There have been some wonderful players over the 25-year history of MLS, but who ranks in the top five strikers 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 six other major positions, some of which have seen some contention about who made certain categories. Tony Meola took the top goalkeeper honours, while Carlos Bocanegra and Chad Marshall came out on top in the full-backs and centre-backs categories, respectively.
Moving forward into midfield, and Preki was the deserved winner of the central midfielders list, with Landon Donovan unsurprisingly being named the best attacking midfielder of all-time, before Chris Armas took the top spot on our top five wingers list.
Now, though, we come to our final top five, the strikers. There is no contention as to whether the five players on our list played at the head of the field or not, they are all out-and-out strikers. However, there may be some contention in who we have chosen. For instance, the likes of Bradley Wright-Phillips and Jason Kreis have narrowly missed out, along with several others, including Jeff Cunningham, but we are happy with the five men we have chosen! Who are they, though…?
5. Taylor Twellman
The first man to make it onto our list of the best-ever strikers in Major League Soccer history is the player who reached the 100-goal mark at the youngest age, former New England forward Taylor Twellman.
The Minneapolis-born forward spent two years with the Terrapins during his time at the University of Maryland before the turn of the Century, before beginning his professional career in Germany with 1860 Munich. He played for the Bundesliga side for two years before returning his home country.
MLS Career & Honours:
- New England Revolution (2002-2010)
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- MLS MVP – 2005
- MLS Best XI – 2002, 2005
- MLS Scoring Champion/Golden Boot – 2002, 2005
- Youngest player to reach 100 MLS goals
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- U.S. Open Cup – 2007
- North American SuperLiga – 2008
- CONCACAF Gold Cup – 2007
Twellman was taken with the 2nd overall pick in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft, and immediately became a star in the making for New England Revolution, scoring 23 goals to lead the league, with six assists added on to make him the Scoring Champion in his debut season in the American top-flight. He was named to the MLS Best XI thanks to his performances, along with fellow New England star Steve Ralston, and the striker also helped the Revs into their first MLS Cup final, where they would lose out in extra time to LA Galaxy by a single goal.
The forward made his international debut for the USMNT following that MLS Cup final, and he continued his good form into 2003, where he topped the goalscoring charts for a second successive season, tied atop the leaderboard with Carlos Ruiz after netting 15 times during the regular season, but Twellman missed the post-season due to breaking his foot.
After struggling with injuries through the 2004 campaign, the striker was back to his best in his fourth campaign in the league, as he was named into the MLS Best XI for a second time, along with winning the first MLS Golden Boot award, after it changed to just goals instead of points (goals and assists combined). His performances also saw him named as the league’s MVP, becoming the first Revolution player to have that honour.
Unfortunately for Twellman and New England, there would be more heartbreak in the MLS Cup final of that season, as the franchise lost out to LA Galaxy for a second time in four seasons, once again losing 1-0 after extra time. The Revs would go on to lose the next two MLS Cup finals to the Houston Dynamo, with Twellman netting in both the 2006 and 2007 finals.
Despite losing out in the big game at the end of the 2007 term, it was still a successful one for the forward, who won silverware on both a domestic and international level. The Revolution lifted the U.S. Open Cup as they won their first major trophy, while the United States won the CONCACAF Gold Cup that year as well, with Twellman playing a major part in proceedings.
After winning the domestic cup competition, New England were entered into the North American SuperLiga in 2008, and they would go on to claim the title in that tournament as well, becoming the only American champions of the now-defunct competition, as they got revenge on the Dynamo in the final.
The 2008 season would, unfortunately, be the last that Twellman would play a major role in, after a collision during a match against LA Galaxy that August saw him suffer a painful neck injury and complications through concussions. He only played twice more for the Revs following that campaign, and eventually retired in 2010.
Despite only playing for seven full seasons in Major League Soccer, Twellman is one of only 11 players to have reached the 100-goal landmark during the regular season, and the American holds the honour of being the youngest to have done so, and to have the best ratio of goals to game, having scored 101 times in just 174 appearances. He also tallied 28 assists during the regular season, along with 10 post-season goals in 21 appearances. A great player to start our list with!