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MLS: Top 5 Italian players in league history

By Matt Coles

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 19: Sebastian Giovinco #10 of Toronto FC looks on during the first half of the 2018 Campeones Cup Final against Tigres UANL at BMO Field on September 19, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 19: Sebastian Giovinco #10 of Toronto FC looks on during the first half of the 2018 Campeones Cup Final against Tigres UANL at BMO Field on September 19, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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HARRISON, NEW JERSEY – APRIL 06: Vito Mannone #1 of Minnesota United directs his teammates in the second half against the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on April 06, 2019 in Harrison, New Jersey.The Minnesota United defeated the New York Red Bulls 2-1. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
HARRISON, NEW JERSEY – APRIL 06: Vito Mannone #1 of Minnesota United directs his teammates in the second half against the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on April 06, 2019 in Harrison, New Jersey.The Minnesota United defeated the New York Red Bulls 2-1. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

3. Vito Mannone

Coming in at number three on our list of the best Italians to have ever played in MLS is a man that spent just a single season in the league but change changed the defensive level of an entire organisation in the process.

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Italian shot-stopper Vito Mannone made the move to Minnesota United following four years with Sunderland and a season and a half with Championship side Reading. He joined the Loons on loan from Reading and played every minute of their 2019 campaign, including their first-ever postseason clash after the club finished fourth in the Western Conference, their highest finish in the league to date.

Mannone was made 129 saves through the regular-season, one of eight goalkeepers to reach the century mark, and he broke the club’s single-season record for clean sheets. The Italian kept 11 shutouts over the course of the campaign, en route to winning the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award.

Following the 2019 campaign, his loan expired, and he returned to Championship side Reading, but despite only playing in Major League Soccer for a single campaign, his performances were still good enough to give him the number three spot on our list of the best Italians to ever grace the league.

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