Who gets your Hall of Fame vote?

                                                              Photo by ISIphotos.com

While the presidential election remains a hot topic today, there is another upcoming election that should have American soccer fans extremely interested. Twenty-five former players are on the ballot for induction into the 2009 National Soccer Hall of Fame class and the list is loaded with MLS and U.S. national team standouts.

The list is comprised of 19 former Major League Soccer stars, four standouts from the U.S. women's national team and two former NASL/indoor all-stars. Select members of the media, Hall of Famers, U.S. national team coaches past and present, select MLS coaches and administators from MLS, WPS and U.S. soccer get to vote, but being in the democratic society that we live in, we at SBI are offering you, the fans, a chance to voice your opinion.

Here are the 25 candidates for the 2008 class of the National Soccer Hall of Fame:

Jeff Agoos -- A five-time MLS Cup winner, three-time MLS all-star and former U.S. National Team defender who was capped 134 times and played in two World Cups.

Mike Burns -- A former U.S. National Team defender who has 75 caps and played in the 1992 Olympics and two World Cups and played seven seasons in MLS.

Mauricio Cienfuegos -- A three-time MLS all-star, the former Salvadorian international also won an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup in eight seasons with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Raul Diaz Arce -- Second all-time leading scorer in Salvadorian history, he won a pair of MLS Cups and a U.S. Open Cup in his six years in MLS and is sixth on the league's all-time scoring list.

Thomas Dooley -- A former U.S. National Team defender who has 81 caps, played in a pair of World Cups and was the 1992 recipient of the Honda Award.

John Doyle -- A former U.S. National Team defender who has 55 caps, played in the 1990 World Cup, won the 1991 Gold Cup and played all five MLS seasons with the San Jose Earthquakes.

Marco Etcheverry -- Four-time MLS all-star in eight seasons with D.C. United, also won three MLS Cups, one U.S. Open Cup, was named the league MVP and earned 71 caps for Bolivia, playing in the 1994 World Cup.

Joy Fawcett -- A former U.S. National Team defender, Fawcett has 239 caps and is a two-time World Cup champion and two-time Olympic Gold Medal winner.

Robin Fraser -- A veteran of 10 MLS seasons, Fraser was named the 1999 MLS Defender of the Year and four times was named to the MLS Best XI.

Dominic Kinnear -- Before winning back-to-back MLS Cups as head coach of the Houston Dynamo, Kinnear spent five seasons in MLS and has 54 caps for the U.S. National Team, winning the 1991 Gold Cup.

Frank Klopas --A former U.S. National Team forward scored 12 goals in 39 appearances and played four seasons in Major League Soccer, winning an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup.

Roy Lassiter -- Played for four teams in eight MLS seasons, setting the record for goals scored in a single season (27 in 1996 with the Tampa Bay Mutiny) and scored four goals in 30 appearances for the U.S. National Team.

Shannon MacMillan -- The midfielder scored 60 goals in 176 appearances with the U.S. National Team, winning a World Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal.

Pato Margetic -- A three-time NASL all-star and two-time NASL champion, the forward scored 42 goals in five seasons and also enjoyed a successful 15-year indoor career.

Joe-Max Moore -- The all-time leading scorer in New England Revolution history with 53 goals in six seasons, the forward was named an MLS all-star and scored 24 goals in 100 appearances with the U.S. National Team, playing in three World Cups and one Olympic Games.

Victor Nogueira -- A goalkeeper who played six seasons in the NASL, but gained greater notoriety in more than 20 years indoors, winning Goalkeeper of the Year four times.

Peter Nowak -- The midfielder was named an MLS all-star in three of the five seasons he played, winning an MLS Cup and two U.S. Open Cups before going on to coach D.C. United and the U.S. Under-23 National Team.

Cindy Parlow -- The midfielder has 158 caps for the U.S. National Team, scoring 75 goals and winning a World Cup and two Olympic Gold Medals.

Preki -- The only player in MLS history to win the MVP award and scoring championship twice – in 1997 and 2003, the four-time MLS all-star is the league’s all-time leader in points scored after enjoying a spectacular career with the Kansas City Wizards.

