This was the week that MLS returned to full strength, as the returning World Cup heroes returned to their respective club teams on an emotional high and performed very strongly.

Hmmm, that doesn’t sound right . . .

This was the week that MLS returned to full strength, as the returning World Cup players returned to their respective club teams, stung by poor performances and ready to atone with great club play.

Hmmm, that doesn’t sound right either . . .

This was the week that MLS remained about where it was, as some players returned from World Cup duty and played well, others played poorly, still others were injured, and one was just missing.

That sounds more like it.

The anticipated return of MLS players to their clubs following more than a month of World Cup duty occurred during week 14, and the results were decidedly mixed. A team-by-team analysis looks like this:

Real Salt Lake: A funny thing happened while Eddie Pope and Douglas Sequeira were away: RSL put together a modest run of five games without a loss, and the defense gelled around Danny Torres, Willis Forko, Nelson Akwari, and Kevin Novak – a surprising development to say the least. Torres played so well that you had to wonder if the right Costa Rican was playing in the World Cup – and if the results of Sequiera’s two games back are any indication, Torres is the better player. As for Pope, his injury was questioned in some parts, leading to little hand wringing when retirement rumors surfaced. Verdict: an underwhelming return.

New York Red Bulls: No one lost to World Cup duty – unless, of course, you count Youri Djorkaeff attending the France-Brazil game for personal reasons.

New England Revolution: With Pat Noonan injured and Clint Dempsey on World Cup duty, Taylor Twellman looked less than stellar for a better part of a month. Then Dempsey returned from Germany, and Twellman suddenly revived, scoring a goal about fifteen minutes into the first game Dempsey played. In two games, Clint scored three goals and looked every bit the dangerous player he seemed against Italy and Ghana. Avery John also returned, which was welcome news for an injury riddled Revs defensive corps. He, too, played like he did in the World Cup, but in his case this meant a red card rather than a goal scored. That his expulsion this time happened because he shoved Amado Guevara’s face means that most of MLS forgives the action. Verdict: strong return.

Los Angeles Galaxy: A player some of you may have heard of – Landon Donovan – returned to MLS to find new teammates (John Wolyniec and Kyle Martino) and a new coach (Frank Yallop) and even a new GM (Alexi Lalas). What he didn’t find was any more points in the standings than when he left. But his return rejuvenated the Galaxy, as he netted two goals in a long awaited victory. Chris Albright actually made it back one game before Donovan, and in one of the more welcome substitutions in MLS history, he sprinted off the field when subbed around the 60 minute mark to attend the birth of his first child. Cornell Glen, who showed some flash for Trinidad and Tobago, was injured in Germany and will be out a minimum of six weeks, meaning this is a two part return. Verdict: strong return

Kansas City Wizards: The return of the Wizards’ trio of USNT players was decidedly disappointing. Each player was given until June 29 to report to the team. Jimmy Conrad made it back faster than that, but netted an own goal five minutes into his return to the field - but at least he was playing in that Wednesday match. Josh Wolff made it back on time and put in a pedestrian effort, but at least he was playing in that Saturday match. By comparison, Eddie Johnson made it back an hour before Saturday’s game after being AWOL for more than 48 hours, and was promptly suspended. Add to this a red card for Conrad in the Saturday game and you have this verdict: terrible return.

Houston Dynamo: Whereas RSL saw an entire defensive unit step up during the World Cup absence period, the Dynamo spent the entire time waiting, hoping, and praying that somebody would act like a forward should while Brian Ching was gone. No one ever did, with one goal scored from the forward position the entire time. Even supermen/midfield dynamos Brian Mullan, Dwayne DeRosario, and Brad Davis looked pedestrian with Ching out. The group looked disjointed during their lone effort together during week 14. Verdict: relief.

FC Dallas: No one lost to World Cup duty, but welcome back from Germany, Shaka Hislop.

DC United: It seems like everyone was curious to see how Clyde Simms would perform while Ben Olsen was toiling for the USNT. Most had modestly positive expectations for Simms, who instead emerged as a terrific two way threat and helped propel DC to an unbeaten record in Olsen’s absence. Given that scenario, it wasn’t terribly disappointing that DC had only a midweek game during week 14, meaning no Ben until the July 4 game during week 15. No one wants to see Olsen displaced permanently, but Simms is a keeper. Verdict: delayed return.

Columbus Crew: Frankie Hejduk took the injury detour on the way to Germany, and while he didn’t miss any games for the World Cup, he has been missed by the Crew.

Colorado Rapids: Colorado was the only team to not play during week 14, so Pablo Mastroeni didn’t get a chance to return. But since he has been seen in the MLS Colors advertisements more often than in a Rapids uniform, having him absent one more week seems somehow appropriate. Verdict: delayed return.

Chivas USA: It could be argued that over the past eight weeks, Ante Razov played like he belonged on the USNT roster in Germany, but as he was not there, Chivas sent only two players to the World Cup. In the midweek game of week 14, neither John O’Brien nor Claudio Suarez played, and two games later O’Brien remains inactive. But El Emperador scored two goals within five minutes of each other upon his return to the lineup, and while Chivas has to feel pretty good about the work Carlos Llamosa, Jonathan Bornstein, Tim Regan, and Lawson Vaughn did on defense while Suarez was away, having him back makes Chivas a serious western division contender. Verdict: mixed return, pending O’Brien.

Chicago Fire: No one lost to World Cup duty.

But we digress - on with this week’s team:
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A palindromic 3-4-3

Preston Burpo – (3)

Usually, you don’t think of a goalkeeper saving a 3-0 victory, but Burpo pretty much did so against FC Dallas (that’s first place - for now - FC Dallas to you and me). A superlative offensive match from El Emperador and El Loco put Chivas in position to win, but it took “El Burpo” to keep the pressure down in the second half after Chivas forgot how to play aggressive defense. Several strong second-half saves got the job done.

