Here we go - the regular season is over, and now we can look at the official statistics and find out who led the league in 8 different foul categories. As always, I'll be looking at each player's stats per 90 minutes, rather than just raw totals.
Which players will win 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.
But first, a look at the total number of fouls leaguewide in this season and years past:
Total Fouls (1996-2010)
| 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 | 2010 | 5263 | 4843 | 420 | 240 | 21.93 | 20.18 | For the 10th consecutive year, the number of fouls committed is down. As you can see, there was a clear change starting in 2008 and continuing to this day. One note: I got this data by adding up each player's totals from MLSsoccer.com, so that excludes any FC/FS by goalkeepers. Through 2003, those numbers were readily available and thus were included. There were also more fouls called per game in 2000-03 due to overtime.
Now, on the award winners and top tens for each category!
1. Most Fouls Committed
And the winner is...
New York's high-paid, low-scoring Ghanaian forward Salou Ibrahim. He played the fewest minutes (747) of any of the 2010 winners, but he made them count, easily leading his former teammate Mac Kandji.
2010 Top Ten
|
| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | 1 | Salou Ibrahim | NY | 3.133 | 747 | 26 | 2 | Macoumba Kandji | NY/COL | 2.870 | 1129 | 36 | 3 | Alan Gordon | LA/CHV | 2.777 | 1199 | 37 | 4 | Joseph Niouky | NE | 2.697 | 1,068 | 32 | 5 | Martin Saric | TOR | 2.498 | 1,153 | 32 | 6 | Tony Tchani | NY | 2.404 | 1610 | 43 | 7 | Maxim Usanov | TOR | 2.325 | 1,045 | 27 | 8 | Dema Kovalenko | LA | 2.275 | 712 | 18 | 9 | Pablo Hernandez | DC | 2.272 | 1,149 | 29 | 10 | Bratislav Ristic | CHI | 2.211 | 692 | 17 | The first thing that I notice is that 9/10 are foreign. Only Alan Gordon is representing the red, white, and blue. Gordon actually is in the top ten for the 4th time in his career (3rd straight year), which only trails Ben Olsen (5) all time.
You also may be surprised to learn that Kovalenko is making his first top ten appearance. That's right, until 2010 he had never been in the top ten for fouls committed per 90 minutes. Oh, he's been very close a few times, but he's never made it until now. Perfect timing with Paul Gardner just writing an article about his dirty play.
Also notable is the fact that both Ibrahim and Tchani were out for the first playoff game. Will their returns make for a much more physical second leg?
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 | 2010
| Salou Ibrahim
| NY
|
2. Least Fouls Committed
And the winner is...
Earthquakes defender Jason Hernandez, who averaged one foul for every 482 minutes he played. His rate of 0.187 per 90 minutes is the second highest in league history, behind Terry Cooke in 2006 (0.135).
2010 Top Ten
|
| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | 1 | Jason Hernandez | SJ | 0.187 | 2,412 | 5 | 2 | Scott Palguta | COL | 0.321 | 560 | 2 | 3 | Corey Ashe | HOU | 0.327 | 1,650 | 6 | 4 | Robbie Findley | RSL | 0.332 | 1,355 | 5 | 5 | Santino Quaranta | DC | 0.347 | 2,331 | 9 | 6 | Mike Banner | CHI | 0.353 | 1,019 | 4 | 7 | Sebastien Le Toux | PHI | 0.357 | 2,520 | 10 | 8 | Kosuke Kimura | COL | 0.373 | 1,931 | 8 | 9 | Robbie Russell | RSL | 0.376 | 1,915 | 8 | 10 | Richard Mulrooney | HOU | 0.377 | 1,671 | 7 | Le Toux/Mulrooney are making their second top tens. Le Toux was nominated for the fair play award, along with C.J. Brown and Chris Wondolowski. In the last four years, somebody from the top ten in this category has been the winner.
Also interesting to see Findley ranked so high.
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 | 2010
| Jason Hernandez
| SJ
|
3. Most Fouls Suffered
And the winner is...
Real Salt Lake's Javier Morales, more infamous this week for committing fouls rather than suffering them. While he may be suspended this weekend for the second leg against Dallas, his likely replacement Andy Williams has actually ranked in the top ten in this category an all time best 7 times (along with Alejandro Moreno).
2010 Top Ten
|
| Team | Per 90 | Min | FS | 1 | Javier Morales | RSL | 3.162 | 2,163 | 76 | 2 | Pablo Hernandez | DC | 2.820 | 1,149 | 36 | 3 | Kenny Mansally | NE | 2.813 | 928 | 29 | 4 | David Ferreira | DAL | 2.801 | 2,699 | 84 | 5 | Freddie Ljungberg | SEA/CHI | 2.701 | 2,432 | 73 | 6 | Joseph Ngwenya | HOU | 2.598 | 589 | 17 | 7 | Brian McBride | CHI | 2.469 | 1,604 | 44 | 8 | Alejandro Moreno | PHI | 2.416 | 1,974 | 53 | 9 | Emilio Renteria | CLB | 2.310 | 857 | 22 | 10 | Fredy Montero | SEA | 2.295 | 2,353 | 60 | Like I said, Moreno has a long time history of dominating this category (and some would say diving). However, a lot of the other players here have been highly ranked before. Ljungberg/Mansally/Montero/Ngwenya are making a second appearance (as is Morales), while McBride makes his third. So only 3/10 haven't been made this top ten before.