Mike Sorber -- The first American to ever be named a Mexican all-star in two seasons with Pumas, the former midfielder had 67 caps for the U.S. National Team and played five seasons in Major League Soccer.

Earnie Stewart -- The midfielder had 101 caps with the U.S. National Team, played in three World Cups, won the Honda Award in 2001 and won an MLS Cup in 2004.

Steve Trittschuh -- The defender earned 38 caps for the U.S. National Team, competing in the 1990 World Cup and played six seasons in Major League Soccer.

Carlos Valderrama -- The Colombian international was named a three-time MLS all-star in his seven seasons, was named the league MVP in 1996 and is second all-time in assists with 114.

Tisha Venturini -- The midfielder earned 134 caps with the U.S. National Team, winning a World Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal.

Peter Vermes -- A veteran of seven Major League Soccer seasons, he won an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup and was named Defender of the Year in 2000 and scored 11 goals in 67 appearances with the U.S. National Team, playing in the 1990 World Cup and 1988 Olympics.

Now it's your chance to vote. Pick up to 10 of these candidates on your ballot and we will see how many of them meet the 66.7 percent threshold for inclusion into the hall of fame:

poll by twiigs.com

So there's the list, who do think deserves to get in? Who shouldn't be considered? Who is missing? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

[mikeK]

Um... Jozy?

Really no one here jumps out and begs me to pick them, to be honest. Sure, they were okay for their time, but I'm a nit when it comes to who I think should be in the hall of fame.

[Modibo]

No Stan "Pizza Man" Stamenkovick?

[Ben]

Joe-Max Moore should be a lock. He always played hard, scored some huge goals, was a star in MLS, and even played in England for a while.

Earnie Stewart and Thomas Dooley should be in as well.

Preki, Vermes, Nowak, Valderrama are all important figures in U.S. soccer, and have done enough to get in.

I suppose Jeff Agoos gets the nod, though I never felt he was very good, and was absolutely awful in the 2002 World Cup.

Is Tony Sanneh eligible, or is it still too soon for him? He played out of his mind in the 2002 World Cup.

[kpugs]

Mike, you are insane. Or you were born yesterday. Preki is arguably the most obvious HOFer in the past decade, and there are plenty of deserving candidates on the list.

Of course if you are 13 years old, you're excused. If you know anything about the sport in this country you're not.

[Chelsea FC]

Jeff Agoos, AHHH! What an overrated player. He almost single-handedly lost us the Portugal game in WC2002.

I'll never understand how he got as many caps as he did.

[John]

Tom Dooley and Earnie Stewart are my guys. Very good European careers, crucial national team players and played in MLS. I'm not a big fan of Jeff Agoos but he should be in too, lots of MLS championships and lots of national team games. Joe-Max Moore and some others Peter Nowak, Etcheverry and Valerama can wait a year in my book. The vote will be split so I bet only one or two guys get in this year.

[John]

I forgot to mention Preki too. The only knock on him was that he didn't have much of a national team career compared to other guys on this list (the Brazil goal notwithstanding).

[AMF]

Please no Agoos!!!! The guy had two speeds, slow and stop. He almost single-handedly lost the Portugal Game for us at WC 2002. Just because we had NO defensive depth at all, doesn't mean the Hall should induct a sub par player.

True, he played his heart out and gave it his all, but is that what the Hall is all about?

[northzax]

where's Kenny Cooper?

my list:

MacMillan: seriously 176 caps? and there's even a question?
Dooley
Margetic
Cienfuegos
Etcheverry

on the soon to be ready list, probably: Kinnear.

simply playing a bunch of seasons isn't good enough anymore.

[Al]

Yet again, Kenny Cooper is not included.
:-)

Ives - out of curiosity, why are non-US players included? This is not NASL/MLS Hall of Fame, it's the National Hall of Fame. Nothing against them, just wondering.

[Brian]

Jeff Agoos: four of the first six MLS Cups as the rock of both the DC and SJ defense. He was not a bad free-kick taker either. As an on-field leader you'd be hard pressed to find better.

[kyle Prather]

Judging Jeff Agoos on one tournament in which he was clearly past his best is a little unfair, for years upon years he was a very solid and technical defender for the US.

