Ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of the year again. The regular season is over, so now we can look at the official numbers for fouls committed and fouls suffered and put them in the context of "per 90 minutes" rather than just raw totals. Which players will lead in the eight categories below?
1. Most Fouls Committed 2. Least Fouls Committed 3. Most Fouls Suffered 4. Least Fouls Suffered 5. Most FC Compared to FS 6. Most FS Compared to FC 7. Most FC + FS 8. Least FC + FS
Rules:
- Players must have played 20% of the season, in minutes. This year, that was 540 out of 2700.
- Field players only, no goalkeepers.
Total Fouls (1996-2009):
| FC | FS | Diff | Games | FC | FS | 1996 | 4432 | 4386 | 46 | 160 | 27.70 | 27.41 | 1997 | 4583 | 4579 | 4 | 160 | 28.64 | 28.62 | 1998 | 5402 | 5132 | 270 | 192 | 28.14 | 26.73 | 1999 | 5551 | 5285 | 266 | 192 | 28.91 | 27.53 | 2000 | 6489 | 6236 | 253 | 192 | 33.80 | 32.48 | 2001 | 5211 | 4966 | 245 | 158 | 32.98 | 31.43 | 2002 | 4559 | 4364 | 195 | 140 | 32.56 | 31.17 | 2003 | 4836 | 4584 | 252 | 150 | 32.24 | 30.56 | 2004 | 4573 | 4348 | 225 | 150 | 30.49 | 28.99 | 2005 | 5670 | 5432 | 238 | 192 | 29.53 | 28.29 | 2006 | 5573 | 5297 | 276 | 192 | 29.03 | 27.59 | 2007 | 5524 | 5232 | 292 | 195 | 28.33 | 26.83 | 2008 | 5211 | 4880 | 331 | 210 | 24.81 | 23.24 | 2009 | 5146 | 4729 | 417 | 225 | 22.87 | 21.02 | As you can see, this year and last the number of fouls called is way down. Refs have been instructed to not interrupt the flow of the game as much, for better or worse. That explains the Seattle-Houston game last week, huh?
Why the difference in FC and FS? First of all, stats for goalkeepers haven't been listed since 2004. That would only make up a couple dozen fouls, though. I can only assume it's due to handballs.
Also, remember for this table that the average length of a game in 2000-3 was a bit longer due to OT. Now, on to the awards.
1. Most Fouls Committed
And the winner is...
Rookie forward Quincy Amarikwa of the San Jose Earthquakes. Would you have guessed that he commits the most fouls per 90 minutes? The last two recipients of this award were not in the league the next year; I think he'll break that streak.
2009 Top Ten
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| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | 1 | Quincy Amarikwa | SJ | 3.588 | 602 | 24 | 2 | Alan Gordon | LA | 2.911 | 1175 | 38 | 3 | Steven Lenhart | CLB | 2.789 | 1065 | 33 | 4 | Conor Casey | COL | 2.674 | 2087 | 62 | 5 | Eduardo Lillingston | CHV | 2.637 | 1263 | 37 | 6 | Edson Buddle | LA | 2.582 | 1255 | 36 | 7 | Pablo Campos | SJ/RSL | 2.582 | 1011 | 29 | 8 | Ben Olsen | DC | 2.363 | 1371 | 36 | 9 | Marcelo Saragosa | DAL/CHV | 2.335 | 1272 | 33 | 10 | Cam Weaver | SJ/HOU | 2.332 | 772 | 20 | Gordon's name should be no surprise - this is his third time in the top ten (2006, 2008). Same thing for Olsen and Saragosa, grizzled veterans of the fouls committed category. They're here for the 5th and 4th times respectively.
All Time Winners
1996 | Jose Vasquez | LA | 1997 | Paul Keegan | NE | 1998 | Paul Keegan | NE | 1999 | Paulo Dos Santos | NE | 2000 | Matt Okoh | COL | 2001 | Matt Okoh | NE | 2002 | Raul Palacios | COL | 2003 | Carlos Ruiz | LA | 2004 | Jesse Marsch | CHI | 2005 | Brian Ching | SJ | 2006 | Marcelo Saragosa | LA/DAL | 2007 | Roberto Brown | COL | 2008 | Rod Dyachenko | DC | 2009 | Quincy Amarikwa | SJ |
2. Least Fouls Committed
And the winner is...
