Player Focus: MLS Superstars Set to Light Up Conference Finals

As far as MLS Conference finals go, 2014’s lineup counts as all-star. The league’s best four teams have made it into the East and West showpiece games, with a place in next month’s MLS Cup final up for grabs in each conference.

The LA Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders all have their sights set on silverware having made it this far, but who are the Major League Soccer superstars set to light up the league’s Conference finals?

Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders)

While the US National Team captain arrived in MLS with the fanfare of a returning hero, it has taken until this season for Dempsey to make his mark on the league and the championship race.

The former Fulham and Spurs man leads MLS in shots per game in 2014, with 4.4, contributing 15 goals to the Sounders’ campaign. His average of 1.6 key passes per game is also impressively high for someone who has largely been played as a forward this season. Dempsey has formed an intuitive partnership with Obafemi Martins up front for Seattle, inspiring the Sounders to their best season in MLS so far, claiming the Supporters’ Shield.

However, Dempsey has yet to either find the net or contribute an assist in his last 3 matches. The 31-year-old, who has become the figurehead of the Sounders, must prove that he hasn’t peaked too early.

Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy)

The Irishman might be coming towards the end of his career but Keane is still regarded by many as the frontrunner for the league’s Most Valuable Player award this season.

Keane has scored 19 goals in 30 starts for the Western Conference runners-up, also contributing 12 assists as the Galaxy have made amends for a disappointing season in 2013. On the basis of match ratings, Keane comes out on top for the whole league this season – with 7.63.

The Galaxy, with Keane leading the frontline alongside the retiring Landon Donovan, are the league’s most potent attacking force, with Bruce Arena’s side producing an average of 15.7 shots on goal per game.

Of course, much of the focus at the Galaxy this season has been on Donovan – with the best player in American soccer history set to retire at the end of the season – and his partnership with Keane has given LA the strongest frontline in MLS.

Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)

This could be the French legend’s swansong. Henry is widely expected to at least quit the Red Bulls at the end of the season, with some even suggesting he could even retire from the game.

It’s just as well that New York have made it to the Conference finals, because a player of Henry’s stature deserves to go out at the top end of Major League Soccer. It’s a quirk of the 2014 MLS season that Bradley Wright-Phillips – the league’s top scorer – has somewhat outshone Henry this year, but the Frenchman is still the player that inspires the Red Bulls – as illustrated by his 14 assists this term.

Henry has been afforded the freedom to explore other areas of his game this season, with Wright-Phillips taking on much of the goalscoring burden. The former Arsenal and Barcelona man has even been played on the wing on occasion in 2014, taking on more of a playmaking role – maintaining an average of 2.6 key passes per game.

The MLS scriptwriters are hoping for a Red Bulls – Galaxy championship final, providing a final showdown between two of the league’s greatest ever players. The way Henry is playing he could be the one to light up such an event.

Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution)

Jay Heaps’ New England Revolution side have taken on the role of tenacious wildcards in this playoff series. In fact, they have been so impressive that some even have the Revs as favourites to win the whole thing. And Lee Nguyen has been the player driving them on.

The midfielder, who has become one of MLS’s best and most exciting players since arriving from Vietnam two years ago, has struck no less than 20 goals for New England this term, making him the league’s highest scoring player in his position and third highest overall.

His average of 2.6 shots per game makes him one of the most productive attacking midfielders in the league, although with the Revs’ next top scorer Charlie Davis scoring just five goals New England could be accused of being over reliant on Nguyen. Some of those strikes will surely make the Goal of the Year shortlist – especially his audacious chip against the Montreal Impact - illustrating the thrill Nguyen has provided for MLS fans this season.

The arrival of Jermaine Jones mid-way through the campaign proved a catalyst in Nguyen’s season. But regardless of how the Revs do from now the midfielder will be go down as a shimmering star of this campaign.

Nguyen has broken into the US National Team on the back of his astonishing MLS displays this season, impressing in the friendly game against Colombia played at Craven Cottage last week. That is the level to which the 28-year-old is now playing.

Who do you think will star in the upcoming MLS Conference finals? Let us know in the comments below