Brek Shea is a popular target of ridicule among MLS fans. Maybe it's the bleached-blonde mohawk, the artistic bent or the confidence with which he plays. Either way, outside of David Beckham, he's the player fans love to hate more than almost any other.
MLS At Midseason: Break Shea Is Our Clear MVP
Thing is, he's also a pretty darn good footballer. At the halfway point of the season, he's in the running for the Golden Boot with eight goals, including scores in four straight games. So far, he's been reason -- at least offensively -- that FC Dallas has actually improved dramatically since David Ferreira was lost to an injury. In fact, seven of his goals have come since Ferreira was injured. Amazing as it sounds, FC Dallas has gone 8-1-3 since Ferreira's injury.
These are just some of the more obvious reasons when SB Nation’s soccer editor’s made Brek Shea the first-half MVP by a relatively wide margin. Of the 22 editors who submitted ballots, Shea was the MVP pick on 12.
Perhaps not so coincidentally, Shea's and FC Dallas' fortunes began to really turn around when coach Schellas Hyndman scrapped the Brek-Shea-as-a-defender experiment and started playing him at his much more natural left midfield position. As a left midfielder, Shea has been able to showcase remarkable speed -- especially for a player with his size -- as well as impressive on-ball skills. Nearly every goal he's scored has highlighted a different skillset, whether it was his chip against the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 1 or his video game-esque goal against Sporting Kansas City on June 12.
In 12 matches playing in the midfield, Shea has taken 37 shots and put 11 of them on frame. That seems to have played at least a role in the Toros’ scoring 20 goals during that time, as opposed to scoring six in their six other matches.
Shea is constantly creating matchup issues with defenses. He’s too big for most full backs, and way too fast for most center backs. If there’s one asset that seems to stand out, it’s that speed. Especially for a 6-foot-3 midfielder, Shea gets behind defenses with remarkable ease.
The scariest part? This might just be the beginning. Shea is still barely 21 and only now seems to be settling into a role. In his professional career, he’s played just a shade over 4,000 minutes. Luckily for FC Dallas, he recently signed a five-year extension. At this pace, it seems unlikely he’ll stick around that long, but at least the Toros will be compensated. For now, we should probably just try to enjoy it.
Other notables: Thierry Henry. The New York Red Bulls striker was the only other player to receive more than one vote, receiving six.
Chest Rockwell, Black and Red United: I hate this, but right now he’s the best player in MLS and simultaneously as valuable to his team as any player in the league is to theirs. By whatever measure you use to determine what “MVP” means, Henry’s work for the venal, craven charlatans of NYRB is the best body of work a player has put together in MLS this season. Hate hate hate.
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