The two-time winner of the MLS Fair Play Award, New England's Steve Ralston. This is his 4th top ten appearance in this category. Ralston should probably thank Rapids coach Gary Smith in his acceptance speech. Smith released the three-time defending champion, Terry Cooke. Cooke was on pace for a top ten appearance, but didn't have enough minutes to qualify. Who knows if he could've won again?
2009 Top Ten
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| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | 1 | Steve Ralston | NE | 0.233 | 1543 | 4 | 2 | Jacob Peterson | COL | 0.239 | 1131 | 3 | 3 | Justin Mapp | CHI | 0.267 | 1013 | 3 | 4 | Eric Denton | SJ | 0.336 | 803 | 3 | 5 | Richard Mulrooney | HOU | 0.357 | 1260 | 5 | 6 | Steve Zakuani | SEA | 0.406 | 1993 | 9 | 7 | Brian McBride | CHI | 0.413 | 1963 | 9 | 8 | Josh Tudela | LA | 0.424 | 637 | 3 | 9 | Kelly Gray | SJ | 0.427 | 632 | 3 | 10 | Sebastien Le Toux | SEA | 0.432 | 1457 | 7 | Peterson's here for a second straight year in the top ten, while Denton/Gray/McBride also all made their second top tens.
All Time Winners
1996 | Billy Thompson | CLB | 1997 | David Patino | COL | 1998 | Gerell Elliot | DAL | 1999 | Kevin Knight | NY | 2000 | Carlos Valderrama | TB | 2001 | Robert Fraser | COL | 2002 | Richard Farrer | DAL | 2003 | Jesus Ochoa | LA | 2004 | Kelly Gray | CHI | 2005 | Michael Parkhurst | NE | 2006 | Terry Cooke | COL | 2007 | Terry Cooke | COL | 2008 | Terry Cooke | COL | 2009 | Steve Ralston | NE |
3. Most Fouls Suffered
And the winner is...
Seattle Sounders designated player Freddie Ljungberg. This award has now gone to a DP in each season since the rule was passed.
2009 Top Ten
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| Team | Per 90 | Min | FS | 1 | Freddie Ljungberg | SEA | 3.284 | 1836 | 67 | 2 | Fredy Montero | SEA | 2.517 | 2217 | 62 | 3 | Cuauhtemoc Blanco | CHI | 2.417 | 1452 | 39 | 4 | Macoumba Kandji | NY | 2.414 | 1752 | 47 | 5 | Javier Morales | RSL | 2.384 | 2076 | 55 | 6 | Ben Olsen | DC | 2.298 | 1371 | 35 | 7 | Santiago Hirsig | KC | 2.218 | 2110 | 52 | 8 | Pablo Vitti | TOR | 2.182 | 1650 | 40 | 9 | Robbie Rogers | CLB | 2.159 | 1709 | 41 | 10 | Brian Ching | HOU | 2.150 | 1549 | 37 | Blanco's finished in the top three in each of his MLS seasons. Rogers is back for a second consecutive season, while Ching and Olsen make their 4th top tens. Olsen completes a double by being in the top ten for both fouls committed and suffered. That's not exactly rare, however. Adam Cristman, Danny Dichio, and Andrea Lombardo all did it in 2007.
Reigning MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto made the past two top tens in 2007-8. Where is he now? 32nd, right after A.J. DeLaGarza. Alejandro Moreno, who's normally a lock for this top ten, was only 13th. His teammate Steven Lenhart, who started over him in the playoff opener, was right up there at 19th.
All Time Winners
1996 | Giuseppe Galderisi | NE/TB | 1997 | Damian | DAL | 1998 | Diego Serna | MIA | 1999 | Jason Moore | DC | 2000 | DaMarcus Beasley | CHI | 2001 | Onandi Lowe | KC | 2002 | DaMarcus Beasley | CHI | 2003 | Jose Cancela | NE | 2004 | Davy Arnaud | KC | 2005 | Alejandro Moreno | SJ | 2006 | Jose Cancela | NE | 2007 | Cuauhtemoc Blanco | CHI | 2008 | Marcelo Gallardo | DC | 2009 | Freddie Ljungberg | SEA |
4. Least Fouls Suffered
And the winner is...
