MLS: Top 5 wingers in league history

1. Chris Armas

Taking the spoils on our list of the best-ever wingers to have played in Major League Soccer is a man with five MLS Best XI nominations, and a 12-year career behind him, former LA Galaxy and Chicago Fire man, Chris Armas.

Prior to making his debut in the league in its inaugural campaign in 1996, Armas spent four years at Adelphi University, where he played for the Panthers, scoring 17 times and recording 15 assists. After graduating, he played two seasons with the Long Island Rough Riders in the United States International Soccer League, where the club won the Championship in 1995.

MLS Career & Honours:

• LA Galaxy (1996-1997)
• Chicago Fire (1998-2007)

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• MLS Best XI – 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
• MLS Comeback Player of the Year – 2003

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• MLS Cup – 1998
• Supporters’ Shield – 2003
• U.S. Open Cup – 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006
• CONCACAF Gold Cup – 2002, 2005

Following a successful two seasons with the Rough Riders, the winger was drafted by LA Galaxy in the first round of the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft, and he played 50 regular-season matches over his two years in California. He scored four goals and recorded six assists during that time, with the Galaxy reaching the first-ever MLS Cup final, where they lost out to D.C. United.

After two years on the West Coast, Armas moved inland after being traded to Chicago Fire ahead of the 1998 campaign, and there would be immediate success both individually and collectively in what was the club’s first year in the league. They became the first, and to date, the only, expansion side to lift the MLS Cup in their debut campaign, beating reigning two-time champions D.C. United in the final. The Fire also won the U.S. Open Cup to make it an amazing first season as a franchise.

It was a good year for Armas individually as well, as the midfielder made his way into the MLS Best XI for the first time in his career, thanks to recording ten assists in the regular season. He was joined in the prestigious line-up by Fire team-mates Zach Thornton, Lubos Kubik and Piotr Nowak. That would be the first of five Best XI nomination over the next six seasons, only missing out on the team in 2002 after tearing his ACL, which saw him miss the majority of the campaign as he recovered.

He made it into both the 1999 and 2000 teams after creating five assists in both, with the Fire also winning the U.S. Open Cup for a second time in three seasons during the latter term. Armas then made it four consecutive selections into the MLS Best XI with a nomination in 2001, before that ACL injury early on in the 2002 campaign. Before the MLS campaign that year, Armas was a key part of the United States side that lifted the CONCACAF Gold Cup title. He would then also be a part of the team that won it again three years later in 2005, his second international trophy with the USMNT.

The winger returned to lead the Fire to the Supporters’ Shield and the U.S. Open Cup double in 2003 and earned his fifth nod to the MLS Best XI after scoring twice and recording four assists in 25 regular-season appearances. After returning from the season-ending injury, Armas was also named MLS Comeback Player of the Year in 2003.

Armas went on to play for the Fire for a further four campaigns and was a key part of the team that won the Supporters’ Shield for the fourth time in 2006. He ended his career following the 2007 season, having played over 260 regular-season matches across 12 years, along with 37 post-season matches, taking his tally over 300 across his career.

Five selections to the MLS Best XI, an MLS Cup winner and a four-time U.S. Open Cup winner, along with two international trophies with the USMNT, Armas is a man that deserves the top spot on our list of the best-ever wingers in MLS history.