MLS: Top 5 central midfielders in league history

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – AUGUST 15: Head Coach Preki Radosavljevic of the Chivas USA looks on from the bench against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands on August 15, 2009, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images for New York Red Bull) /

1. Preki

Taking the top spot on our list of the best-ever central midfielders in Major League Soccer history is a man that also played further forward during his time in the league, the only two-time MVP, Preki.

Predrag Radosavljevic began his career in his native Yugoslavia with Red Star Belgrade in 1982, before spending the next five years with indoor side Tacoma Stars, where he scored 209 goals in 247 league games. He then had spells with Everton and Portsmouth, along with playing more indoor soccer with St. Louis Storm and San Jose Grizzlies before joining MLS for its inaugural campaign.

MLS Career & Honours:

Kansas City Wizards (1996-2000, 2002-2005)
Miami Fusion (2001)

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MLS MVP – 1997, 2003
MLS Best XI – 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003
MLS Scoring Champion – 1997, 2003
MLS All-Time Best XI

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MLS Cup – 2000
Supporters’ Shield – 2000, 2001
U.S. Open Cup – 2004

The midfielder also played further forward during his career, but he spent prolonged periods of his career playing in the middle of midfield, hence why he makes it into this category in our series.

In his first season in the league, Preki was an ever-present for the Kansas City Wizards, the team he was allocated to for the inaugural Major League Soccer campaign. It was arguably his best individual season during his ten-year stint in the American top flight, as he scored 18 goals and assisted on 13 other strikes. He made it into the MLS Best XI on the back of those performances, the only member of the Wizards to do so in 1996.

He would be joined by Scottish defender Richard Gough and fellow midfielder Mark Chung in the 1997 MLS Best XI, as Preki became one of just three players to have been named in both the first two Best XIs, along with Marco Etcheverry and Carlos Valderrama, the MVP from the league’s first season.

1997 saw Preki take home the MVP and Scoring Champion awards, as he netted 12 times over the course of the campaign, whilst also recording 17 assists, a joint-career-high for the now-American international. He made his USMNT debut at the age of 33 a year prior, having passed the US citizenships tests. Preki went on to play in the 1998 FIFA World Cup for the USMNT, and he finished his international career in 2001 with four goals in 28 appearances for the national side.

PASADENA, CA – AUGUST 21: Preki #11 of the Kansas City Wizards rushes upfield against the Los Angeles Galaxy during the second half on August 21, 2002, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Galaxy beat the Wizards 2-1. (Photo By Christopher Ruppel/Getty Images) /

The Yugoslavian-born midfielder hit double digits in both goals and assists for a third straight season in 1998 but was unable to take a place in the MLS Best XI for the third time. 2000 was the most successful year, collectively, for Preki, as the Wizards won both the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup.

He made the move to Miami Fusion for the 2001 term, but it would be short-lived, as the franchise was contracted following the conclusion of that season. In his lone campaign in Florida, Preki sacred eight goals and tallied 14 assists, earning a third nomination to the MLS Best XI as Miami won the Supporters’ Shield, their only major trophy. He was one of five Fusion players to make the cut alongside the defensive duo of Carlos Llamosa and Pablo Mastroeni, and the striking pair of Diego Serna and Alex Pineda Chacon, with the latter winning the MVP award.

Preki was chosen by the Wizards at the 2002 MLS Dispersal Draft following the contraction of the Fusion, and he immediately returned to form with the side he began his MLS career with six years previous. He scored seven goals and assisted on ten others in his first term back with the Wizards before hitting MVP form once again in 2003. In a carbon copy of his 1997 MVP-winning season, the midfielder scored twelve goals, along with adding 17 assists, as he became the first, and to date, the only, man to be named MVP of Major League Soccer on multiple occasions.

He received a fourth MLS Best XI nomination for his performances, along with the MVP award, and was the only member of the Wizards to make the cut. That would be his last major season in the league, as injuries hampered the Yugoslavian-born star in both 2004 and 2005.

Preki retired following the conclusion of the 2005 campaign with 79 goals and 112 assists in just 242 regular-season appearances. When he retired, he was the leading points-scorer (two per goal, one per assist) in league history, and one of just two men to have been named Scoring Champion or Golden Boot winner, with Taylor Twellman also having done so (Chris Wondolowski and Bradley Wright-Phillips have also matched that achievement since).

Next. MLS: Top 5 centre-backs in league history. dark

The midfielder is the only multiple MVP winner and is one of the greatest-ever players to have played in Major League Soccer. He was also named to the MLS All-Time Best XI after he retired, along with fellow Kansas City Wizards star Tony Meola, the 2000 MVP. From 1996-2003, he had at least 10 assists in each season, and he will always be fondly remembered in both Kansas City and Miami, as well as around the league.

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