NEW YORK - 7 July 2011 - The latest edition of the MLS Castrol Index, Major League Soccer's official player performance index, which was released yesterday, shows FC Dallas' 24-year-old Greek-American central defender George John to be the league's second-highest-rated player this season behind only the New York Red Bulls star player Thierry Henry. John moved up five places in the last month, after being rated seventh in the previous MLS Castrol Index release on 3 June.

John helped FC Dallas win four of its last five matches, with three clean sheets. On June 25, John scored his second goal of the season (video) in a victory against the Portland Timbers.

After 18 matches, FC Dallas is in second-place in MLS's Western Conference with 34 points, just two points behind the Los Angeles Galaxy. FC Dallas is looking to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season, after reaching the MLS Cup Final in 2010.

John recently had his first experience with the Greek national team, joining the squad in New York ahead of the 7 June friendly match against Ecuador though John was suffering from a minor injury at the time, and as a result could not participate in training.

The in-form defender will be hoping for another chance with the national team next month, when Fernando Santos names his squad for a friendly match against Bosnia on 10 August.