Donovan assisted on, in fact, may prove to be the most important. In the 4th minute, Donovan sent a ball through to Chad Barrett, who tapped the ball up to his shoulder, nudged it ahead and let loose a beautiful strike from about 20 yards that beat Troy Perkins.
While the Designated Player trio is a known quantity, it's the performance of players like Barrett that will really determine if the Galaxy are capable of challenging for the Supporters' Shield. In games like this -- facing a Portland Timbers team that was coming off two straight wins -- it seems like the Galaxy really could be a team capable of competing with Real Salt Lake.
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