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MLS: Top 5 Asian players in league history

By Matt Coles

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 13: Steven Beitashour #3 of Los Angeles FC controls the ball during the first half against New York City FC at Banc of California Stadium on May 13, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. The game ended 2-2. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 13: Steven Beitashour #3 of Los Angeles FC controls the ball during the first half against New York City FC at Banc of California Stadium on May 13, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. The game ended 2-2. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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MLS, Steven Beitashour
LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 13: Steven Beitashour #3 of Los Angeles FC controls the ball during the first half against New York City FC at Banc of California Stadium on May 13, 2018, in Los Angeles, California. The game ended 2-2. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

There have been some amazing foreign imports in the 25-year history of MLS, but who ranks in the top five Asian players of all time?

In total, only 33 Asian players have played in Major League Soccer, with those 33 hailing from 13 different countries across the continent. Several of those have been part of MLS Cup winning-sides, with others having won the U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championships in their MLS careers, but who gets a place in our top five Asian players of all time?

Find out below in our list of the top five Asian players in MLS history.

HOUSTON, TX – MARCH 06: Daigo Kobayashi #16 of New England Revolution celebrates his second-half goal against the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium on March 6, 2016, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – MARCH 06: Daigo Kobayashi #16 of New England Revolution celebrates his second-half goal against the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium on March 6, 2016, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

5. Daigo Kobayashi

The first member of our top five Asian players to have ever featured in Major League Soccer is one of two Japanese stars on the list, former Vancouver and New England man, Daigo Kobayashi.

The midfielder made the move to the United States prior to the 2013 MLS campaign, where he signed for the Vancouver Whitecaps. After a single season with the Canadian side, in which he played 30 times, he was signed by the New England Revolution ahead of the 2014 season. He would go on to play at Gillette Stadium for the next four years.

Kobayashi became a mainstay of the club’s midfield, including playing in all 34 regular-season matches in his first campaign with the team when his performances helped the side into the postseason as the Revs finished top of the Eastern Conference.

He played five seasons in MLS before leaving New England following the end of the 2017 term, after featuring 124 times during the regular season, scoring four goals and adding ten assists. The Japanese midfielder has gone on to play for Las Vegas Lights and Birmingham legion in the USL Championship since leaving the Revs.

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