I'm from the Netherlands and interested in MLS. But who are the big stars of MLS clubs? I know some bigger names, are these the stars of the clubs: LA Galaxy - Beckham (and Donovan) NY Red Bulls - Angel (and Altidore) Chicago - Blanco Dallas - Denilson KC Wizards - Johnson Previous star Adu: DC United and Real Salt Lake.
By "face of the team" Do you mean "best player" or "team leader" or "guy who shows up in the most advertising" or "name who will be recognized most by people who don't actually follow the league"? Because those things are different. While Eddie Johnson is obviously the goal-scoring "star" of the Wizards, centerback Jimmy Conrad is without a doubt the captain, leader, and media-friendly star of the team. Conrad's the guy with the radio show, he's the one who writes the occasional column for ESPN.com, etc. (5-10 years from now, Jimmy Conrad will be the lead analyst for someone's MLS broadcast. Mark it down.) Locally, Conrad, Nick Garcia and Jose Burciaga all show up in as much or more media/marketing/advertising stuff than EJ. Why? Probably because EJ's public persona is pretty low-key.
I would definitely add Toja to Dallas's list. For DC United I'd probably do Ben Olsen, Jaime Moreno and Christian Gomez. Although all three are aging and may not be there much longer. Fred and Emilio may be starting to take over. Schellotto in Columbus. Twellman and maybe Shalrie Joseph in New England. Dicchio and O'Brien for Toronto. Mastroeni for Colorado. DeRo and Ching in Houston.
DC United - Ben Olsen, Bobby Boswell, Luciano Emilio, Gros LA Galaxy - Beckham, Donovan, Ensign Buddle (up and comming I believe) Real Salt Lake - Beckerman, Findley?, Pope Colorado - Mastroeni, Clark? RB New York - Angel, Altidore, Richards Columbus - Hejduk (attacking defender!), Schellotto, Moreno (foul victim) Chivas USA - Marsch, Razov (sp?), Bornstein TFC - O'Brien, Dicchio, Sutton Kansas City - Conrad, Marinelli, Johnson FC Dallas - Toja, Alvarez, Carlos Ruiz Houston Dynamo - DeRosario, Ching, Wade Barrett New England - Twellman, Reis, Noonan Chicago - Blanco, Rolfe, Pickens These are the guys who when I hear their name, I think of the team. mind you, this is my first season following MLS as close as I have.
I'd say Jaime Moreno is a bigger star and more recognizable than any of the DC players you mentioned. Cobi would be the third for LA.
I think Jaime and this year Emilio is the "face" of DCU, while players like Olsen, Namoff and Gros make up the "heart" of DCU if that makes sense. Jaime might double up and be part of the heart as well.
With respect to FCD, here's how it is in order: 1. Carlos Ruiz 2. Juan Toja 3. Kenny Cooper 4. Dario Sala Where Denilson fits in will remain to be seen, once he actually plays for us.
This is just my personal list, but here it is -Taylor Twellman (most recognizable/media favorite) -Shalrie Joseph (fan favorite) -Matt Reis (recognizable/fan and media favorite)
As a Galaxy fan, Cobi Jones IS the face of the Galaxy. Beckham is the face of AEG/MLS/Soccer in America. The fact that he plays for the Galaxy is irrelevant (although Beverly Hills is a nice neighborhood). Beckham is a bigger media force than the team, league, or sport in this country. Cobi Jones's final year of an inspiring career is being treated like garbage due to Alexi La-loss, Frank Yallop, and the awful culture of "buzz" that the media industry has cultivated. He should have retired after 2005, but Cobi Jones is the only constant throughout the Galaxy's entire history. For those of us who have actually been paying attention, Cobi is the face of the Galaxy.
Juan Toja is much better than Carlos Ruiz...Ruiz is a small little bag of hot air thats really not worth his weight in gold.
