Week 2 of play in Major League Soccer may be in the books, but we are not done recapping it just yet. 

The newest edition of the MLS player power rankings see seven debutantes, including a few players who played big roles in their team's first game of the season.

Looking beyond the first-timers on the list, there are a few standout performers from the best team in the league that solidified their spots in the list of the league's 20 best players.

Continue reading to see who snagged the No. 1 spot this week in the MLS player power rankings. 

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Now that the dust has settled on the second week of play in Major League Soccer, we are aware of who the winners and losers are because of the final scores.

But, who are the real winners and losers from the eight matches played across North America? 

That is what we examine here as we pick the winners and losers from Week 2 in MLS. 

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The long-awaited debuts of Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley in Toronto FC red came and went this weekend with plenty of fireworks. 

The star-studded duo helped the Reds power past the Sounders in Seattle in the marquee game of Week 2.

In the other seven matches, we learned that Earthquakes should never be counted out and a tremendous back four is coming together in orange. 

Continue reading for the eight biggest lessons from the second week of play in MLS. 

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The second week of play in Major League Soccer saw plenty of big names perform at a high level.

MLS debutant Jermain Defoe had one of the best days on the pitch this weekend with two goals at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. 

Outside of Michael Bradley and Defoe's star-studded parade in Seattle, there were other strong showings from a few players that deserved spots in last week's Team of the Week.

Continue reading to see who found a spot in our 4-1-3-2 formation for the Week 2 Team of the Week.

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After play in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals, three clubs from Major Soccer League are still in contention for a spot in the semifinals. 

The San Jose Earthquakes received a last-gasp goal from Alan Gordon at home to head into the second leg with Toluca tied at 1-1. 

Sporting Kansas City and the LA Galaxy both won 1-0 at home over Mexican opposition, but they both have plenty of work left to do south of the border next week. 

It is likely that at least one of these three clubs will advance into the semifinal round, but will reaching the semis be deemed a success for the league that is still looking for a breakthrough on the continental stage?

In the five years of the CONCACAF Champions League format, only one MLS side has reached the final. Real Salt Lake progressed that far in 2011 and fell a goal short against Monterrey, which has won the last three Champions League titles. 

Last season, LA and the Seattle Sounders reached the semifinal round before being knocked out by Monterrey and Santos Laguna, respectively. 

Everyone around the league knows that the quality in MLS has gone up in recent years, but that sentiment has not been reflected on the continental stage as of yet. 

Sporting and LA have the best chances of reaching the final and breaking the two-year Mexican deadlock on the title. 

Nothing against San Jose here, but both Sporting and LA have rosters that are built to play in multiple competitions without costing the team points in the MLS regular season. 

Both sides are also not facing an opponent that earned a valuable away goal in the first leg like Toluca did at Buck Shaw Stadium on Tuesday. 

If San Jose were to reverse its away-goal deficit, it would not face Mexican opposition, which could play into its favor. 

The other good news is that MLS-killers Monterrey and Santos Laguna are nowhere to be found this time around, which means the door is wide open for an MLS side to claim the throne. 

If Sporting and LA were to come out on top in the second leg, they would play each other in a semifinal that would guarantee a finalist from MLS, but that may not be good enough given the standard of play in the league nowadays. 

The only way for MLS to be taken seriously by the teams in the southern part of the continent is to win the whole thing and earn a spot at the Club World Cup. 

This is something that can be attained this season regardless of who the opposition is because the two teams with the best chance to win it all have a ton of quality. 

Sporting, the defending MLS Cup champion, has been built for multiple competitions by manager Peter Vermes, while LA has a plethora of players to choose from as well for games in both competitions. 

Also, the stars of both teams have come alive in the knockout round and are taking the competition very seriously. Just look at the night Landon Donovan had on Wednesday. 

With all that being said, winning the whole thing does matter this year more than others because of the recent influx of talent into the league. 

Winning the CONCACAF Champions League and defeating Mexican opposition on the way to the title would show that the United States rules the rivalry with Mexico on the club level like it already does on the international stage. 

