How are you doing? Healthy and somewhat sane, I hope. These are strange, anxious times. I don’t mean to scare you, but COVID-19 can affect you and yours. It happened to me. Do what you must to protect yourself and your community.
That’s important and urgent, but it’s also exhausting. We need diversions, something to keep our anxious minds quiet. I’m desperate to think about or talk about soccer. I miss it. And because we all miss it, Extratime driven by Continental is filling the live-match void by naming our Mount Rushmore for every single MLS team over the coming weeks.
On Thursday we added Atlanta United, Real Salt Lake and the Vancouver Whitecaps to the list that includes LAFC, the LA Galaxy, D.C. United, Toronto FC and the Houston Dynamo. You can listen to the latest discussions on Thursday's Extratime via the player below or, better yet, subscribe to the podcast on your favorite platform via these links (iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Music) so you don’t miss a show.
Some decisions were easy. Others were agonizing. Feel free to disagree and @ us or drop your choices in the comment sections. Before you get all riled up, please keep in mind that we did not include coaches or executives in the discussion. They’re honored in other ways. Mount Rushmore* is for players ONLY.
Alright, let’s get to it. We’ll be announcing the next clubs to get the pantheon treatment on Extratime’s Twitter account!
*I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the history of Mount Rushmore is, like much of human history, problematic. You can read about why here (and in many other reputable sources).
Atlanta United
Josef Martinez
He’s the soul of the club, and I hope the sculptor is already working on Martinez’s signature scowl. Imagine this 60-foot tall bust staring down at you from above ...
Playing angry works for Martinez: 77 MLS goals in 84 games played, 2018 Landon Donovan MLS MVP. He will turn 27 in May. The Venezuelan’s recent knee surgery went well, per the club, and he’s already on the mend. If he plays five more seasons in MLS, I can’t see how he won’t be the league’s all-time leading scorer (if that comes to pass, the Five Stripes will have many more trophies in the cabinet, too).
And if, for whatever reason, none of that comes to pass, Josef would still be here. He, more than any other player, represents Atlanta United.
Miguel Almiron
Almiron is a close second, the smiling half of Atlanta United’s Dragon Ball Z-inspired fusion celebration. Two years, two Best XI selections for the Paraguayan, arguably the best individual player in MLS in 2018. So good that Newcastle United broke their transfer record to sign him a year ago. Like Martinez, there’s a bond between Almiron and the supporters and the city that can never be broken. Atlanta’s history is his history.
Michael Parkhurst
Here’s where it starts getting tricky. The list of potentially deserving names is long: Parkhurst, Brad Guzan, Julian Gressel, Leandro Gonzalez-Pirez, Tito Villalba, maybe a Miles Robinson futures play.
We went with the first-ever club captain, whose timely tackle created the MLS Cup game-winning goal. Atlanta might have won another one, too, had Parkhurst’s dislocated shoulder not thrown off the conclusion to his long and storied career in 2019. No matter how it ended, he led the club to three trophies in three years and retired in the colors.
Brad Guzan
This was the great debate. Matt Doyle argued, despite the trade this offseason, that this spot ought to belong to Gressel, who grew into a foundational piece on and off the field in Atlanta. He didn’t want to move, after all.
What tipped the scales was Guzan’s past, present and, crucially, future with the Five Stripes. He’s absolutely deserving based on only what he’s already done between the posts and how he’s represented the community upon his return to MLS, but we calculated that his future contributions would make this feel like the correct choice down the line.
Real Salt Lake
Kyle Beckerman
The first three names write themselves, starting with Beckerman. You can argue that the trade that brought the defensive midfielder to RSL was the move that began the club’s transition from expansion side to bonafide contender. It took him less than a year to become captain and he’s been there ever since, for every win, every trophy and every big moment in club history. The dreads (immortalized in stone). The diamond. The CCL final run. The World Cup star turn.