[A.S.]

Geez, Agoos was 34 in the 2002 WC - Arena had no business taking him, much less starting him. It is unfair to judge him solely based on 2002 - by that measure, Claudio Reyna is not a HOFer because he was so awful in the Ghana game in 2006.

[A.S.]

"MacMillan: seriously 176 caps? and there's even a question?"

For some reason, women seem to get a lot more caps than men. I don't know why - I guess there's less turnover of the team or they play longer or something. So a high number of caps wouldn't seem to me to make a women's NT member an automatic HOFer. That said, even though I only vaguely follow women's soccer, I did vote for Joy Fawcett.

[Beckster]

Agos was fantastic in his prime and clearly was past it in 2002 but the US didn't have a lot of other options. He was fantastic for both DC United and the MNT and clearly is one of the best defenders in MLS history.

[Chris]

McMillan, Fawcett, Preki, Etcheverry, and Tom Dooley.

Agoos, while he was a venerable servant both for DC United and the USMNT, never quite had the skill and prowess of a true HOF defender, even by USMNT standards. He wasn't great in the air (being short had something to do with that), he consistently blasted balls out of the back instead of linking with his midfields, and he was never very good technically on the ball.

[Jacob A.]

Women get more caps because on the whole they didn't usually have a league to play in, and just play a ton a games a year. At least that's my guess. I mean, including the Olympics, Olympic Qualifying, Friendlies, and that Peace Queen Cup they've played probably 25 games this year alone, while the men have what? 8-9? (I'm not counting their Olympics and Qualifying cause they're U23 and don't get counting if I remember correctly)

[Sean]

The only knock on Agoos I've seen is one game. Get over it. Watching him game in and game out, you come to realize that San Jose does not win an MLS Cup without him.

[krolpolski]

Nowak is one of the top three players in the history of the league. Heck, he could probably still start as center mid for some MLS sides and be an upgrade to what they have now.

[roberto]

Robin Fraser
pato marjetic (nasl)
ernie Stewart
valderrsma
etcheverry
For no reason in particular... Just my favorite players on the list...

[Peter]

You've got to be kidding with Agoos!

Agoos is the goat of American soccer. When I watch with my brothers, we award the title of "New Agoos" to the worst player in the national team pool still getting calls. Eddie Johnson just lost the title to Sasha Kljestan.

[c]

not to take anything away, but JMM isn't the leading goal-scorer for the Revolution. Some guy named Taylor Twellman has around 99 I believe...

[Joe B. NYC]

There's another guy who calls himself 'Pato' out there?

[BrianK]

Two notes:

1. E. Stewart. Three World Cups. A lengthy career in Europe and an MLS Cup. He was a very calssy professional and international. The USA was blessed to have in.

2. Jeff Agoos? Friends would watch the USMNT and laugh at Agoos. Here is the thing with him. His progression on the USMNT was inverse to that of a normal player and very suspect. When he was 26 and preumably in his prime, he was cut by Bora and not on the '94 team. When he was 28, he made the '98 squad under Sampson. When he was 32 and presumbaly on the down side of his career he was an integral part of the defense under Arena. Hugh?

As far as the high number of caps,...first he benefitted from being part of the player pool leading up to USA '94 but alas was not good enough to make the team. Later in his career, be benefitted greatly from his personal relationship with Arena.

Let us not forget his catastrophic mistakes that seem to go unpunished. How about his red card 12 minutes into the WCQ in Azteca. The USA was able to battle to a draw without him. How about his square pass to a wide open Dion Burton in the WCQ in DC? Will you ever forget the look on Keller's face after Burton scored? How about the number Holland did on him in the friendly in Florida? They were megging him and laughing as they walked by. How about his own goal in the Portugal match? How about him getting beat on the Korea goal? How about him getting smoked in the Poland game until he 'injured' himself? Sad thing is that Arena would not admit what a huge mistake it was bringing him to Korea/Japan. The best Arena could do was say something like "Obviously, it's a young man's game."

