MLS Season
Latinos
120 Latinos are registered to start the next MLS season, which starts this weekend. Argentina provides the most Latin American players with 22, followed by Costa Rica with 13, Colombia 11, Venezuela and Brazil 10, Uruguay with 9, Honduras, Mexico and Panama 7, Paraguay with 5, Peru with 4; Chile, Ecuador and El Salvador with three; Guatemala with 2 and Puerto Rico with 1.
Landon Donovan's Record
The San Jose Earthquakes forward, Chris Wondolowski, could immortalize himself in the upcoming MLS season. Wondolowski has scored 134 goals and is only 11 goals away from equaling the record for most goals in MLS, currently held by the legendary Landon Donovan.
The Indefatigable Nick Rimando
With 452 appearances, the Real Salt Lake goalkeeper and former United States international is the player with the most matches played in MLS history. Following Rimando are Kyle Beckerman, Kevin Hartman, and Brad Davis.
12 Champion Teams
A total of 12 clubs have been crowned champions in MLS history, with Los Angeles Galaxy having the most championships with five, followed by DC United who have won four league titles. Houston Dynamo, Sporting Kansas City, and San Jose Earthquakes have also won the title twice. The other clubs that have been crowned champions are Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake, Columbus Crew, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, and Toronto FC.
303 Foreign Players
In this season, there will be 303 foreign players participating in the tournament starting this weekend, excluding the Canadians who also count as locals, when the action kicks off in the United States.
Atlanta, the Most Valuable, Houston, the Most Modest
Looking ahead to the 2018 MLS season, Atlanta United is the most valuable team in terms of market value according to Transfermarkt, with a value of 35.43 million euros. Houston, on the other hand, is the most modest team with a value of 12.03 million euros.
Clubs with New Coaches
Six clubs will be debuting a new coach in an attempt to improve their results from last season. Venezuelan Giovanni Savarese was entrusted with the Portland Timbers, Brad Friedel took charge of the New England Revolution, Rémi Garde was given the opportunity with the Montreal Impact, Bob Bradley was chosen by the new Los Angeles franchise, Mikael Stahre arrived at the San Jose Earthquakes, and Anthony Hudson will take the reins at the Colorado Rapids.
All Against Nikolic
Nikola Nikolic enters the 2018 tournament after an impressive 24-goal season in the Major League Soccer with the Chicago Fire, being the top scorer of the previous season. However, players like Ola Kamara, David Villa, among others, are looking to snatch the goal-scoring title from him.
The Suspended Players
There are five players who will not be able to participate in their club's debut due to suspensions received at the end of the previous season. Undoubtedly, the most significant absence is that of Sascha Kljestan from Orlando City, who will not play in the first two games. The other suspended players are Axel Sjoberg from the Colorado Rapids, Luciano Acosta from DC United, Tomás Martínez from the Houston Dynamo, and Clement Diop from the Montreal Impact.
Foreign Dominance in the Dugout
There are more coaches born outside the United States than foreign players in MLS. In total, 12 clubs have a foreign coach, while 11 rely on local coaches. The reigning MLS champions, Toronto FC, have Greg Vanney, a US-born coach.