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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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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 19: A.J. DeLaGarza #20 of Los Angeles Galaxy warms up prior to the MLS match against Seattle Sounders FC at StubHub Center on October 19, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. This is Donovan’s last regular-season MLS game before retiring at the end of the season. The Sounders and Galaxy played to a 2-2 draw. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 19: A.J. DeLaGarza #20 of Los Angeles Galaxy warms up prior to the MLS match against Seattle Sounders FC at StubHub Center on October 19, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. This is Donovan’s last regular-season MLS game before retiring at the end of the season. The Sounders and Galaxy played to a 2-2 draw. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /

2. A.J. DeLaGarza

Taking the number two spot on our list of the best-ever Asian players to play in MLS is the longest-serving, A.J. DeLaGarza. The defender was drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the second round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. He spent eight seasons with the Californian side, becoming a key part of their backline over the course of that time.

He was commended for his ability to feature at any position in defence. He played over 200 regular-season matches for the Galaxy over that eight-year spell. The Galaxy reached the postseason in all eight seasons that DeLaGarza was a part of the side, with the club going on to win the MLS Cup in 2011, 2012 and 2014. The Guam international played in two of those three finals and was also named the club’s Defensive Player of the Year in both 2012 and 2014.

Following the end of the 2016 term, DeLaGarza moved to the Houston Dynamo, where he went on to play 30 games in the regular season of his first year with the club. The defender was a part of the side that won the 2018 U.S. Open Cup and he went on to play for Houston for another season before joining expansion side Inter Miami ahead of the 2020 term.

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