Chivas USA defender Shavar Thomas has not only won the award, he's also set an all time record. He was only fouled once in 1,459 minutes of playing time; that should be pretty hard to break. Thomas and runner up Sam Cronin both eclipsed Ezra Hendrickson's record which lasted all of one year.
2009 Top Ten
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| Team | Per 90 | Min | FS | 1 | Shavar Thomas | CHV | 0.062 | 1459 | 1 | 2 | Sam Cronin | TOR | 0.076 | 2363 | 2 | 3 | Chris Tierney | NE | 0.172 | 1044 | 2 | 4 | Jim Brennan | TOR | 0.218 | 2478 | 6 | 5 | Simon Elliott | SJ | 0.219 | 1234 | 3 | 6 | Darrius Barnes | NE | 0.233 | 2700 | 7 | 7 | Bobby Burling | CHV/SJ | 0.252 | 713 | 2 | 8 | Scott Palguta | COL | 0.257 | 1749 | 5 | 9 | Josh Tudela | LA | 0.283 | 637 | 2 | 10 | Aaron Pitchkolan | DAL/SJ | 0.285 | 631 | 2 | Thomas also made the top ten in 2003. Brennan and Pitchkolan are here for a second time also.
All Time Winners
1996 | Richard Weiszmann | NE | 1997 | Joey Martinez | DAL | 1998 | Kris Kelderman | MIA | 1999 | Leo Cullen | MIA | 2000 | Brian Johnson | KC | 2001 | Edson Buddle | CLB | 2002 | Zak Ibsen | SJ | 2003 | Daouda Kante | NE | 2004 | Hong Myung-Bo | LA | 2005 | Kenny Cutler | RSL | 2006 | Kelly Gray | HOU | 2007 | Bobby Boswell | DC | 2008 | Ezra Hendrickson | CLB | 2009 | Shavar Thomas | CHV |
5. Most FC Compared to FS
And the winner is...
San Jose's Quincy Amarikwa wins his second award. He committed 2.093 more fouls per 90 minutes than he suffered. For the fourth straight year, the winner of Most FC also wins Most FC compared to FS. You'd think that happens every year, but it actually never happened in the league's first ten seasons.
2009 Top Ten
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| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | FS | FC | FS | 1 | Quincy Amarikwa | SJ | 2.093 | 602 | 24 | 10 | 3.59 | 1.50 | 2 | Rodney Wallace | DC | 1.629 | 2265 | 52 | 11 | 2.07 | 0.44 | 3 | Jovan Kirovski | LA | 1.498 | 1202 | 30 | 10 | 2.25 | 0.75 | 4 | Eduardo Lillingston | CHV | 1.496 | 1263 | 37 | 16 | 2.64 | 1.14 | 5 | Edson Buddle | LA | 1.434 | 1255 | 36 | 16 | 2.58 | 1.15 | 6 | Aaron Pitchkolan | DAL/SJ | 1.426 | 631 | 12 | 2 | 1.71 | 0.29 | 7 | Yamith Cuesta | CHV | 1.374 | 786 | 15 | 3 | 1.72 | 0.34 | 8 | Julius James | HOU/DC | 1.334 | 1214 | 25 | 7 | 1.85 | 0.52 | 9 | Atiba Harris | CHV/DAL | 1.178 | 2139 | 55 | 27 | 2.31 | 1.14 | 10 | Andy Iro | CLB | 1.141 | 631 | 12 | 4 | 1.71 | 0.57 | I know Kirovski gets bashed a lot already, but shouldn't a creative player like him (right?) do better in this category? Second top tens for Harris/Pitchkolan (both 2007).
