MLS: Top 5 central midfielders in league history
By Matt Coles
3. Piotr Nowak
The only European to make the list of the best central midfielders to have played in Major League Soccer is a Pole who featured in the league for just five seasons, former Chicago Fire star Piotr Nowak.
The Polish midfielder spent the entirety of his footballing career in Europe before moving to the United States in 1998. He played for Zawisza Bydgoszcz, Widzew Lodz, Bakirkoyspor, Young Boys, Dynamo Dresden and 1860 Munich over 15 years. He was voted Bundesliga’s Best Playmaker with the latter in 1996.
MLS Career & Honours:
- Chicago Fire (1998-2002)
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- MLS Best XI – 1998, 2000, 2001
- MLS All-Time Best XI
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- MLS Cup – 1998
- U.S. Open Cup – 1998, 2000
Nowak signed for expansion side Chicago Fire at the start of the 1998 campaign, and there would be instant success, both individually and collectively in Chicago. The midfielder played 24 matches during the regular season of his first campaign in the American top flight, scoring six times and recording 12 assists. He was named to the MLS Best XI for the first time in his career, taking his place in the side alongside team-mates Zach Thornton, Lubos Kubik and Chris Armas.
The team won the double in their first season, winning the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup titles in the space of six days at the end of October 1998, making it the most impressive first season in the league by an expansion side in the history of the league. They defeated reigning two-time champions D.C. United in the MLS Cup final, before then downing Columbus Crew in the USOC finale less than a week later.
1999 saw Nowak start a career-high 28 matches during the regular season, as the Fire pushed for a post-season berth once more. He scored six times that year, along with adding eight assists, but the Fire were unable to defend either of the titles they had won in their spectacular first term in the league. A year later, and the Fire lifted the U.S. Open Cup for the second time in just three seasons after they got the better of Miami Fusion at Soldier Field in what was the highest attended USOC final since 1929.
2000 also saw Nowak named into the MLS Best XI for a second time, after he noticed a career-high 14 assists throughout the campaign, as he equalled his tally from the previous year of 20 regular-season matches. He added five goals as well and was joined in the Best XI by fellow Fire midfielders Chris Armas and Hristo Stoichkov. A year later, both the Pole and Armas would be named into the Best XI again, with Nowak achieving that status for the third time. Unfortunately, injuries plagued him throughout his final two seasons in the league, and he retired at the age of 39 following the 2002 term.
Nowak only played in the league for five seasons, but is part of Chicago’s “Ring of Fire” thanks to some wonderful performances during that time, including being a key member of the team that came into Major League Soccer with a bang in 1998. The midfielder was also named into the MLS All-Time Best XI in 2005, the only player to have featured for the Fire to make the team, which featured legends like Landon Donovan, Jaime Moreno and Preki.
The Pole’s MLS career saw him start all of the 114 matches he featured in, with 26 goals and 48 assists during the regular season to his name. He also scored three times and had ten assists in 20 post-season clashes. He went on to manage D.C. United and Philadelphia Union later on, but will always be known for his style and presence in the middle of the Fire’s midfield around the turn of the century.