The Countdown to 1,500 MLS Players

Over the weekend, there were two new MLS debuts. First, San Jose's new designated player, the Brazilian Geovanni came on as a sub in the 1-0 win over the LA Galaxy. Later on that night, once-capped American Sal Zizzo (signed via the beloved weighted lottery) also made a substitute appearance for Chivas in their 1-0 loss to Dallas. Respectively, they were players #1,489 and 1,490. We're only 10 men away from the 1,500th player in league history. This total includes every player to play in a competitive match. It does not count players who were on a roster and never got into a game, or who only played in exhibitions. As you almost certainly don't remember, the 1,000th player in league history was Paul Dalglish of the Houston Dynamo. He first stepped onto the field on September 10th, 2006. The 500th player was Evan Whitfield of the Chicago Fire. He was a substitute against KC on March 25, 2000. We should be able to make it to 1,500 before the year's end, especially now with only half the teams making the playoffs. I'm sure a few of those clubs outside of the chase on the final weekend may give playing time to some bench players. Wouldn't it be fitting to have the milestone player be an academy signing? Closing in on 1,500 1,489 Geovanni SJ 2010-08-21 1,490 Zizzo, Sal CHV 2010-08-21 Players by Year 1996 242 1997 80 1998 93 1999 62 2000 75 2001 62 2002 54 2003 68 2004 63 2005 120 2006 87 2007 113 2008 136 2009 114 2010 121+ Total 1,490