All Time Winners
1996 | Curt Onalfo | LA | 1997 | Cle Kooiman | TB | 1998 | Cle Kooiman | MIA | 1999 | Geoff Aunger | DC | 2000 | Ricardo Iribarren | DAL | 2001 | Brian Namoff | DC | 2002 | Raul Palacios | COL | 2003 | Diego Walsh | CLB | 2004 | Simo Valakari | DAL | 2005 | Esteban Arias | CHV | 2006 | Marcelo Saragosa | LA/DAL | 2007 | Roberto Brown | COL | 2008 | Rod Dyachenko | DC | 2009 | Quincy Amarikwa | SJ |
6. Most FS Compared to FC
And the winner is...
Three years, three wins in this category for the Chicago Fire's Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who just edges out Ljungberg. The winning number of 1.798 more FS per 90 minutes than FC is by far the lowest #1 total in league history, 26% lower than Blanco's total last year (the previous low #1).
2009 Top Ten
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| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | FS | FC | FS | 1 | Cuauhtemoc Blanco | CHI | -1.798 | 1452 | 10 | 39 | 0.62 | 2.42 | 2 | Freddie Ljungberg | SEA | -1.765 | 1836 | 31 | 67 | 1.52 | 3.28 | 3 | Amaechi Igwe | NE | -1.290 | 628 | 5 | 14 | 0.72 | 2.01 | 4 | Santino Quaranta | DC | -1.272 | 1769 | 15 | 40 | 0.76 | 2.04 | 5 | Justin Mapp | CHI | -1.244 | 1013 | 3 | 17 | 0.27 | 1.51 | 6 | David Ferreira | DAL | -1.170 | 2692 | 23 | 58 | 0.77 | 1.94 | 7 | Brian McBride | CHI | -1.100 | 1963 | 9 | 33 | 0.41 | 1.51 | 8 | Javier Morales | RSL | -1.084 | 2076 | 30 | 55 | 1.30 | 2.38 | 9 | Mike Banner | CHI | -1.051 | 942 | 6 | 17 | 0.57 | 1.62 | 10 | Jair Benitez | DAL | -0.935 | 1155 | 10 | 22 | 0.78 | 1.71 | Look at all the Fire players. Does this mean they're a creative team, or just soft? They did win the team fair play award this year by a wide margin. Mapp (5th) and McBride (7th) make this top ten on what seems like a yearly basis. Also, Igwe...really? He did barely qualify with 628 minutes, so I wonder how a full season would look.
All Time Winners
1996 | Giuseppe Galderisi | NE/TB | 1997 | Damian | DAL | 1998 | Gilmar | TB | 1999 | Jason Moore | DC | 2000 | DaMarcus Beasley | CHI | 2001 | Onandi Lowe | KC | 2002 | Brian McBride | CLB | 2003 | Jose Cancela | NE | 2004 | Jose Cancela | NE | 2005 | Jose Cancela | NE | 2006 | Jose Cancela | NE | 2007 | Cuauhtemoc Blanco | CHI | 2008 | Cuauhtemoc Blanco | CHI | 2009 | Cuauhtemoc Blanco | CHI |
7. Most FC + FS
And the winner is...
San Jose's Quincy Amarikwa is a triple winner. Sure it's a small sample size (602 minutes), barely over the 20% minimum, but rules are rules. The only other player to win three foul awards in a single year was Onandi Lowe of KC in 2001. Lowe played over 1,000 minutes that year and set a record for the highest fouls suffered rate, which is a pretty good accomplishment. The interesting thing will be watching Amarikwa next year and seeing if this holds up.
