No Sounders representatives this season in the MLS Best XI after Ozzie Alonso's selection in 2012.
For just the second time in club history, Sounders FC had no players on Major League Soccer’s Best XI, as the annual list of top players in the league was announced on Tuesday.
The Portland Timbers led the way with three representatives, while the LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City had two each and the New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Montreal Impact and Chicago Fire all had one player in the 2013 Best XI.
Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts earned his second Best XI selection after posting 13 wins, 14 shutouts and a 0.97 goals against average.
The defenders were Jose Goncalves, who captained the Revs to their first playoff appearance since 2009, Matt Besler, who made Best XI for the second consecutive year anchoring the Sporting Kansas City defense, and Omar Gonzalez, the LA Galaxy and U.S. National Team center back who made his third Best XI selection.
Diego Valeri (10 G, 13 A) and Will Johnson (9 G, 5 A) both represent Portland out of the midfield, joining Sporting KC’s Graham Zusi (6 G, 8 A) and New York’s Tim Cahill (11 G, 5 A).
At forward, the Impact’s Marco Di Vaio (20 goals), LA’s Robbie Keane (16 G, 11 A) and Chicago’s Mike Magee (21 G, 4 A) were all recognized.
Four players – Besler, Gonzalez, Zusi and Keane – were also Best XI selections in 2012, while six received the honor for the first time.
There were five Designated Players among the 11 players selected and five players who came to MLS through the MLS SuperDraft, including three in 2009.
Sounders FC has had three players named MLS Best XI – Freddie Ljungberg in 2009, Kasey Keller in 2011 and Osvaldo Alonso in 2012.
The remaining league awards that MLS will announce this week are Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year and MLS Newcomer of the Year on Wednesday and AT&T Goal of the Year, Save of the Year and Volkswagen MVP on Thursday.