The perfect opportunity is in front of the three remaining clubs, but now they all have to realize that and take full advantage of the situation.

That process begins with scoring some away goals in Mexico next week to set up two potential MLS-dominated semifinals. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

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I’ll admit it—I’ve bashed Major League Soccer.

And I’ve done it publicly.

I’ve been part of the chorus of fans who bemoaned the lack of possession, the lack of stylish play, the lack of technical ability and the low-scoring games. You know who you are. I used to be one of you—but not anymore.

Like many soccer fans in the United States, I’m an MLS orphan. Growing up in Michigan, I had no hometown team—the closest semblance being trips to Chicago to see the Fire.

And even though some of my fondest MLS memories are from those Fire matches—watching Carlos Bocanegra, DaMarcus Beasley and Hristo Stoichkov at Soldier Field in downtown Chicago—I consider myself to be an MLS neutral. I have no particular allegiance to any team.

As such, it took me a long time to get into the league and as a rabid United States men’s national team fan, I took far more interest in watching European matches than those of MLS.

But over the past three seasons, that has slowly begun to change.

I was pulled into the 2011 playoffs by a familiar draw—watching the L.A. Galaxy and their stars Landon Donovan and David Beckham—but the narratives of the next two seasons are what really sucked me in.

When Eddie Johnson came back to the league and prospered, I said, “So what?” It was simply further proof that the league was terrible. Then he scored against Chelsea in the All-Star game. Then, he scored twice in one game for the U.S. in World Cup qualifying.

Hey, maybe he’s not so bad after all.

And the league re-signed USMNT stars Graham Zusi, Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez. Well, I have to watch them, right?

And why are D.C. United fans always speaking so highly of Chris Pontius? I better watch one of their games to find out. And while I’m at it, I should check out this Nick DeLeon guy. He’s supposed to be an up-and-comer.

Houston Dynamo fans are always saying that Brad Davis doesn’t get enough respect. I better check him out. And while I’m at it, I might as well watch Tally Hall, Will Bruin, Kofi Sardokie and Corey Ashe.

And who is the Seth Sinovic guy that Phil Schoen is always tweeting about? I guess I better watch Sporting KC this weekend and find out.

And why won’t Taylor Twellman shut up about how great a holding midfielder Dax McCarty is? I need to watch the New York Red Bulls more often.

Everybody is so high on Caleb Porter, but all I know about him is his success at the University of Akron and watching the U.S. Under-23 team crash out of Olympic qualifying. Maybe I should turn on a Timbers game and see what this “Porterball” is all about. Wow, they sure do have a nice fanbase in Portland…and some crazy guy buzzing a chainsaw behind one of the goals. Hey, that Darlington Nagbe guy looks pretty good too. Maybe I should learn a little more about him.

I heard the crowds in Seattle aren’t too bad either. I’ll have to check out a Sounders game. Hey, that boom-boom-clap is pretty cool. Man, that DeAndre Yedlin has a funny hairstyle, but he sure can run. Oh…Dempsey just hit the crossbar. I wish he’d get back in form.

Kyle Beckerman sure looked good in the Gold Cup, maybe I should check out some Real Salt Lake games and see why all those RSL fans love him so much. I guess that would give me an opportunity to see that Luis Gil kid I watched in the U-20 World Cup as well.

NBC Sports doesn’t seem to be showing too many Colorado Rapids games, but everyone keeps talking about these youngsters named Chris Klute, Dillon Powers and Shane O’Neill. I guess I’ll finally have to pony up the money for MLS Direct Kick.

And I’ve got to try to get home on time to see the New England Revolution this weekend. Diego Fagundez and Kelyn Rowe are supposed to be a couple of future stars.

That reminds me, I need to check out Toronto FC, the Columbus Crew and the Philadelphia Union and check on the progress of Michael Bradley, Michael Parkhurst and Maurice Edu. We might need those guys this summer in Brazil.

And before I knew it, following all those great storylines, I was an MLS fan.

So MLS supporters, get excited for 2014. I’ve watched enough Stoke and Sunderland and Aston Villa games over the past two years to know the Eurosnobs have no idea what they’re talking about.