2009 Top Ten
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| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | FS | FC | FS | 1 | Quincy Amarikwa | SJ | 5.083 | 602 | 24 | 10 | 3.59 | 1.50 | 2 | Alan Gordon | LA | 5.055 | 1175 | 38 | 28 | 2.91 | 2.14 | 3 | Freddie Ljungberg | SEA | 4.804 | 1836 | 31 | 67 | 1.52 | 3.28 | 4 | Steven Lenhart | CLB | 4.732 | 1065 | 33 | 23 | 2.79 | 1.94 | 5 | Ben Olsen | DC | 4.661 | 1371 | 36 | 35 | 2.36 | 2.30 | 6 | Macoumba Kandji | NY | 4.623 | 1752 | 43 | 47 | 2.21 | 2.41 | 7 | Conor Casey | COL | 4.442 | 2087 | 62 | 41 | 2.67 | 1.77 | 8 | Fredy Montero | SEA | 4.425 | 2217 | 47 | 62 | 1.91 | 2.52 | 9 | Pablo Campos | SJ/RSL | 4.362 | 1011 | 29 | 20 | 2.58 | 1.78 | 10 | Cam Weaver | SJ/HOU | 4.080 | 772 | 20 | 15 | 2.33 | 1.75 | Atiba Harris, where have you gone? Alas, the two-time former winner only could finish 27th this year. If the pattern holds, he should again be first in 2010. The only previous top ten finisher is Olsen; it's his 7th top ten here! A warrior for sure.
All Time Winners
1996 | Alberto Naveda | NE | 1997 | Paul Keegan | NE | 1998 | Evans Wise | NE/TB | 1999 | Paulo Dos Santos | NE | 2000 | Diego Serna | MIA | 2001 | Onandi Lowe | KC | 2002 | Alejandro Moreno | LA | 2003 | DaMarcus Beasley | CHI | 2004 | Andy Williams | CHI | 2005 | Brian Ching | SJ | 2006 | Atiba Harris | RSL | 2007 | Andrea Lombardo | TOR | 2008 | Atiba Harris | CHV | 2009 | Quincy Amarikwa | SJ |
8. Least FC + FS
And the winner is...
The second rookie to claim an award, Sam Cronin of Toronto FC. He was second to Shavar Thomas in fouls suffered, but here he's second to none. Like Thomas, he also sets an all time record by being involved in only 0.533 fouls per game either way.
2009 Top Ten
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| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | FS | FC | FS | 1 | Sam Cronin | TOR | 0.533 | 2363 | 12 | 2 | 0.46 | 0.08 | 2 | Josh Tudela | LA | 0.706 | 637 | 3 | 2 | 0.42 | 0.28 | 3 | Jacob Peterson | COL | 0.716 | 1131 | 3 | 6 | 0.24 | 0.48 | 4 | Eric Denton | SJ | 0.785 | 803 | 3 | 4 | 0.34 | 0.45 | 5 | Simon Elliott | SJ | 0.802 | 1234 | 8 | 3 | 0.58 | 0.22 | 6 | Scott Palguta | COL | 0.823 | 1749 | 11 | 5 | 0.57 | 0.26 | 7 | Darrius Barnes | NE | 0.833 | 2700 | 18 | 7 | 0.60 | 0.23 | 8 | Chris Tierney | NE | 0.862 | 1044 | 8 | 2 | 0.69 | 0.17 | 9 | Sean Franklin | LA | 0.880 | 1125 | 7 | 4 | 0.56 | 0.32 | 10 | Bobby Burling | CHV/SJ | 0.884 | 713 | 5 | 2 | 0.63 | 0.25 | Cronin is taking over this award for fellow Wake Forest alumni Michael Parkhurst. Denton makes a second top ten appearance in this category.
All Time Winners
1996 | Frank Yallop | TB | 1997 | David Patino | COL | 1998 | Leo Cullen | MIA | 1999 | Leo Cullen | MIA | 2000 | Eric Denton | DC | 2001 | Leo Cullen | MIA/NE | 2002 | Richard Farrer | DAL | 2003 | Chris Brown | KC/NE | 2004 | Kelly Gray | CHI | 2005 | Clyde Simms | DC | 2006 | Terry Cooke | COL | 2007 | Michael Parkhurst | NE | 2008 | Michael Parkhurst | NE | 2009 | Sam Cronin | TOR |
Further Reading
Labels: Cuauhtemoc Blanco, foul awards, fouls, freddie ljungberg, quincy amarikwa, sam cronin, shavar thomas, steve ralston |
Comments on "MLS Foul Awards 2009"
Shouldn't "Most Fouls Suffered" also be known as "Best Diver"? Look at the rogue's gallery filling much of the alltime list.
awesome work. i always like to know who the thugs are