Craig Waibel – (1)

Houston’s defense was anchored by Waibel in a midweek match against the Goats, which featured a lunging block of an Ante Razov cross that would have been a near-certain goal. A Chivas counterattack that seemed destined for great things was cleanly chased down from behind by Waibel after an unfortunate moment of hesitation by Paco Palencia. Waibel won more than his share of headers, and outshone the rest of his defensive line.

Nelson Akwari – (1)

In a bizarre game, Akwari totally shut down Justin Mapp for 65 minutes; then came a lengthy delay for thunder. The Fire wisely used the time to have Mapp switch sides - away from Akwari. Neither of the two post-restart Barrett goals which won the game could be attributed to Nelson, who had his first complete game in two years with RSL. Akwari just might be a pick that coach John Ellinger got right after all.

Jonathan Bornstein – (2)

How did we not know how good this guy is? He’s putting together an argument that he’s as pacy a left back as there is in this league. He seems to have developed an instant understanding with Jason Hernandez in central defense, as well as Francisco Mendoza ahead of him. Drew more fouls on Brian Mullan than he committed himself. Oh, and he denied a Brian Ching header with a goal-line clearance, holding his position at the near post to prevent a goal for the third time in five days. Not a bad night’s work. Then, asked by Bob Bradley to move up into the midfield after a great performance at left back midweek, all Bornstein did was take a highlight-reel pass from Juan Pablo Garcia and calmly place it in the lower corner, leaving Dallas ‘keeper Sala basically no chance. His run showed vision, his finish showed composure, his move to the midfield showed versatility. A jaw-dropping week.

Clint Dempsey – (4)

Dempsey essentially earned a nomination for both games this week. He hasn’t missed a beat since his return from Germany, even as some of his compatriots haven’t even made it back to their teams yet. In his first game back, against FC Dallas, Clint was the reason that Taylor Twellman seemed rejuvenated against FC Dallas. Dempsey created chances for his teammates and himself in a strong display. Then against New York, Dempsey proved that he is much better than almost everyone else in the league right now. He scored one goal off a “brilliant assist” from a poor Jeff Parke clearance that basically just bounced of Clint into the net, while his game winner was a moment of individual brilliance, as he dispossessed Steve Jolley, ran right around Parke, and buried the shot low to the far post in an eight-second sequence. And he played tight defense. Welcome back, Clint - but for how long? Send us a post card from Europe, buddy.

Sacha Kljestan – (2)

Against Houston, Kljestan’s central midfield partner got the glory of the game-tying goal and Man of the Match honors from Christian Miles and Thomas Rongen, but Kljestan may have outplayed him. It’s tough to know how much Jesse Marsch’s presence makes everything easier for Sacha, but the 20 year-old was making those penetrating, visionary passes and dribbling moves himself. The rookie set up enough chances to pick up a couple assists.

Nathan Sturgis – (1)

Perhaps we weren’t paying enough attention before, but Sturgis is a surprisingly strong prospect in the midfield. Sturgis demonstrated a very strong understanding with Landon Donovan, which is not a bad idea if you want to play for the Galaxy. Nearly set up a Quavas Kirk goal, and showed strong ball control in the midfield. This may be one of those “better than we would have thought” nominations, but, well, he was a lot better than we would have thought.

Eddie Gaven – (1)

Wasn’t this supposed to be the week of his breakout performance at the World Cup? At least, that’s what out wishful thinking said a couple of years ago. Instead, Eddie’s finding his loping stride again for the Crew, and though he didn’t help find a winning goal, he pretty thoroughly dominated Danny O’Rourke in his return trip to Giants Stadium, and was responsible for the Crew’s best moments.

Edson Buddle – (1)

After a slow start against New England, Buddle pulled off one of the individual runs of the year, beating Andy Dorman, and then burning the normally burnproof Michael Parkhurst. That was impressive enough, but then he beat Matt Reis near post from an angle too ridiculous to even contemplate trying - and hit the far post, from where it deflected in. The goal was so surprising from that angle, it took everyone in the stadium a little while to absorb what had just happened. Everyone, that is, except Buddle, who acted like he does that in practice everyday. And while he deserves recognition just for the goal, Buddle was very active and confident the rest of the match, and picked up a nice secondary assist on Mike Magee’s goal, but couldn’t out-Dempsey Dempsey on this day.

Chad Barrett – (1)

Barrett looked like the real deal when he entered the game versus RSL. His Fire teammates found space throughout the game but never seemed likely to score (paging Mr. Jaqua?) until Barrett’s insertion. His two goals could have been three - he exhibited a confidence long lacking in his play, and breezed about the field as if the whole thing belonged to him. In many ways, it did for 25 minutes he’ll long remember.

Landon Donovan – (3)

The AAXI staff doesn’t want to name Landon to the AAXI so close to the World Cup any more than you do - but two goals in his first game back in leading the Galaxy to a road win merit the nomination. He equaled the Nats’ World Cup goal total in just one game. (Bitterness … fading … RISING … fading …) His first goal should really have been an assist, since Josh Gardner could have finished it himself, but when a loose ball fell to Donovan, he made no mistake. Perfectly buried a great Quavas Kirk ball for his second goal. Clearly the best player on the field, LD played with passion, and (dare we say it?) played like a captain. We hear England needs a new one.

The Bench

Jeff Parke, Marvell Wynne, Jason Hernandez, Davy Arnaud, and Jeff Larentowicz.

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