Nick Rimando
Everything I said about Beckerman applies to Rimando, too. He spent 13 years (2007-2019) as the club’s starting goalkeeper. Nobody has played in more MLS regular-season games (514), and the only player who is close enough to catch him is Beckerman (488, all-time record for field players). He never won an MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award, but he might be the choice for an all-time MLS XI. As a distributor and shot-stopper, he may have no equal in this league.
Javier Morales
I encourage you to listen to the section of our Extratime interview with Nat Borchers (available below), who explains why Morales is the best No. 10 he’s ever played with, including Diego Valeri. Javi Mo was a two-way player, terror in transition, dead-ball artist and perennial MVP candidate. RSL’s diamond worked because they had Morales at the point. He made his home in Utah and he helped make the club one of the best in the league from 2009-2014.
Jamison Olave
On the pod, Borchers argued this spot belongs to Tony Beltran. That’d be a fine choice. Beltran is one of the most underappreciated outside backs in MLS history, spent his whole career in Utah and still works for the club. He was there for all the big moments. You can also make a compelling case for Jason Kreis, Borchers, Brian Dunseth, Andy Williams, Chris Wingert and Alvaro Saborio.
We settled on Jamison Olave to fill out the Claret-and-Cobalt pantheon. Why? Because RSL’s glory years aren’t the same without one of the most feared defenders in MLS history. Olave was an absolute beast, a combination of size, strength, speed and fearlessness that made him a Best XI player and the 2010 Defender of the Year. The Colombian also gets bonus points for coaching the Real Monarchs to a USL Championship.
Vancouver Whitecaps*
*We limited consideration to the club’s MLS history.
Alphonso Davies
His time with the first team was short, but you can’t punish Davies for his brilliance. Academy player turned teenage star turned Canadian international turned record transfer to Bayern Munich turned one of the best left backs in the world. Davies is the most talented, memorable player in ‘Caps history, and he’s one of their own!
Jordan Harvey
The left back arrived in Vancouver halfway through their first MLS season and stayed for seven years and 199 appearances, the most in club history. He won a Canadian Championship, played on four playoff teams and helped the ‘Caps to the Concacaf Champions League semifinals.
Jay DeMerit
The past is a little murky now, but DeMerit was the first signing and first captain in Vancouver’s MLS history. He joined the club on the back of the US men’s national team’s run in the 2010 World Cup. He was a Premier League player with a big personality, on and off the field, and started 53 games for the club in their first two seasons before injuries ended his career two years later. He married a Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist. He still resides in the area. And he’s a club legend, even if the results weren’t always legendary.
Russell Teibert
We put this to a vote. The Homegrown midfielder, Canadian international and soon-to-be club appearances leader who’s been there since the MLS era began won the vote, as it should be.
We've got another fan vote! The guys couldn't decide who should complete the @WhitecapsFC Mount Rushmore, so we're leaving it up to you, 'Caps fans. Who should round out the club's @Extratime Mount Rushmore?"
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Carlos Vela
Might as well just carve Vela’s face in the granite four times. He is LAFC’s Lionel Messi, no exaggeration. There’s a ho-hum, this-is-just-what-I-do absurdity to 52 goals and 30 assists in 64 games. It’s not fair. Vela is the sun, and the Black and Gold universe revolves around him. No wonder they couldn’t possibly part with him, even for a four-month loan spell at Barcelona.
Diego Rossi
Vela’s blinding brilliance can sometimes obscure what the 22-year-old Uruguayan’s accomplished in his first two MLS seasons. No shame in being the second-leading scorer in club history (30 goals, 18 assists in 71 games). No shame in eventually moving on, either. That’ll be part of Rossi’s legacy in Los Angeles. He came, he saw, he scored goals and, eventually, he will be sold for big bucks that will be reinvested into the club.
Eduard Atuesta
LAFC’s history is brief, so any player who is Best in Show at their respective position ought to be on the club’s Mount Rushmore. Atuesta was the best defensive midfielder in MLS in 2019. Like Rossi, he’ll almost certainly be part of the foundational generation of South America prospects who establish the club as a pathway to trophies in MLS and future transfers to Europe.
