There have been some wonderful players over the 25-year history of MLS, but who ranks in the top five wingers 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.
We have gone through the goalkeepers, full-backs, centre-backs, central midfielders and attacking midfielders already, with Tony Meola, Carlos Bocanegra, Chad Marshall, Preki and Landon Donovan all coming out on top in their respective categories. The top five strikers will follow, but this piece will focus solely on wingers.
As is the way with the majority of these lists, there will be some contention about whether the players on our list are wingers or not. Some of the wingers on our list will have played at full-back, or in the middle of midfield at times, but they were predominantly wingers in our book.
The likes of Mark Chung, Brad Davis and Chris Pontius came close to making it into our top five, while one of the biggest names in world football only just makes his way into our list. But who is in the top five?
5. David Beckham
The first man to make our list of the best-ever wingers to have featured in Major League Soccer is an Englishman that took the league by storm in the mid-2000s, the one and only David Beckham.
The former England captain spent the first decade of his career with Manchester United, where he won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He then spent four years in Spain with Real Madrid, winning La Liga during his spell in continental Europe, prior to making the move to the United States.
MLS Career & Honours:
- LA Galaxy (2007-2012)
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- MLS Best XI – 2011
- MLS Comeback Player of the Year – 2011
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- MLS Cup – 2011, 2012
- Supporters’ Shield – 2010, 2011
Beckham signed for LA Galaxy following the conclusion of the 2006-07 La Liga campaign, bringing an end to his four-year period on Spanish soil, but he would play just five games towards the end of the regular season in the 2007 term as he struggled for fitness.
The 2008 campaign saw the Englishman start all 25 matches he featured in, missing time only for England duties, as he continued to captain his national side. In his first full season in California, Beckham scored five times and recorded ten assists as well.
After spending time on loan with AC Milan in 2009, the winger returned midway through the season, fans showed anger and dislike towards the Englishman, as he left the Galaxy without him for the majority of the regular season. However, when he returned, he helped the side up to the top step of the Western Conference. The Galaxy made it to the MLS Cup final, but they lost out to Real Salt Lake in a penalty shoot-out, in which Beckham scored from the spot.
He joined AC Milan following the end of the 2009 campaign, but unfortunately for the Englishman, and the Galaxy, as he came towards the end of his loan spell in Italy, Beckham suffered a torn Achilles tendon, which forced him out of the game for the majority of the Major League Soccer regular season. When the midfielder returned from injury in September, Beckham hit the ground running and scored twice in the last few games of the regular season, as the Galaxy won the Supporters’ Shield, the Englishman’s first major trophy in the United States.
It was the 2011 term where it all came together for Beckham and the Galaxy, as they won the double. Firstly, the LA side took home the Supporters’ Shield title for a second successive term, with the Englishman leading the league with an MLS-high 15 assists during the regular season. He was named to the MLS Best XI for his performances, alongside Galaxy team-mates, Todd Dunivant, Omar Gonzalez and Landon Donovan, whilst the Englishman also received the Comeback Player of the Year award.
He played in four post-season matches that campaign, setting up (on average) a goal a game in that period. The Galaxy won the MLS Cup for the first time since 2005, as they defeated Houston Dynamo 1-0.
The 2012 term was Beckham’s best in terms of goals scored, with the Englishman netting seven times during the regular season. History would repeat itself, as the Galaxy got the better of the Dynamo in the MLS Cup final for the second year in a row, this time winning 3-1. The final was Beckham’s last game in the American top flight, as he left for Paris Sant-Germain the following January.
The Englishman ended his spell in MLS after six seasons, playing 98 times during the regular season. He amassed 18 goals and 40 assists in that time, but his impact on the sport in the United States was as much off the field as it was on it. As part of two MLS Cup-winning sides, Beckham brought attention to the American top-flight and lifted it from where it was after a decade to where it is today.