As far as his MLS success goes,...well,...he was a decent player by MLS standards and benefitted by being on some good teams. Also remember that he has an EU passport and would not have had to trouble himself with a work visa if there had been a team interested in him. Needless to say, no club was, hence he never left the confines of MLS.

So,...

[RobinX]

I agree with those that think Agoos was nothing more then an average MLS player and should have never been a national team regular.

I said that to my high school coach a few years ago and he said Agoos was the best youth player he had ever coached against.

The players i WOULD VOTE FOR:

Thomas Dooley
Marco Etcheverry
Preki
Carlos Valderama

[Luis]

I can't handle the fact that Agoos is up high on this list... watching him put the ball in our own net against Portugal in 2002 just capped it for me.

Incidentally, I played in a mens league game against his brother last week... I think his brother might be better.

[Dave Martinez]

As they say in espanol . . .

Eeeerney EhSteegwart

roughly translated? Earnie Stewart

[Brant]

I can't believe Roy Lassiter isn't getting more love. I know he didn't make a huge splash for the USMMNT, but their style never suited his game. He was an absolute TERROR in MLS and just abused defenses on a regular basis.
He might be the fastest (pure pace) soccer player the US ever produced, and he was better with the ball at his feet than any of the other fast guys we had (I'm looking at *you* Eddie)...

If you can enshrine other guys for the MLS play, Roy's gotta be in the discussion with more than 27%

[KC]

I agree with petere, AMF & Chelsea FC...Agoos? Ugh. The guy was at best a slightly below average player on a very average National Team.

Dooley, Fawcett, Joe-Max Moore, Etcheverry, Ernie Stewart & Shannon McMillan get my votes.

[Toby]

Are you serious with Agoos? over 70%? What people are voting for him? Wake Up.

[Sterlinho]

Agoos sucks! Does anyboy remember the infamous pass-back to Deon Burton against Jamaica at RFK? He happened to be on good MLS teams, he wasn't the reason they won championships. Such a Cro-Magnon looking dude. I swear he's in the Geico commercials.

Lassiter & Valderrama were a classic pair!

[hokieunited]

Never was a fan of Agoos. Worst memory for me would be his errant back pass in 1997 against Jamiaca in World Cup qualifying.

For sentimental reasons, Etcheverry would be a first ballot kind of guy. I loved watching him growing up. He was unbelievable in midfield for DC, and a big reason why they won three cups in four years.

[DWE4]

Jeff Agoos -- Accomplished nearly everything in US Soccer. Also a stand-out on the great UVA teams. I believe he's the school's only 4-time All-American.
Stewart -- One of the US's most-accomplished players abroad.
Marco Etcheverry -- The star that helped give MLS a foundation in its formative years.

BTW, wasn't Agoos only on 1 World Cup roster? And isn't Twellman (not Joe-Max Moore) the all-time leading goal scorer for the Revolution? Seriously...Mike Burns?

[redbullsfan]

el diablo, preki and valdemarra were silk. joe-max is the most underrated u.s. player. goose also has over 100 caps. 100 caps in any country makes you a hall of famer. ernie should be given consideration. why danny cepero not on the list? go redbulls

[emorysoccer18]

Jeff Agoos was such an overrated player!!! Just because the likes of him, Mike Burns and Lalas were able to play on the national team for such a long period of time, it does not excuse how bad they were as players! The level of talent in the US during their time period was arguably very, very poor. Certainly it easy to compare it to the present talent level, but obviously players in any sport, for the most part (exceptions do exist...i.e. michael jordan), players get better due to advances in physical conditioning as well as increased knowledge of the game the sport's many levels become exposed to.

Maybe it's unfair of me to hold those guys to that criteria, but even when they were playing, I always asked myself how in the hell were these the THE GUYS who made it through the odp ranks, through the D1 college system and ultimately onto the US national team radar. If any memory of the 3 aforementioned players is evidence to my cause (and i do think Lalas deserves a nod due to his offer presence in the sport), take a look back at Mike Burns in the 98 world cup. anyone remember him letting in a goal bw his hip and the goal post when he was supposed to be "guading the post"? That incident in us soccer history has always haunted me. Not to mention, that is, his horrendous soccer haircut (see: side part). Soccer players are supposed to look like SOCCER PLAYERS, not your local dentist!!