Mark-Anthony Kaye
Here’s where it got a little harder for us. Latif Blessing was in the running. So was Zimmerman despite the preseason trade to Nashville SC. Eddie Segura is a good bet for future consideration. We went with Kaye because of what he represents: a previously undervalued player who developed into an all-league performer under Bob Bradley’s guidance. Personality matters, too. The Canadian international often serves as an emotional barometer on the field, good or bad.
LA Galaxy
There were three no-doubt choices for us, and then it got tricky ...
Cobi Jones
When you play a record 392 games for your hometown club, sit third on the all-time goalscoring chart (82) behind only Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane and win two MLS Cups, two Supporters’ Shields and two US Open Cups, your face lives on forever in rock. Jones and the Galaxy was the perfect marriage for player and club from the time MLS first kicked a ball in 1997 until 2007. He had personality, he was a US men’s national team star and he is one of the Galaxy’s own.
Landon Donovan
I feel like I’d be wasting my breath making the case. If you don’t already know, fire up Google and do the research. Let’s just make sure the bust looks good and call it a day. #LegenD
Robbie Keane
Keane was the swaggering scalpel for some of the best teams in MLS history. I say scalpel because he was so precise in the way he carved up, well, basically everyone. The goals, the assists, the somersaults, they all felt inevitable during those big-three Galaxy years. Until Josef Martinez arrived, Keane was arguably the most lethal scorer in the history of the league (.69 goals per 90). This spot is a battle between Keane and Carlos Ruiz, in my opinion, and the Irishman’s run was longer and more decorated.
David Beckham
This is where it got a little contentious. Charlie Davies couldn’t fathom putting any other face but Beckham’s on the Galaxy Rushmore. I couldn’t see how it could be anyone other than Mauricio Cienfuegos joining Jones, Donovan and Keane. So we put it to a vote, which I now realize was a mistake. Nobody is gonna win a Twitter popularity contest against the most famous soccer player of all-time.
We need an @LAGalaxy Mount Rushmore tiebreaker!
We've got @cobijones, @landondonovan and Robbie Keane chiseled in stone, but no consensus on the fourth spot...@andrew_wiebe says it's gotta be Mauricio Cienfuegos, while @CharlieDavies9 has David Beckham
What say you?
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For what it is worth, I absolutely get the case for Beckham. His presence alone elevated the Galaxy and MLS to another stratosphere, and he won two MLS Cups. Keane probably doesn’t end up in Los Angeles without Beckham. I’d argue the Englishman belongs on the MLS Mount Rushmore, but another face from an earlier iteration of the Galaxy ought to be on the club’s slab of rock ...
Honorable Mention: Mauricio Cienfuegos
For me, alongside Jones, Cienfuegos represents the soul of the club. I say give the man the respect he deserves and immortalize his contributions. The Salvadorian’s resume is impeccable, if largely overlooked by recent arrivals to MLS fandom. Well, let’s celebrate our history. Three Best XIs, one US Open Cup, two Shields and the 2002 MLS Cup that finally got the previous almost-but-not-quite Galaxy over the championship hump. Ask old school LA supporters. They’ll tell you.
D.C. United
Jaime Moreno
D.C. United are not D.C. United without their Bolivian talisman. He’s the club leader in games (329), goals (131) and assists (102), one of only two MLS players to hit the century mark for both goals and assists. More importantly to this exercise, Moreno was the ever-present face of D.C. (well, apart from that short stint with the MetroStars) for 12 of the 13 trophies in club history. Legend personified.
Marco Etcheverry
"El Diablo" is the best player in D.C. United history — in my opinion, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone close to the club who disagrees — and arguably the most talented No. 10 in league history. From 1996 to 1999, the Bolivian was absolutely absurd (21 G, 66 A in the regular season and 3 G, 13 A in the playoffs) as the club won three MLS Cups, two Supporters’ Shields, a US Open Cup and the Concacaf Champions Cup as well as Copa Interamericana.
