Editor’s note: Carl Valentine makes his picks for the 2015 MLS Best XI (including players from each position), which will be unveiled on Sunday.
GOALKEEPER: David Ousted (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
I’m starting off with an easy one. No bias here. Ousted had 13 clean sheets (tied for first MLS) and a goals against average of 1.06 (third in MLS). He also stopped a league-high three penalties, which is just amazing. But all this does not tell the tale of what has been another dominating season from the ‘Caps keeper. His presence in goal and the way he commands his box enabled Vancouver to have one of the best defensive records in the league.
RIGHT BACK: Tyrone Mears (Seattle Sounders FC)
And no, I didn’t pick him because he was born in the same place as me (Manchester). It does help though! Mears spent most of his career in the Championship and a couple in the Premier League in England. Since joining Seattle this season, Mears has been a consistent starter who is a solid defender that likes to overlap at every opportunity, providing quality crosses for his strikers.
CENTRE BACK: Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
What can I say about Waston that hasn’t already been said? He’s just a massive presence in the centre of defence – both in the air and on the ground. He led the league in aerial duals (119) and was a huge threat on attacking set pieces. You also have to believe Waston won a few battles before the whistle was blown as not many forwards would relish the challenge of mixing it up with the big man.
CENTRE BACK: Laurent Ciman (Montreal Impact)
What a find Ciman was for Montreal. A Belgium international who was at the World Cup in Brazil, Ciman helped solidify the Impact defence and helped lead them to a playoff berth. No centre back won more tackles than he did (58) and he also would often be the player to bring the ball out of the back, leading to many Impact attacks.
LEFT BACK: Chris Tierney (New England Revolution)
Tierney can play a number of positions well, but this season he has been a revelation playing at left back. He started out as a midfield player, which shows as he’s always an attacking threat down the left flank. He is also one of the league’s best set-piece takers.
RIGHT WINGER: Lloyd Sam (New York Red Bulls)
New York finished the 2015 season with the most goals in MLS and the play of Lloyd Sam had a lot to do with that. Sam, who had seven goals and 10 assists, was a fullback’s nightmare as he loved to terrorize them with his pace and get to the byline to put pinpoint crosses into the box.
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER: Matias Laba (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
OK, there might be a bit of bias here but if you watch Laba every week, who else would you want in your team? He goes about his job quietly, making all the little plays that often don’t get noticed, and was instrumental in Vancouver only conceding 36 goals in 34 games.
CENTRAL MIDFIELDER: Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City)
This was a break out season for Feilhaber, who picked up 10 goals and 15 assists. That is a great return for a midfielder. Feilhaber has always been a steady performer for Kansas but this season he took his game to another level, which earned him a spot in the 2015 MLS All-Star game. His creativity and threat on goal were big reasons why SKC made the playoffs.
LEFT WINGER: Fabian Castillo (FC Dallas)
This is a player I love to watch. He’s very smart at utilizing his tremendous pace. He knows when to make the runs and when he does, he causes all sorts of problems. Castillo followed up a good 2014 with an even better season this year, totaling nine goals and nine assists.
FORWARD: Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC)
What a player and what a season he had. Imagine this: after one season Giovinco is Toronto FC’s second all-time goalscorer in MLS (22 goals). He broke numerous records, thrilled us with his play, and carried TFC into the playoffs for the first time. There was no surprise that he got recalled into the Italian national team and he should be a shoo-in for MVP.
FORWARD: Didier Drogba (Montreal Impact)
There were players that scored more goals provided more assists, but none that had a greater impact (no pun intended) on their team. He really transformed Montreal into a playoff team, inspiring the players around him and coming up clutch in the big moments. 11 goals in 11 games speaks for itself.
Whitecaps FC Ring of Honour inductee Carl Valentine is the club's all-time leader in appearances and fourth all-time in goals scored. Currently, Valentine serves as a club ambassador and U-16 Residency assistant coach.
