The MLS has seen a fair share of star-studded European-born talent join the league in recent years. Elements like Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, David Villa and Steven Gerrard are only some of the world-class players that have arrived stateside in recent seasons, and the list is expected to continue growing in the near future.
With all the European talent arriving, however, the South American players continue to take over as the league’s most prolific performers. One only needs a quick look at the current stats in the league to see that most players leading the statistics were born in South America.
For instance, we have an MVP front-runner in Joao Plata. The 24-year-old Ecuador native currently leads the league in goals with four, and he also dished three assists in only five games. He’s been the best player in a Real Salt Lake team that has been one of the surprises of the campaign.
We can’t forget Pedro Morales as well. A Chilean playmaker who took Vancouver by storm upon his arrival in 2014, the former Dinamo Zagreb starlet already has netted four penalties to rank second in scoring.
If we take a look at the assists we can find four Latin players in the Top 5 as well. Argentinean Mauro Diaz leads all players with four assists in equal number of matches, with Plata ranking second with three and both Kaka’ and Oscar Boniek Garcia with two. The Orlando City SC superstar is expected to have a monster year for the current Eastern Conference leaders, while the Honduras international has turned a few heads with his play for Houston Dynamo.
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There’s more – Former FC Barcelona talent Giovani dos Santos is slowly settling in Los Angeles Galaxy, Federico Higuaín is one of the best players in Columbus Crew, Diego Valeri is one of the key midfielders for reigning MLS champions Portland Timbers, and Colombians Michael Barrios and Fabian Castillo (FC Dallas) are among the league’s fastest players.
Clint Dempsey, Didier Drogba and Sebastian Giovinco might get all the headlines, and players like Gerrard, Keane and Michael Bradley will continue being fan favourites. But there’s no question that MLS wouldn’t be where it is right now without the flair, talent and creativity given by the South American players on a weekly basis.