It's true that without Ralston, the Revs probably wouldn't have made it to an MLS Cup Final at all. He is an excellent player, a great sportsman, and a nice guy in general. However, as far as the "face of the club" thing goes, it's hard to say. He's such a low-key guy off the field, and he doesn't really have the on-field presence like Shalrie. Ralston steps on the field and does what needs to be done - nothing flashy, just solid, smart, veteran play. If the Revs had a hall of fame, he'd be in first-ballot, no doubt. But somehow, if you ask Revs fans (or people around here with some knowledge of the team) who the face of the franchise would be, Ralston would probably be somewhere around 4th on the list behind the three Seamus listed above. That's no knock on Ralston; I think it's more a testament to the talent of the players surrounding him.
DC United - Luciano Emilio LA Galaxy - Beckham Real Salt Lake - Pope Colorado - Mastroeni RB New York - Angel Columbus - Hejduk Chivas USA - Bornstein TFC - Robinson Kansas City - Johnson FC Dallas - Ruiz Houston Dynamo - DeRosario New England - Twellman Chicago - Blanco
A lot of the players I'm mentioning are guys who have been with the teams for years/who've been in the league for years or listing guys who aren't exactly new but are just coming onto the scene. I'm also listing some of the new players who will most likely become faces of the the team. DC United- Jaime Moreno, Christian Gomez, Ben Olsen. New ones are Emilio and Fred who will become the face of the team. FC Dallas- Carlos Ruiz, Kenny Cooper, and Juan Carlos Toja. Denilson soon, but not yet. KC- Eddie Johnson, Jimmy Conrad Chicago- Chris Armas and Cuatemoc Blanco Chivas USA- Ante Rasov New York- Jozy Altidore, Juan Pablo Angel, Claudio Reyna (eh.... if he plays), and Clint Mathis Real Salt Lake- was Eddie Pope, Jason Kreis, and Jeff Cunningham when the season started. Now... Alecko Eskendarian and Eddie Pope? Columbus- Bobby Convey, Alejandro Moreno, Frankie Hedjuk, and Schellotto New England - Taylor Twellman, Shalrie Joseph, Steve Ralston, and Patt Noonan Houston - Brian Ching and Dwayne DeRosario Toronto - Danny Dicchio, Ronnie O'Brian, Marvelle Wynne, and Jeff Cunningham Colorado- Pablo Mastroeni, Hercules Gomez, and Kyle Beckerman (maybe.....the dreads do it for me, though) LA- Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones, and David Beckham (duh!)
Convey played for Columbus? If we're naming former players, this guy might have a slight case for being the face of DC:
Considering he plays for our rivals, not so much. Right now its Pablo and probably Bouna that are the "faces" of the team.
First guy that comes to mind when I think of these clubs... Chivas USA - Ante Razov Colorado - Pablo Mastroeni FC Dallas - Juan Toja Houston - Dwayne DeRosario Los Angeles - David Beckham Real Salt Lake - Eddie Pope Chicago - Cuauhtemoc Blanco Columbus - Guillermo Barros Schelotto D.C. United - Christian Gomez Kansas City - Eddie Johnson New York - Juan Pablo Angel New England - Taylor Twellman Toronto FC - Danny Dichio
OMG!!! I meant Eddie Gaven. I'm really stupid for saying convey. If I had a video of me hitting myself in the head with a sledgehammer saying that. I seriously am really embarassed. Don't ask me why, but I always say "Bobby Convey" when I'm referring to Eddie Gaven. God, I really don't don't think I can forgive myself for that one. And, I'm not being sarcastic either. I'm really pissed at myself. Now everyone thinks that I think that Convey played for Columbus. I meant Eddie Gaven.
When did Buddle join the navy? His name is Edson and no defenitely not the face, I would say it would be Jones or Vagenas if anyone else is right now, OH and Chris Alrbright.
If I were to pick 10 MLS players to put on a poster to ship around the world to promote MLS..... David Beckham Juan Pablo Angel Cuautemoc Blanco Paulo Wanchope Cobi Jones Landon Donovan Guillermo Barros Schelotto Jaime Moreno Jozy Altidore Denilson Someone with a keen sense of photoshop...please have a go Cheers Simon Allen WORLD SOCCER WRAP on itune give us a listen
No Emilio? No Fred? No Toja? You Galaxy bias is showing. Most of the players you would be showing are 30 or so years old. Not the image i'd want to send around the world..."Come retire in MLS".