Eddie Pope
At his peak, Pope might have been the best defender in MLS history. I only say “might” because I don’t really feel like litigating the all-time list right now. It doesn’t matter. He was that good. Go back and watch the tape, both with D.C. United and the US men’s national team. Injuries disrupted his career at times, but he scored trophy-winning goals and stopped them on the other end of the field.
Ben Olsen
Choosing a fourth for D.C. was an impossible task. We went with Olsen after much discussion because of, at this point, his lifetime of service, both as a player and a coach. He lives and raises his family in the District. He’s Black & Red through and through, even if the supporters haven’t always been in love with his methods on the sidelines. Other candidates: Christian Gomez, Raul Diaz Arce, Bill Hamid, Jeff Agoos.
Toronto FC
Michael Bradley
There are two distinct on-field eras for Toronto FC: dumpster fire and model, trophy-winning club. Credit to Tim Leiweke and Tim Bezbatchenko for the Bloody Big Deal shift, but none of it would have happened without Bradley taking a chance and making the jump to the True North. The trophies, the all-time seasons, the CCL run speak for themselves, but it’s the words of the supporters that truly express his place in club history: Your city. Your legacy. Our captain forever.
Sebastian Giovinco
Until Carlos Vela showed up, no player in MLS history could sniff the Atomic Ant’s single-season brilliance. He changed the league in 2015, no exaggeration. Bradley was the rudder of the ship, but Giovinco was the wind in the sails as Toronto FC transformed themselves and made history by winning the treble in 2017 then nearly making CCL history the next spring. That free kick against Tigres ... still one of my favorite MLS moments ever!
Jozy Altidore
Quick, who was Toronto FC’s most impactful player during that 2017 MLS Cup run? You can probably guess who I think it was. Injuries have sometimes kept Altidore from being at his unplayable best up north, but there’s no doubt he’s one of the three central figures that transformed the club and finally made Toronto winners in MLS. He can be a divisive figure, but there’s no doubt Altidore’s face ought to be carved in stone for the Reds.
Jonathan Osorio
In the words of Matt Doyle, “Nobody from the era of losing can be considered.” Osorio straddles the divide, but you can’t count it against him. The Pride of Brampton was Extratime’s choice — over Dwayne De Rosario, Maurice Edu, Danny Dichio, Terry Dunfield and Jim Brennan — because of what he represents: the city and the club at the deepest level. You’ve got to have a Canadian here, and Osorio is already the all-time appearance leader, with some massive goals in big moments to remember as well.
Houston Dynamo
Brian Ching
We let Calen Carr lead all Dynamo decisions — it only seemed fair – and The Big Kahuna was the first name he added to the list. Ching was more than just a scorer. He was a facilitator. A tone-setter. A security blanket. A big-game player. He’s also still in Houston, the same rock in the community that he was during his playing days (two MLS Cup wins, two runners-up). As a player and as a man, he’s a shoo-in here.
Dwayne De Rosario
Two MLS Cups in back-to-back years immediately upon moving to Houston. That doesn’t happen for the Dynamo without DeRo, MLS Best XI in both of the 2006 and 2007 championship seasons. He was an icon, both for the golazos and the celebrations that inevitably followed. You could argue for De Rosario’s inclusion on San Jose's and Toronto’s Mount Rushmore, but you can’t argue with the collective results in Houston, where he was unquestionably the club’s best player at their peak.
Brad Davis
Davis is destined to be underappreciated, just like Steve Ralston before him, despite being third all-time in MLS assists. He was much more than a cultured left foot, though that’s what jumps to mind for many. An important member of the MLS Cup-winning teams, he took on more responsibility following DeRo’s departure and was a regular All-Star and 2011 MVP candidate in the years that followed. He’s a big reason the Dynamo were at the top of the league for years.
Ricardo Clark
Stu Holden. Eddie Robinson. Pat Onstad. Geoff Cameron. Bobby Boswell. Wade Barrett. Boniek Garcia. There are lots of names that deserve a shout, but we picked Ricardo Clark, who was there for almost all the good years — a European move broke up his run in Houston – and some lean ones, too. Like Davis, he’s destined to be underappreciated in a league-wide sense, but never in Houston.
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