MLS Playoffs: The Stars Align

For most of MLS's short history, parity was part of the identity. The gap between the 1st place team and last place team in the league usually looked minuscule compared to the gaps between the best and worst teams from leagues such as La Liga and Bundesliga. However the final 4 remaining clubs in the MLS Playoffs are exactly what most people expected, as they were probably the most star studded teams this season.

11 of the 28 players who were at some point on the roster for the 2014 MLS All Star Game against Bayern Munich come from clubs still in the playoffs: Clint Dempsey (Sounders), Osvaldo Alonso (Sounders), Obafemi Martins (Sounders), Landon Donovan (Galaxy), Tim Cahill (Red Bulls), Thierry Henry (Red Bulls), DeAndre Yedlin (Sounders), Bradley Wright-Phillips (Red Bulls), Omar Gonzalez (Galaxy), Robbie Keane (Galaxy), and Chad Marshall (Sounders) (although Gonzalez, Keane, and Marshall ultimately did not play due to injuries or unavailability). And even players who didn't make this roster such as Marco Pappa (Sounders), Luis Robles (Red Bulls), Gyasi Zardes (Galaxy), Lee Nguyen (Revolution), and Jermaine Jones (Revolution; summer transfer from Turkish club Besiktas) have been among the most talked about players this season.

From a neutral's perspective it's probably the best Western Conference and Eastern Conference playoff showdowns you could ask for.

The more anticipated of the two are LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders. They've had a lot of big encounters all season long, and you simply can't wait for Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane to bump heads with Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey. Throw in other talented players like Omar Gonzalez, DeAndre Yedlin, Marco Pappa, and Gyasi Zardes and it will definitely be a good one. The biggest storyline of all is will this be the end of the road for Landon Donovan's career?

Red Bulls vs. Revolutions aren't to be overlooked though. Bradley Wright-Phillips for New York and Lee Nguyen for New England have been big revelations this year for their respective clubs as they are having the seasons of their lives. These two have a longer rivalry than their Western counterparts and no less fierce. And parallel to Donovan's storyline is Henry's, who is considering retirement as well.

My predictions: Sounders and NYRB in the MLS Cup final