You can believe all that nonsense being spun, ironically, by Billy Haisley over at Deadspin (NSFW), but you’ll be missing out. The rest of us will be busy enjoying this great and growing league.

Follow me on Twitter @JohnDHalloran

Follow me on Facebook www.facebook.com/AmericanTouchline

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

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Brek Shea has been one of the most polarizing figures in American soccer over the last few years. 

Shea, who starred for FC Dallas in 2011 when he scored 11 goals, has had a rough go of it recently, but he has shown on occasion that he is still the player he once was when he first jumped on to the national team radar. 

Now 24 and back at Stoke City as a result of a loan spell cut short at Barnsley because of an incident with the club's fans a week ago, Shea needs somewhere to play consistently.

Shea was getting time on the pitch for the Tykes, but he wasted that opportunity in a matter of seconds. 

There is no doubt that the left winger has a chance to become one of the faces of the United States men's national team in time for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but he also has the same odds of fading away and becoming a player that isn't mentioned in the national team conversation.

Shea's lasting impact with the Yanks came at the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup as he scored the game-winning goal off of the bench in the final against Panama. 

When he has appeared for the United States, Shea has been used as a substitute to provide a spark off the bench due to his lack of match fitness. 

Shea, who has suffered the same fate at Stoke as Maurice Edu, needs a place to hone his craft and the Britannia Stadium is clearly not the place where that will happen. 

If Shea were to become a consistent first-team member of the Potters' squad, it would've happened by now, like it has with defender Geoff Cameron. 

A move down to the Championship, where other Americans like Tim Ream, Danny Williams and Eric Lichaj have found success, is a reasonable option but so would a move back to Major League Soccer. 

As we saw in the first week of the 2014 MLS season, moving back to the States for potential national-team playing time was the right decision for players like Edu and Michael Parkhurst. The long-awaited debut of Michael Bradley for Toronto FC comes on Saturday. 

Shea saw plenty of success as a young player with FC Dallas and the quality is there in the league for the 24-year-old to improve his play and catch the eye of United States manager Jurgen Klinsmann. 

Moving back to MLS may actually be the best decision for Shea's national-team fate based on how poorly the European-based fringe players performed against Ukraine earlier this month.

It has been made clear by Klinsmann's selection process over the last few years that he is not afraid to give players in the MLS a chance to shine for the national team and that is what Shea will get if he moves back stateside. 

While it may not be the best option in his mind at this point in his career, it would be wise of Shea to consider a move back home during the summer to resurrect a career that is beginning to go south fast. 

There is no doubt that Shea will be coveted by many clubs in the league and if he performs well, he could even become a designated player in the near future. However, whether he is ready to cut his losses in Europe after two years into his overseas excursion remains to be seen. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

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Now that the first weekend of play in Major League Soccer is over with, it is time to hand out some awards to some of the top players. 

We do that here by ranking the 20 best players from Week 1. 

Every week we will be ranking the top players in the league, and once the second week begins, this will become a cumulative rating. 

Continue reading to see who topped the first MLS player power rankings. 

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The worst action in MLS Week 1 featured Robbie Keane, the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United, but what about the best?

Will Bruin is a solid contender after scoring a brace in the first 13 minutes of the Houston Dynamo's 2014 campaign. Kenny Miller followed suit for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the club's 4-1 undressing of the New York Red Bulls. Even his teammate Sebastian Fernandez was worthy of mention after opening his MLS account with vehement force.

But all three won't be featured on the list of best and worst from MLS Week 1.

Read on to find out why.

Note: Unless otherwise mentioned, credit all statistics to Squawka. All data collected is licensed from Opta Sports.

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Since signing David Beckham seven years ago, Major League Soccer has continued to look overseas each year in search of talent that can help the league grow. 

After signing Beckham, the tradition of big-name signings continued with foreigners like Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and, most recently, Jermain Defoe. But, it has also recently extended to American internationals playing abroad like Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley.

Here are 10 more overseas players who would be hits in MLS.

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