Is MLS the league of the No. 10?
The latest episode of Offside with Taylor Twellman delves into how the importance of the position has shifted on the global stage, and how that's paved the way for MLS to become a league where classic No. 10s survive and thrive. The impetus for the discussion, Twellman said, was a comment made by Apple TV analyst Sacha Kljestan.
"Listen, if your starting No. 10, whether you're paying him $8 million or $800,000, and he's getting you five goals and five assists, that's not good enough in MLS," said Kljestan. "This is the league of the number 10."
Twellman spoke to several of the league's best at the position: Nashville SC's Hany Mukhtar, Colorado Rapids' Djordje Mihailovic and Portland Timbers' Evander.
According to Mukhtar, MLS's increased emphasis on the position is part of what led him stateside.
"I think like two, three years into my career, being a professional soccer player, a lot of teams started to not play with the No. 10," Mukhtar told Twellman.
"... That was also a big reason why I ended up here in MLS, because to this day you still have a lot of No. 10s."
Will that trend continue? Or will MLS eventually follow the blueprints of leagues around the world that have eschewed building around classic 10s in favor of different tactical set-ups?
Twellman poses that question to Kljestan, Jeff Rueter of The Athletic and MLS legend Marco Etcheverry, leading to differing viewpoints.
"We should always have the star No. 10s. These are the guys that should fill seats in the stadium," Kljestan said. "They should be the guys that you tune in to watch every week. And then these should be the guys that are leading the All-Star game, leading the MVP race every season. It's the most important position. Of course, putting the ball in the back of the net gets all the glory, but the game runs through the No. 10 and I love it."
