Sorry, AAXI fans - a little thing called the World Cup has been distracting us from our duties these past few weeks. The AAXI staff discussed many options for how to deal with the column while the quadrennial event was being combated across the pond. Some members advocated concentrating on the American MLSers playing for the US National Team, and drawing our team membership from that group. It’s a good thing we passed on that idea, since an AAXI comprised of two players - Clint Dempsey and Jimmy Conrad - would look a little silly. Another group of members suggested suspending the AAXI for the duration of the World Cup; after all, all other domestic league team of the week columns (such as the All-Australian XI and the All-Angolan XI) suspend operations for major events like Germany 2006. But, in the end, the AAXI staff opted to take the lead from Major League Soccer and hope to draw some added attention from the reflected glow of the World Cup.

Except, it is difficult to draw added attention when you skip week 12 altogether - or at least seem to skip week 12. You see, unlike MLS, the AAXI decided to go with a reduced schedule during the World Cup (forget reducing the schedule - this sure seems like the busiest MLS schedule in recent years). We’re combining weeks 12 and 13, not skipping one week and moving on to the next. Normally this would constitute combining the votes a particular player received for week 12 with his votes from week 13; however, not a single nominee from week 12 received votes in week 13. Not even Justin Mapp.

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A word of caution for USNT fans still bitter over the early exit of the Yanks from the World Cup: this edition of the AAXI features a 4-5-1 formation.

Troy Perkins – (3)

Perkins of Troy was terrific in week 13. Earned the win for DC on Saturday in every sense of the word, as a spirited KC team attacked with gusto. Over the course of three games in this nomination period, Perkins helped DC to two wins and a tie, and was recognized as MLS Player of the Week. Poor old Nick Rimando has been healthy for weeks now and still can’t get a minute of action with the first team.

Jose Burciaga, Jr. – (1)

The defender got the nod for his play in Week 12. It isn’t so much for how he defends, since in recent weeks KC has either played with 3 in the back while Burciaga lines up in the midfield, or 5 in the back (it sort of depends on your personal view of “Bunker” Bob Gansler - our staff is split on this one). But how many times can one Yank not named Taylor Twellman get a game winner late? His 89th minute tally downed the Fire, with Burciaga the hero again.

Tim Regan – (4)

He makes the list again, also for work in week 12. He has no game winning goals like Burciaga (heck, he only has one shot on goal), but week in and week out, there’s Regan. He’s one of those guys that you can’t believe you nominate, when suddenly he’s one of the AAXI regulars. And in a stat that really stands out, in 13 starts and more than 1100 minutes of play, Regan has committed only nine fouls. That’s right - great defense, and less than a foul a game. Even Valentin Ivanov would have a hard time finding fault with Regan’s play this year.

Dasan Robinson – (3)

The rookie continues to impress the AAXI staff. His work ethic is phenomenal, and he seems to play like a veteran. His positioning on defense is great, and he can distribute from the back. One thing that really became obvious during week 13 is his speed. Robinson seems to have long strides and had no problem tracking back to catch up with a streaking Chris Henderson once or twice. And while Henderson may not quite have the wheels he had when MLS started, it was a nice sight for the Toyota Park faithful to behold.

Ritchie Kotschau – (2)

The veteran is on the all-enigma team with Greg Vanney. One game he’ll stink the joint up and then the next two he’ll play spectacular defending as was the case in week 13 against Chivas. The back three including Kotschau, Chad Marshall and Marcos Gonzalez really shut down an attack that gave the Crew all kinds of fits at the HDC in week 12. Credit goes to all of them, but especially to Kotschau.

Brian Mullan – (4)

The midfielder controlled about half of the field all by himself in the Dynamo’s week 12 win over RSL, Mullan had a goal and an assist in the 2-0 victory and always looked like he was about to inflict even more damage on a pretty dispirited RSL side. With Brian Ching returning to provide Mullan with a forward who actually knows what to do with his terrific crosses, look for Mullan to appear in future AAXI lists.

Seth Stammler – (2)

He was so far off the radar before the season started that he wasn’t even an afterthought. Now you watch him parade around the field with confidence - and the sequence that went Stammler-Peguero-Stammler-Peguero for the second Red Bulls goal in week 12 is exemplary of this. If you want to see at least one player who seems to have learned from practicing and playing alongside Youri, Stammler is it. Hopefully the injury that saw him leave the week 13 match early is not serious and we can see if he can bring it for the new Red Bulls coach, whoever he may be.

Chris Armas – (1)

Armas really set the tone for the “opening” of Toyota Park with his dynamic play early. Certainly he raised his game to the level demanded by the special occasion and dominated the middle. He gets points for scoring the “first” goal in Toyota Park history, even if the slow roller was passed by a snail on the way into the net. The AAXI staff couldn’t think of a more appropriate guy to get that “first” goal. (All quotation marks used in deference to the other first game in Toyota Park history, played in week 11)

Brandon Moss – (1)

This player isn’t going to thrill you with spectacular moves in the midfield and he isn’t going to score all that often (although we hear that he has a blistering long range shot), but what he will do is constantly win balls in the midfield. During week 13 he did a great job of doing just that against a pretty potent Chivas attackthat ran wild against the Crew in week 12 but was held in check in week 13. Moss really made Jesse Marsh look like a U12 d-mid in that latter clash - and Marsch is a guy who appeared here in the AAXI not too many weeks ago.

Clyde Simms – (2)

He may or may not see the field that often now that Ben Olsen is returning from USNT duty. And that’s a shame. Simms has really elevated his game, and together with Troy Perkins has consistently been among the best American or two for a DC side that is really purring along. His goal of the week nominee during week 13 puts a nice stamp on his performance, but he was AAXI worthy in both games.

Ante Razov – (4)

He just keeps racking up the goals and putting in solid performance after solid performance. It’s like he’s try to send the Bruce a silent message: “You should have taken me to Germany!” The USNT really could have used someone like him against the Czechs . . . and the Italians . . . and the Ghanaians - but we digress. If you think that fearlessness and tenacity were traits first only practiced in the MLS by Dempsey, take another look at ten goal Razov. The sheer variety of ways he attacks goal makes him fun to watch.

The Bench

Since this list covers two weeks, we’ll throw in the “others receiving votes” for free: Tony Meola (week 13), Noah Palmer (week 12), Carlos Llamosa (week 12), Ugo Ihemelu (week 13), Eddie Gaven (week 13), Carey Talley (week 13), Justin Mapp (week 13), Calen Carr (week 13), and Nate Jaqua (week 13).

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  • Header by ismitje.
  • List compiled and edited by ismitje, with input from all some of the AAXI contributors.
  • In short, ismitje is the man.
  • All typos and errors should be blamed on Giorgio Chinaglia.