Simple idea ... for each of the annual Honda awards, give 3 points for first place, 2 for second, and 1 for third ... and since it's soccer, I guess it ends in a tie. Honda Player of the Decade, 1997-2006 Landon Donovan 11 points (3 times in 1st,1 2nd, 0 3rd) Kasey Keller 11 (2,2,1) Claudio Reyna 10 (1,3,1) Eddie Pope 4 (1,0,1) Cobi Jones 3 (1,0,0) Earnie Stewart 3 (1,0,0) Damarcus Beasley 3 (0,1,1) Clint Dempsey 3 (1,0,0) Brian McBride 3 (0,1,1) Jeff Agoos 2 (0,0,2) Brad Friedel 2 (0,1,0) Tony Meola 2 (0,1,0) Carlos Bocanegra 2 (0,0,2) Joe-Max Moore 1 (0,0,1) Past Honda results ... 1991: Hugo Perez (Tony Meola, Marcelo Balboa) 1992: Eric Wynalda (Marcelo Balboa, Tab Ramos) 1993: Thomas Dooley (Alexi Lalas, Tab Ramos) 1994: Marcelo Balboa (Alexi Lalas, Tony Meola) 1995: Alexi Lalas (John Harkes, Marcelo Balboa) 1996: Eric Wynalda (Kasey Keller, Roy Lassiter) 1997: Eddie Pope (Claudio Reyna, Kasey Keller) 1998: Cobi Jones (Kasey Keller, Eddie Pope) 1999: Kasey Keller (Claudio Reyna, Jeff Agoos) 2000: Claudio Reyna (Tony Meola, Joe-Max Moore) 2001: Earnie Stewart (Claudio Reyna, Jeff Agoos) 2002: Landon Donovan (Brad Friedel, Claudio Reyna) 2003: Landon Donovan (Brian McBride, Carlos Bocanegra) 2004: Landon Donovan (DaMarcus Beasley, Carlos Bocanegra) 2005: Kasey Keller (Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley) 2006: Clint Dempsey (Kasey Keller, Brian McBride) Results for Other Ten-Year Windows ... from 96-05: also a Keller/Donovan tie from 95-04: Reyna from 94-03: Reyna from 93-02: Reyna from 92-01: Reyna from 91-00: Reyna/Balboa/Lalas tie
I think you could have a decent award for the Player of any qualifying cycle. a decade is meaningless in terms of national team play.
I think they did have a "Honda Player of the Decade" once so far and it was awarded to Wynalda for the 90's......I'll have to go and check on that though. EDIT: Yes, he was. It was awarded to him in 2000. link
US player of the decade.... 2006-1997 Goal: Friedal (better than Keller for club and country) Field player: Reyna (best US player for club and country - maybe ever) did have bad 2006 WC.
Not quite...... look up the record....Keller has had a much better career for the US. Keller has more shut-outs and more wins in about the same number of caps. (No using the crap opponents argument because they basically played against the same competition.) Friedel did great in the 2002 WC (that's why all of you who think he's better have that opinion), but Keller's 2 WCs were on Euro soil. Euro soil seems to be kryptonite for the USMNT. 1998 and 2006 can not be blamed on poor goalkeeping by Keller. (Friedel couldn't keep a clean sheet in his 1 game in 1998 either.) They both have their strengths and weaknesses and I see both of them as world class, but Keller has the edge over Friedel for his long term consistency for the USMNT. Back on point for this thread, as shown in my last post, Eric Wynalda was the Honda Player of the Decade for 1991-2000. The question to be considered here is "Who will be the Honda Player of the Decade for 2001-2010?"
They are both fabulous players. I think Friedal has been the better player. I think he has been the better keeper, and his run to the quarters, where he kept Keller on the bench helps to prove this. When both keepers were in camp, even BA could see Friedal was the better choice. Keller has made himself more available to the NATS and played in more games which I am very happy for, however Friedal has been the more polished keeper throughout his career for club and country. Like Keller, LD will definately produce numbers to warrant the nod, perhaps aided by his good timing and availability to play for the NATS, starting in 2002. Also, Mchead, Reyna, and (friedel/keller) have been key during the first seven years.
You're entitled to your opinion, but I disagree (re Keller/Friedel). Both Sampson and Arena gave the nod to Keller as being just that little bit better (they're actually quoted as saying this). Arena went with Friedel over Keller in 2002 because Keller wasn't at 100% (he had some sort of slight injury)....it was a matter of timing. He then stayed with Friedel because Freidel was doing well. That 2 or 3 week period of time in June 2002 was the only time in Friedel's career that he was considered the "number one." From 1990-1994 Meola was the undisputed number one keeper...Keller quickly landed the number one position in 1995 after Meola left soccer for a while and held on to it until the 2002 WC (Friedel was considered "1a"). He then promptly took it back again. (Friedel is rumored to have retired because he knew he wasn't keeping the starting job.) I agree with you that Landon will be in consideration for (and will most likely be) the Honda player of the Decade for 2001-2010.
Nice catch ... he was only among the Player of the Year finalists twice, but those two years, he was unstoppable (5 goals in 7 appearances in '92, 9 in 13 in '96, and it's not like he had a lot of service). It's also a little surprising that he didn't get mentioned in 1995. That year, iirc, he came straight from an 18-hour flight to single-handedly beat Chile in Copa America ... really wish I'd seen that game. I do think the "Player of the Cycle" idea is a good one, though. Going year by year gives a lot more balance than doing it entirely in hindsight, when it's really only about those last few games. Honda Player of the World Cup Cycle 1994 -- Marcelo Balboa, 7 pts 1998 -- Kasey Keller, 5 pts 2002 -- Claudio Reyna, 8 pts 2006 -- Landon Donovan, 8 pts
You make some good points DSP. The player of the cycle is a great idea. Despite a horrendous WC, LD probably gets the nod last cycle and due to great numbers, possibly the decade. Following a pretty good showing against Mexico, it will be interesting to see if LD can regain some momentum for this cycle. I also think Gooch and Dempsey will give LD some competition. And, if we can find any forward who can score against good teams, they will be included in the conversation.