First XI: Impact players
11. 1996 -- Jaime Moreno (D.C. United): After a horrendous start, D.C. United had righted the ship in the inaugural season, but it's unlikely they'd have risen to the level of a championship team if not for the late-season acquisition of the young Bolivian forward. Though Moreno played in only the season's final nine regular-season games, he completely transformed the United attack, giving the team speed and unpredictability it lacked.
10. 1997 -- Marco Etcheverry (D.C. United): Sure El Diablo was an impact player in 1996, but with Moreno in place for a full season in Year Two, Etcheverry was able to take his playmaking abilities to a different level. Watching D.C. play in those early days was like watching no other team in the league's history. Sure, the league-wide competition may have been lacking, but United consistently put on the best show in the league.
9. 1998 -- Peter Nowak (Chicago Fire): The sight of Nowak with the ball and a head of steam was thrilling for fans and frightening for defenders. As the years went by, he lost a step or two and changed his game somewhat, but in his first season in the league, Nowak was as quick, dynamic and creative as any player the league has seen. The Fire are remembered for winning a title in their first year, but it was during an early-season 10-game win streak that Nowak showed the league he was a different breed of playmaker.
8. 1999 -- Jason Kreis (Dallas Burn): In this case, it's pure numbers -- 18 goals and 15 assists -- that show the impact. On free kicks from inside of 35 yards, no player in the league's history made goalkeepers shake like Kreis circa '99. But it was not only on dead balls that Kreis could find the net. He was part poacher, part bomber, and many of us still wonder why he never, ever got much of a chance to show his stuff at the international level.
7. 2000 -- Clint Mathis (MetroStars): With apologies to Tony Meola, who carried his team to a title, and Hristo Stoitchkov, who was absolutely amazing, I'll never forget the show Mathis put on in New York after he arrived via a "dispersal" draft that was held in the wake of the Luis Hernandez signing by the Galaxy. I wish I had Clint's "best of" on DVD. It was that good.
6. 2001 -- Diego Serna (Miami Fusion): He rode his bike to practice. That is, when he showed up for practice. He aggravated his coach, his teammates, and Fusion fans. But, in 2001, Serna was a combination of a freight train and a ballet dancer. Ray Hudson and the late Doug Hamilton put together a team that had people around the league shaking their heads in preseason, and watching in disbelief during the regular season. At the end of it all, there was Serna with 15 goals and 15 assists in 22 games.
5. 2002 -- Carlos Ruiz (Los Angeles Galaxy): Perhaps the biggest impact acquisition in league history, Ruiz started scoring immediately upon his arrival in Los Angeles and did not stop scoring until he was tucking away a golden goal in the MLS Cup Final. He has blown a bit hot and cold in the ensuing years, but in '02, Ruiz was as good as any striker the league has ever seen, scoring from near and far, with his feet, his head, but mostly, his guts.
4. 2003 -- Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes): Were this a postseason impact story, Donovan would win hands-down for what he did a year ago, but in 2003, Donovan made a decent San Jose team league champs. Five of his 12 goals were game-winners. He was always making big plays at the ends of games and (yeah, this is supposed to be a regular season piece), his performance in the Quakes miracle comeback vs. L.A. is one for the all-time highlights.
3. 2004 -- Jon Busch (Columbus Crew): In what was a weird year for the league (the Crew won the Supporters' Shield with all of 49 points), the little 'keeper from Columbus had the biggest impact, leading the Crew to an 18-game unbeaten streak and registering 10 clean sheets. Busch's injuries the past two seasons have also had a huge impact on the Crew.
2. 2005 -- Taylor Twellman (New England Revlution): While Twellman had to be wondering just what he had to do to get a look on the U.S. national team, he took out his frustration the right way, by scoring 17 goals to lead the Revolution to 59 points and their best season ever. Puzzling, isn't it, how the Revs have looked so lethargic to this point this season?
1. 2006 -- Christian Gomez (D.C. United): Let his performance on Saturday night stand as testament to what Gomez means to United. A free-kick goal in the game's third minute and, just a minute or so after Chivas USA equalized, a solo effort to put D.C. back on top. Since he arrived in '04 to help lead United to the MLS Cup, Gomez has been a big-game performer.
Jeff Bradley is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Send your comments and complaints (200 words or less, please) to Jeff at jbradleyespn2003@yahoo.com and he promises to read (but not respond to) all of them. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
