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With the MLS Cup Final coming up tomorrow at noon, there seems to be a distinct lack of hype surrounding the fixture. It may be Landon Donovan's final match before retiring and Lee Nguyen's first chance to prove that he was deserving of the MVP Award, but the buzz just is not there.
On paper, however, this should be an exciting match-up between two teams playing excellent soccer.
LA Galaxy
We all know the Galaxy. Maybe even a little too well after the Timbers managed only two ties and a loss against them this year.
Landon Donovan: MLS's all-time goalscoring leader, MLS's all-time assist leader, the USMNT's all-time scoring leader, the USMNT's all-time assist leader. Yeah. That guy. This will be his last match before retiring once and for all (probably) so you might as well watch and say fairwell to an American legend.
Robbie Keane: the reigning MVP, in turns amazing and infuriating. He scored nineteen goals and dished fourteen assists this season en route to being named the league's most valuable player. You can never quite be sure if he is going to spend a match yelling at the referee, scoring absurd goals, or doing both, both Keane is decidedly worth watching regardless.
Not-Seattle: ...
New England Revolution
Hailing from the far off lands of the Eastern Conference, the Revolution are more of an unknown quantity than the Galaxy, but over the course of the season they have rightly earned a reputation as a team that plays entertaining, attacking soccer.
Lee Nguyen: the Rev's own MVP candidate, the team's leading scorer, an electrifying presence on the ball. Although he was a Whitecap for a month or two, Nguyen has been central to New England's transformation from a floundering side in the basement of the East back into a perennial contender. His slick ball handling, deft distribution, and nose for goal has made him the central piece in the Rev's free-flowing attack.
Kelyn Rowe, Diego Fagundez, Teal Bunbery, Patrick Mullins, Charlie Davies: the rest of the Revolution attack are young, talented, and capable. Even Charlie Davies, who has been around the American soccer scene for some time now, is only 28.
Jermaine Jones: the final piece to the New England puzzle. The Revs were looking good before adding Jones to the roster, but once he arrived New England took the next step forward and looked great. Of course, like Keane, Jones is one of the most aggravating players around and watching the pair of them go at it could be quite the drama or quite the comedy.
So, how excited are you for tomorrow's MLS Cup Final?