SoccerMLS newcomers eye Golden Boot

Beginning of Story Content

Remember Chris Wondolowski? He was the MLS journeyman who came from nowhere to grab the Golden Boot last season. The San Jose striker has no chance of defending his title if early signs are anything to go by.
 
It's been a while since any player topped 20 goals in the regular season. Landon Donovan hit 20 in 2008 but the mark has only been achieved twice in the last eight years. An additional four games per club should make the goal that much more attainable in 2011.  
 
The opening weekend of the new campaign offered some clues as to Wondo's successor. There were plenty of goals - some classy, some comical - to whet the appetite for the league's 16th season. And several newcomers have already made their mark.
 
Scoring goals is all about confidence. Strikers are a different breed. They don't need oxygen to survive - they need glory, and lots of it. The more they score the stronger they become. They cannot wait to show off their latest goal celebration before being buried under an avalanche of teammates.
 
Eric Hassli is an instant hero in Vancouver. The tall Frenchman took all of 15 minutes to adjust to his new surroundings before firing the expansion Whitecaps into a lead they never looked like surrendering in a thoroughly entertaining Canadian derby against Toronto FC on Saturday.
 
First impressions strongly suggest Hassli is going to be a menace for MLS defenders. True, his opening brace came against a team under reconstruction, but his all round performance, added to his 6-foot-4 inch frame, will cause problems for opponents all year.
 
The bionic man is also looking good. Charlie Davies, once the darling of the U.S. national team before foolishly breaking curfew on national duty and almost getting killed in a fatal car crash, is up and running, despite playing less than half a game for DC United.
 
Davies, plated and pinned back together in late 2009 to the extent that some of the internal work triggers airport metal detectors, stroked home a confident penalty within 10 minutes of his comeback. His second was all about speed to take advantage of calamitous Columbus defending.
 
Omar Bravo has a surname befitting his MLS debut. The diminutive Mexican wasted no time in starting to repay his Designated Player status salary for Sporting Kansas City. After an uncertain start against Chivas, Bravo found his groove with a pair of well-taken goals.
 
Bravo, however, was the first to put his performance in context. He was quick to acknowledge the "tough calendar ahead," a reference to the fact that SKC has a potentially punishing nine more road games before the club's new stadium is ready in early June.
 
Thierry Henry scored 26 goals in his last fully active season. Injury permitting, 2011 will be his first since 2009. He should have opened his account on MLS opening weekend but an ever-agile Kasey Keller denied the Frenchman from the penalty spot.
 
A glance at Henry's career stats could be telling. He's averaged a goal every other game and with the World Cup fiasco a retreating memory, he's primed to rediscover his best form. It doesn't get any easier at 33, but where he leads, New York will follow.
 
The expected Red Bulls' charge may begin with a Canadian. Former TFC and Montreal goalkeeper Greg Sutton was handed the starting gloves against Seattle and played a full part. Sutton made seven saves to keep Freddy Montero at bay and register a clean sheet.
 
Back in LA, Donovan, himself, has yet to score in two games. That gives everyone else a chance to shine and teammate Juninho is stepping up. The Brazilian is having a private Goal of the Week competition following his long range strikes against, first, Seattle, then New England.       
 
Colorado is rapidly looking like a team that is no longer an MLS surprise. The defending MLS Cup Champions, with the tried and tested partnership of Conor Casey and Omar Cummings back in harness, were much too good for the expansion Timbers.
 
Kenny Cooper, back from Europe, made history with Portland's first-ever MLS goal but a lot of them, this year, will be mere consolation efforts on this evidence. The Rapids, by contrast, will expect to make the post-season at the very least. 
 
A couple of other observations from opening weekend:

Dallas's Brek Shea was the only player to be shown a red card in 10 games. Compare Shea's ill-advised challenge to Carlos Ruiz' elbow-led assault on Canadian Andrew Hainault of the Dynamo. Then tell me who should have been dismissed.
 
And finally, the Let's-Start-Over award goes to Houston's Dominic Oduro. His inexplicable miss from six yards almost defied the laws of gravity. To miss so high from so close was soccer's version of Phil Mickelson's famous flop-shot. Except 'Lefty' knows what he's doing.

End of Story Content