Quakes: Why Wondolowski is the League’s Best

Oct. 27, 2012; Portland, OR, USA; San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski (8) takes a shot at the Portland Timbers goal in the second half at Jeld-Wen Field. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

Despite a disappointing loss to the LA Galaxy in the playoffs last year, no one can deny that Chris Wondolowski on the Quakes is the league’s best player. Let’s look at the facts: He’s younger than 30 years old, he’s the reason behind his team’s recent success, and he’s brought hope back to MLS fans in San Jose.

Wondolowski’s MVP-esque season earned him the actual award and a lot of praise. He lead the Quakes to an almost flawless regular season, and if his team had actually advanced to the MLS Cup, he would have been considered one of the greatest in a long time.

Not to mention his ability to score clutch goals: Against the Sounders, he was able to score 2 late goals, 4 minutes apart, to tie and take the lead. The Quakes did eventually go on to win the game.

What specifically makes him the best, however?:

1. Power: Wondolowski has quite a strong foot. From anywhere beyond midfield, he can put it in the back of the net. When he needs to, you can be assured that he will score that long goal that has the crowd on their feet. To say it simply, I wouldn’t necessarily like to be a goalie who is trying to stop his shot.

2. IQ: Sometimes, in basketball, if a player is “on fire”, they will shoot it up to 10 times in a row, even if they have open teammates. Well, Wondolowski isn’t like that. If he can see a good pass to make that would set his teammate up, not off-sides, then he will make that pass. He’s not the type of selfish and aggressive player who would try to shoot it despite a teammate being in a better position to score. He makes his team better.

3. Clutch Ability: Again, that day he scored two goals in a row against the Sounders, I was impressed. I’m certain that even the Sounders didn’t see that one coming. You can’t blame Seattle’s goalie, however, as he was the recipient of one of Wondo’s strong kicks. Whenever he needs to, he will come up clutch.

Because of these three things, Wondolowski is clearly deserving of the MVP award he has received. Now that he’s had the bitter taste of loss, he will come back stronger and want to win. I don’t think that he’ll allow another last seed to beat his first seed.