CARSON, Calif. (Tuesday, December 3, 2013) – Major League Soccer announced today that LA Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez and forward Robbie Keane have been named to the 2013 MLS Best XI, which recognizes the top 11 players in MLS at each position on the field. This is the third time that Gonzalez has been named to the Best XI and the second straight season that Keane has been honored. The Galaxy were one of three teams, along with the Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City, to have multiple players named to the Best XI and this is the fourth straight season in which at least two Galaxy players were selected for the Best XI.
One of three finalists for the Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player award (which will be announced on Thursday, December 5), Keane has now been named to the MLS Best XI in each of his two full seasons with the Galaxy. One of three forwards on the Best XI, along with MVP finalists Marco Di Vaio and Mike Magee, the 33-year-old led the Galaxy with 16 goals and 11 assists on the season, finishing fourth and third in MLS respectively in each category. LA’s captain and Most Valuable Player in 2013, Keane was one of two players in MLS this season to record 10 or more goals and assists during the regular season and he was the only player in MLS with more than one hat trick on the season. The Galaxy were 9-1-3 in the regular season games when Keane tallied either a goal or an assist and he either scored or assisted on more than half (27) of the Galaxy’s 53 goals during the 2013 campaign.
Gonzalez joins Keane on the Best XI, having been selected for the honor for the third time in the last four years. The Galaxy’s Defender of the Year, Gonzalez appeared in and started 27 games for the Galaxy this season, helping the club keep 10 clean sheets and collect a 13-7-7 record in those matches, compared to a 2-4-1 record in the seven games that he missed. Playing his first full season since suffering a serious knee injury in January 2012, Gonzalez, who finished third in the voting for the MLS Defender of the Year award, scored once and added two assists while only committing 17 fouls and being booked just twice during the regular season. He is joined on the Best XI by fellow Defender of the Year finalists Matt Besler and Jose Goncalves.
The complete list of the MLS Best XI, which is voted on by MLS players, club leadership and media members, can be found below.
Goalkeeper: Donovan Ricketts (Portland Timbers)
Defenders: Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Jose Goncalves (New England Revolution), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy)
Midfielders: Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Will Johnson (Portland Timbers), Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Forwards: Marco Di Vaio (Montreal Impact), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Mike Magee (Chicago Fire)
Season tickets for the 2014 MLS season are on sale now, starting at just $250 or as low as $400 in the lower bowl of StubHub Center. Becoming a Galaxy Season Ticket Member gives fans the opportunity to see every Galaxy home game as well as number of additional benefits such as access to Town Hall meetings with Galaxy leaders, discounts on additional single game tickets, entrance into the club’s new Season Ticket Member loyalty program and much more as well as discounts at all TEAM LA locations and on select camps at the Galaxy Soccer Center in Torrance. For more information about becoming a Galaxy Season Ticket Member, please call 877-3GALAXY (342-5299) or visit www.lagalaxy.com/tickets.
