MLS: Top 5 full-backs in league history

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GENOA, ITALY – FEBRUARY 29: Carlos Bocanegra of USA looks on prior to the international friendly match between Italy and USA at Luigi Ferraris Stadium on February 29, 2012, in Genoa, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) /

There have been some wonderful players over the 25-year history of MLS, but who ranks in the top five full-backs of all-time?

Here at MLS Multiplex, we have gone back through the statistics, the awards won, the games played, the goals scored and the shutouts made to work out who we think are the best five players in the seven major positions in Major League Soccer history.

We have gone through the goalkeepers already, with 2000 MVP Tony Meola coming out on top. We will cycle through the centre-backs, central midfielders, attacking midfielders, wingers and strikers over the next few weeks, but in this piece, full-backs are the stars of the show.

The full-back area sparks up a big conversation, and as we go on through this series, there could be some players that could fit across a number of different categories. For our top five lists, we have chosen players who have played in those positions for a prolonged period.

Several top quality full-backs just missed out on making it into our list, including the likes of Steven Beitashour, an MLS Cup winner with Toronto FC in their epic treble-winning campaign. The likes of Chris Tierney, DaMarcus Beasley and Frankie Hejduk also came into conversation, but they all narrowly missed out on making our top five full-backs of all-time.

Who does make it in then? Well, there are two players who have been named MLS Defender of the Year, while all five have featured in the annual MLS Best XI at one point or another. There are also plenty of titles between the five men selected, including six MLS Cups, seven Supporters’ Shields, four U.S. Open Cups and even a CONCACAF Champions League winners medal thrown in there for good measure. Who are the top five? Find out right here…

MONTREAL, QC – MARCH 12: Kemar Lawrence #92 of the New York Red Bulls runs with the ball during the MLS game against the Montreal Impact at the Olympic Stadium on March 12, 2016, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Impact defeated the New York Red Bulls 3-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

5. Kemar Lawrence

The first man to make our list of the best ever full-backs to have plied their trade in Major League Soccer is former New York Red Bulls left-back Kemar Lawrence.

The Jamaican, who has over 50 caps for his national side, spent the first four years of his professional career with Harbour View in his native country, winning the Red Stripe Premier League twice in that time. He then made the move to the States before the 2015 campaign.

MLS Career & Honours:

NY Red Bulls (2015-2019)

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MLS Best XI – 2018
CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI – 2017

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Supporters’ Shield – 2015, 2018

Lawrence had gone on trial with the New York Red Bulls in pre-season ahead of the 2015 term, and he impressed the club enough to be signed by them, going on to make over 100 appearances over the next five seasons.

The Jamaican international showed consistency over his five-year spell in New York, playing at least 20 regular-season matches in every term from 2015 to 2019, including a career-high 28 regular-season matches during the 2018 campaign.

In his first year in the league, Lawrence tasted success, as the Red Bulls lifted the Supporters’ Shield. The left-back had scored the week previous to help secure the Eastern Conference title for the Bulls before they took the league title on goal difference from FC Dallas. However, they lost out to Columbus Crew over the two-legged Eastern Conference final, missing out on reaching MLS Cup 2015.

After what was, statistically, his worst season in the league in 2016, with no goals or assists in just 21 league games, Lawrence bounced back in 2017, and he also did well on the International stage. Along with a goal and a career-high five assists throughout the regular season, the Jamaican featured for his country at the CONCACAF Gold Cup with the Reggae Boyz finishing runners-up to the United States.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – JUNE 30: Kemar Lawrence of Jamaica during the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarter Final match between Jamaica and Panama at Lincoln Financial Field on June 30, 2019, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images) /

His performances earned him a nod to the tournament’s Best XI, alongside the likes of countrymen Andre Blake and Jermaine Taylor, and fellow MLS stars in Michael Bradley, Alphonso Davies, Darlington Nagbe, Graham Zusi, Jordan Morris and Jozy Altidore, with the latter duo scoring the goals which secured the USMNT the title.

Lawrence continued his good form through to the 2018 campaign, his fourth season at Red Bull Arena. It was also another strong showing from the team, as they went on to lift the Supporters’ Shield for the second time in four years, falling just shy of breaking the record points haul set by Toronto FC the year previous.

Unfortunately for the Red Bulls, they would fall at the Eastern Conference final stage again, this time to the eventual winners Atlanta United, but Lawrence’s performances were enough to earn him a spot on the MLS Best XI, and one of only two Red Bulls players to do so despite the side winning the Supporters’ Shield, with team-mate Aaron Long taking home Defender of the Year honours.

The Jamaican international ended his time in New York following the next campaign, leaving the United States at the end of 2019, after five years of service in the league. He joined Belgian side Anderlecht, for his first taste of European football. His MLS career spanned from 2015-2019, playing 118 regular-season clashes, along with a further 11 games in the post-season as the Bulls reached the playoffs every year the left-back was with the club. At just 27-years-old, don’t be surprised to see Lawrence back in MLS at some point in the next decade!

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