Who Was the Most Useless Player in MLS 2007?
By: Daryl | November 24th, 2007
Over on his FoxSoccer blog, Jamie Trecker is weighing up his options for the annual Jerry Tamashiro Award. Each MLS season, the not so coveted award goes to the player who’s not only sucked, but sucked while costing their team maximum money and roster space. It’s named after the Peruvian Tamashiro (pictured) who spent a not particularly successful season with the Miami Fusion in 1998. Other winners include Lothar Matthaus, who was simultaneously arrogant and confused during his spell with the Metrostars and current holder John O’Brien, who was on the Chivas USA roster in 2006 but – for a change – was too injured to contribute.
This season Trecker suggested giving David Beckham the award…
…but I’m not buying it. Yes Goldenballs’ MLS season was a disaster due to injury and no, he didn’t do much even when he did take the field. But in terms of getting the league some much needed attention both in the US and abroad, Beckham has done his job. This show wouldn’t exist without him, for example.
Trecker’s other nominations included Claudio Reyna, who should never have been a DP with his injury record and wouldn’t have been signed as one by any coach but Bruce Arena, and Shaka Hislop for being paid a small fortune and either letting goals fly past him or sitting on the bench at Dallas. But in the end he went for Luis Tejada, the Panamanian international who signed for Real Salt Lake and apparently played just two minutes all season.
Trecker missed out on Denilson. The one time next big thing from Brazil was made Dallas FC’s Designated Player with a brief to entertain the crowds and adds some creativity to the midfield. The crowds didn’t come, possibly because Denilson is more of a curiosity than a superstar these days, and his on-field performances were ineffective and awful. The point of a Designated Player is that he’s head and shoulders the best player on your team, but Steve Morrow had to bench Denilson by the time playoffs rolled around.
So who was the most useless player in MLS 2007?
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Tags: Cladio Reyna, David Beckham, Jerry Tamashiro, Lothar Matthaus, Luis Tejada, MLS, Shaka Hislop, World Football, World SoccerSubscribe
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Comments
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If we’re going value for money, it’s gotta be Reyna. Do you think maybe Arena will take him with him to whatever Very Important Gig he gets next?
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Amando Guevara
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I have to agree with Denilson. Totally useless, and the biggest waste of the DP spot. It can’t be Beckham if only because this is supposed to be a player that sucked while costing their team lots of money, and Becks paid for himself comfortably with jersey and ticket sales.
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Red Bulls fans voted for Reyna as the team’s least valuable player:
http://soccer-source.blogspot.com/2007/11/reyna-takes-inaugural-rbny-least.html
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I’d say Guevara or Denilson.
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Also, Beckham’s problem was injury. It’s not exactly fair to call someone useless due to injury. My vote goes to Reyna, for the performance-pay disparity.
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Reyna was the motor of the mid-field during some of RBNY’s early win period. Denilson was benched due to suckiness as a DP and left unprotected in the expansion draft. Guevara cost Chivas USA the chance to sign a designated player for FIVE YEARS. Shaka Hislop – should have retired and taken the Howard University coaching job. Tejada was chubby but out quick enough. Reyna is solidly beaten in the uselessness category and I wonder about Dallas’s rate on signing turkeys (but still making the playoffs). Guevara is the only non-Dallas player in with a shout.
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