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MLS: Top 5 South American players in league history

By Matt Coles

ATLANTA, GA AUGUST 14: Atlanta's Josef Martinez (7) holds the ball prior to a penalty kick during the Campeones Cup match between Club America and Atlanta United FC on August 14th, 2019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA AUGUST 14: Atlanta's Josef Martinez (7) holds the ball prior to a penalty kick during the Campeones Cup match between Club America and Atlanta United FC on August 14th, 2019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 23: Jaime Moreno #99 of D.C. United dribbles the ball upfield against Toronto FC at RFK Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Washington, DC. Toronto defeated DC 3-2. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 23: Jaime Moreno #99 of D.C. United dribbles the ball upfield against Toronto FC at RFK Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Washington, DC. Toronto defeated DC 3-2. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images) /

3. Jaime Moreno

The man on our list to have spent the longest time in the league is Bolivian forward Jaime Moreno, who spent 15 years in Major League Soccer from 1996 to 2010. In the summer of 1996, following the end of the English season, Moreno signed for D.C. United, and the rest, as they say, is history.

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The Bolivian forward made an immediate impression on the league, scoring three and assisting three in his first nine regular-season games. He then added a goal and an assist in the postseason as D.C. United took home the inaugural MLS Cup title. The feat would be repeated a year later with Moreno netting 16 times in just 20 appearances in the regular season.

That season Moreno was named into the MLS Best XI, an achievement he would go on to secure four more times in his career. D.C. won the MLS Cup for a third time in 1999, a year after winning the intercontinental prize, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, with Moreno playing a key part of both.

After spending seven years in the nation’s capital, the Bolivian was traded to the MetroStars ahead of the 2003 campaign, but after an injury-hit term, he made the move back to Washington after just one season.

In 2004, his first year back with D.C., the club won the MLS Cup for a fourth time. Moreno was named to the MLS Best XI for his efforts. In 2005, he scored 16 goals, his joint-best single-season tally in the league.

He eventually retired from professional football following the end of the 2010 campaign, having scored 133 goals in 340 regular-season appearances. The Bolivian international also assisted 102 goals in that time and was the first member of the 100-100 club in Major League Soccer history. The forward was also named to the MLS All-Time Best XI in 2005.

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