Etcheverry was the best player in the league in the early days of MLS, but of course, the international talent pool back then was nowhere near what it is now. If El Diablo were in his prime today, where would he rank? Specifically among the league's #10s.
It's really hard to compare players from different eras as they don't play against or with any shared contemporaries. How the game was played has changed too. I watched Valderrama live and was in awe but he just wouldn't be good for today's faster game. That said I think both prime versions of DCU Etch and Jaime easily make our current 11. They were special players. Now they might not be MLS best 11 nowadays but I would think they would be an upgrade for at least half the teams in the league.
I try and compare the old NASL stars to today’s MLS and it’s not even close. I will never believe Best , Cruyff, Sanchez, Romero, Cabanas, Beckenbauer , Zungul, Chinaglia or Pele couldn’t play today. We all know the game has changed but that doesn’t mean those old stars couldn’t excel today. Everything is different now. The game is now box to box with less quality mids and defenses aren’t nearly as brutal. Also, things are much faster today than they used to be. There are more yellow and red cards, the VAR and defenders are not allowed to touch anyone. North American players are better now and there is no comparison about them. Still , given the same training methods , rules and facilities though, in the end, I’m sure any top foreign talent from a previous era will be able to play today as well.