[TwistedTidings]

You know, Goose is one of those guys that was prone to making mistakes, but he usually didn't. If you're only remembering the 2002 World Cup (which is easy to do), then you'll miss a lot of heroic and excellent performances from him.

Was he frequently overrated? Sure. Do others also frequently remember only his outrageous mistakes and overlook solid performances? Sure.

Is a guy with a hand full of rings in MLS plus more than 100 caps an absolute lock for the Hall of Fame? You betcha.

[TwistedTidings]

Agoos was an "average" MLS player?

Three time Best 11, one defender of the year award Agoos was an average MLS player? That's going too far.

[Beckster]

Agreed Twisted AND in 2005 named to MLS best all time starting XI and remember...when he played in the 2002 World Cup he was 34. He deserved the shot after not being able to play in the prior 3 and Bruce gave it to him. He isn't "average" and was critical to DC United's multiple championships while he was there. I don't think you'll find too many DC fans who don't think he is one of the best in MLS history.

[Rashid]

Eddie Pope and Cobi Jones?? How can any list for a Hall of fame not include the two men that played for the MLS for so long... Let alone the fact that Cobi holds every record for the Galaxy... This list sucks!

[martha]

Ouch

Pato Margetic was better than anyone one of these with the exception of possibly Nowak.

He was 10x better than Agoos who has no business on the list.

[Brant]

Rashid - howzabout you wait 'til their eligible before you start complaining...

[Steve W]

Agoos was crap.

That's my substantive comment.

[doug]

Noguiera has got to go in. Long before MLS, he was the best GK in a american pro league, albeit indoors.

[Tony H]

The two absolute musts are Dooley and Fawcett. That Fawcett was passed over twice is the biggest embarrassment in HOF history.

After those, strong cases can be made for several people, especially Stewart, Moore and Preki. I'd like to see Fraser, too. And maybe Agoos.

[Tim F.]

While there are many great and talented players on the list above, to me a Hall of Fame recipient should be part of an extremely select group of players (e.g., Akers, Hamm, Lilly, Donovan, McBride, Friedel) and from the list above I see only one no-brainer for this elite group: Preki; probably Fawcett as well.

[Marshall]

Fawcett should be a lock. That she isn't seems bizarre to me, but I'm glad that some other folks see it the same way. (And Jacob's right about why they have so many more caps, though some of the numbers get impressive anyway, even if they're not in Lilly territory.)

[Matt Mathai]

I can't stand the guy, but the only 100% total lock is Preki. Everyone else comes after that.

[brian]

seriously, who's voting for Agoos? If so, did you ever watch him play? Holy crap he was awful. Had I ever seen him in person the rest of 02, I would've had to kick him square in the nuts!

[RapidsMan]

Agoos? is this poll serious!

He is the joke of US Soccer. The guy was crap!

I dont need to lay out examples, because they have been engraved into most of our minds.

The guy needs to apologize to fans of our beloved game, not get elected into the Hall o' Fame!

[Kevin]

Jeff Agoos Is SH*T!!! He is the reason for everygoal scored against the USMNT in 2002WQ. EVERY GOAL! Watch the highlights.

[soccerroo]

My Vote
Agoos, Fawcett, Dooley, Stewart, Echtevvery, Lassiter, Cienfugous.

Probbly should have included Preki and Nowak but did not see either play before MLS ant Preki was on the Whiz and Nowak played for the enemy(fire).

Agoos and Etcheverry are on for the same reason they were key parts of so many MLS Championships. They were also both contributors to their national team programs. Etch much more so but Agoos did contribute for a long time.

Lassiter for being the great goal scorer. Dooley and Stewart for their National Team performances. and Cienfugous for his awesome skill.

[soccerposer]

hey ive heard of jeff agoose before. im voting for him

[KingSnake]

Agoos, Etcheverry, Fawcett, Noguiera and Preki. No one else is even close. At least if you want it to be the Hall of "Fame" and not the "Hall of Halfways Decent" (McMillan) or "Hall of Utter Crap" (Mike Burns).