LA Galaxy centre-back and MLS Defender of the Year Omar Gonzalez

With Sunday’s MLS Cup final almost upon us, and with no fixtures to report back on this week, now seems the perfect time to select the team of the 2011 season in Major League Soccer.

In keeping with the current trend in the league, as excellently discussed by Kyle McCarthy here, this team will be lining up in a 4-4-2 formation. Let me know who you think should have made the XI.

GOALKEEPER – TALLY HALL (Houston Dynamo)

After Pat Onstad’s Houston swansong in 2010, it was left to Hall to step up to the plate in his first ever season as an automatic first pick. The 26-year-old has risen to the occasion, recovering from an early-season blunder against Colorado to prove a steady pair of hands behind an at times less-than-steady defence, while remaining capable of showing great reflexes and athleticism when called upon to do so.

To cap off a great season on a personal and club level, if Hall completes all 90 (or 120) minutes on Sunday he will have not missed a second all year.

RIGHT-BACK - CHANCE MYERS (Sporting Kansas City)

In what has at times proven to be a gung-ho attacking line-up, Sporting Kansas City’s full-backs have had to cover more ground than most. The boundless energy of the former first-round SuperDraft pick has seen him contribute time and time again to his side’s attacks, in the process developing a great rapport with ersatz right-winger Kei Kamara, while at the same time he has rarely been found wanting defensively.

His 27 starts (including three in the playoffs) is more than double his previous career total and proves that Myers is quickly becoming part of the furniture at club level.

CENTRE-BACK – OMAR GONZALEZ (Los Angeles Galaxy)

That Jürgen Klinsmann has not selected the 6’5” defender as a regular starter for the United States, nor included him in one of his squads, is one of life’s great mysteries. An assertive performer despite his tender age, while equally capable of using his physical assets when needed, the former Rookie of the Year would be a great loss at international level if he opts to defect to Mexico.

Nearly 8,000 minutes clocked up in three professional seasons show how valuable an asset the 23-year-old is to club (and hopefully country).

CENTRE-BACK – JAMISON OLAVE (Real Salt Lake)

Just edging out his club team-mate Nat Borchers, the Colombian is another for whom the lack of international recognition is baffling. Strong and composed on the ball and intelligent without it, Olave had a strong role to play as Jason Kreis’ side excelled both at home and on the continent. Named as the league’s defender of the year in 2010, he was not far away from defending his title.

LEFT-BACK – TODD DUNIVANT (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Despite not being the first name that many would associate with the MLS Cup finalists, Dunivant remains one of the first names on Bruce Arena’s teamsheet thanks to a year in which he has played an integral part in Galaxy’s dominance at both ends of the pitch. While he tends to fly under the radar, he is not one to let a lack of recognition affect his game.

RIGHT-MIDFIELD – MAURO ROSALES (Seattle Sounders)

Surely the best player in the world to be earning less than $50,000 per year, the Argentine arrived in Seattle with great pedigree but some question marks from Europe as to whether his passion for the game was what it used to be. He silenced doubters in his role as arguably the Sounders’ player of the season, and were it not for a late-season knee injury ruling him out of the playoffs then his club might well be involved in Sunday’s season finale.

CENTRAL-MIDFIELD – OZZIE ALONSO (Seattle Sounders)

An old head on 26-year-old shoulders, Cuban international Alonso has been the driving force in a perfectly balanced Sounders midfield. His input gives team-mates the freedom to break from midfield in much the same way as Nigel de Jong at Manchester City or Sergio Busquets for Spain and Barcelona, yet when he wants to Alonso can get forward himself, and he packs a bullet of a shot which he is not afraid to use.

The clinching goal in the US Open Cup Final showed that he is far more than just a defensive midfielder.

CENTRAL-MIDFIELD – BRAD DAVIS (Houston Dynamo)

Davis may be known to the casual viewer first and foremost as a dead ball specialist, but there is far more to his game than set pieces. Possessing a wand of a left foot, the erudite 30-year-old helped lead the Dynamo through a difficult early few months, particularly away from home, before proving an integral part of a squad which has come on strong at just the right time. With 16 assists (plus two in postseason), he will be difficult to replace if injury forces him to miss Sunday’s showpiece at the Home Depot Center.

LEFT-MIDFIELD – BREK SHEA (FC Dallas)

With David Ferreira ruled out for essentially the entire season, fans at Pizza Hut Park needed a new hero: step forward Brek Shea. We forgot this season that he is just 21, as the promise and raw talent shown in 2010 was converted into phenomenal consistency and stamina, plus an appetite for goals not seen in the past as he found the net 11 times, often in spectacular fashion.

Now an established part of Klinsmann’s national squad, an opportunity to train with Premier League Arsenal over the winter months is no less than he deserves.

FORWARD – CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI (San Jose Earthquakes)

Proving that last season’s Golden Boot haul of 18 goals was no fluke Wondo might well have repeated the feat with more support from his team-mates or even just a little more luck in the season-closer against FC Dallas. While not clicking into top gear until the relatively late age of 27 (he turned 28 earlier this year), he is making up for lost time and quickly establishing himself as one of the most complete forwards in the league.

FORWARD – DWAYNE DE ROSARIO (Toronto FC/New York Red Bulls/DC United)

Normally when a player has represented three clubs in one season you might have thought he had struggled to make his mark, or at the very least that it could be described as a transitional campaign. Not so for Dwayne De Rosario, who has justified himself in Toronto, New York and Washington DC regardless of the thoughts of fans or management.

Whether playing in an attacking midfield role or as more of an orthodox striker, the goals have flowed, often in twos or threes, including crucial strikes such as the 95^th minute equaliser in Portland which proved one of his last meaningful contributions to the Red Bulls’ season. A worthy Golden Boot winner and a worthy inclusion in this team.

Substitutes: Faryd Mondragón (Philadelphia Union); Nat Borchers (Real Salt Lake); Carlos Valdés (Philadelphia Union); Jackson (FC Dallas); David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy); Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake); Dominic Oduro (Chicago Fire).