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 | 2010
| Javier Morales
| RSL
|
4. Least Fouls Suffered
And the winner is...
The only returning winner from 2009, Kansas City's returning center back Shavar Thomas. He played almost the same amount of minutes this year as last (1,432 vs 1,459), and doubled his fouls suffered...from 1 to 2.
2010 Top Ten
|
| Team | Per 90 | Min | FS | 1 | Shavar Thomas | PHI/KC | 0.126 | 1432 | 2 | 2 | Mista | TOR | 0.165 | 544 | 1 | 3 | Ike Opara | SJ | 0.197 | 914 | 2 | 4 | Bobby Boswell | HOU | 0.198 | 2277 | 5 | 5 | Tim Ream | NY | 0.200 | 2700 | 6 | 6 | Carlos Mendes | NY | 0.202 | 1785 | 4 | 7 | Jason Garey | CLB | 0.230 | 784 | 2 | 8 | Jason Hernandez | SJ | 0.261 | 2412 | 7 | 9 | Shaun Francis | CLB | 0.272 | 993 | 3 | 10 | Roy Miller | NY | 0.277 | 1948 | 6 | Look at the totals for all the NY defenders. That jumps out at me, as well as the low totals for rookies Ream/Opara/Francis. And Mista, I think a goalscorer is supposed to draw a few more fouls than that.
Boswell/Thomas make their third top tens, and Hernandez/Mendes make their second. For Hernandez, this comes after winning the award for fewest fouls committed above.
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 | 2010
| Shavar Thomas
| PHI/KC
|
5. Most FC Compared to FS
And the winner is...
A player who was waived midseason: New England's Joseph Niouky. He ranked 4th in fouls committed, and wins the award here. That now makes four straight winners of this award who didn't be returning to their club the next season.
2010 Top Ten
|
| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | FS | FC | FS | 1 | Joseph Niouky | NE | 1.938 | 1068 | 32 | 9 | 2.70 | 0.76 | 2 | Martin Saric | TOR | 1.795 | 1153 | 32 | 9 | 2.50 | 0.70 | 3 | Maxim Usanov | TOR | 1.636 | 1045 | 27 | 8 | 2.33 | 0.69 | 4 | Shaun Francis | CLB | 1.450 | 993 | 19 | 3 | 1.72 | 0.27 | 5 | Alan Gordon | LA/CHV | 1.426 | 1199 | 37 | 18 | 2.78 | 1.35 | 6 | Jovan Kirovski | LA | 1.352 | 932 | 20 | 6 | 1.93 | 0.58 | 7 | Salou Ibrahim | NY | 1.325 | 747 | 26 | 15 | 3.13 | 1.81 | 8 | Macoumba Kandji | NY/COL | 1.275 | 1129 | 36 | 20 | 2.87 | 1.59 | 9 | Wilman Conde | CHI | 1.204 | 2019 | 41 | 14 | 1.83 | 0.62 | 10 | Julius James | DC | 1.177 | 1682 | 38 | 16 | 2.03 | 0.86 | Gordon makes his 3rd top ten, while Conde/James/Kirovski make their second.
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 | 2010
| Joseph Niouky
| NE
|
6. Most FS Compared to FC
And the winner is...
Retiring US soccer legend Brian McBride. He's the 4th straight Chicago Fire player to win this award, after three straight years of Cuauhtemoc Blanco taking it. This is McBride's second victory in this category, after 2002.
2010 Top Ten
|
| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | FS | FC | FS | 1 | Brian McBride | CHI | -1.908 | 1604 | 10 | 44 | 0.56 | 2.47 | 2 | Javier Morales | RSL | -1.706 | 2163 | 35 | 76 | 1.46 | 3.16 | 3 | David Ferreira | DAL | -1.667 | 2699 | 34 | 84 | 1.13 | 2.80 | 4 | Jaime Moreno | DC | -1.591 | 905 | 7 | 23 | 0.70 | 2.29 | 5 | Freddie Ljungberg | SEA/CHI | -1.554 | 2432 | 31 | 73 | 1.15 | 2.70 | 6 | Corey Ashe | HOU | -1.473 | 1650 | 6 | 33 | 0.33 | 1.80 | 7 | Guillermo Barros Schelotto | CLB | -1.379 | 2545 | 14 | 53 | 0.50 | 1.87 | 8 | Ryan Smith | KC | -1.326 | 2104 | 15 | 46 | 0.64 | 1.97 | 9 | Nathan Sturgis | SEA | -1.214 | 1483 | 11 | 31 | 0.67 | 1.88 | 10 | Robbie Findley | RSL | -1.196 | 1355 | 5 | 23 | 0.33 | 1.53 | I wouldn't have guessed Sturgis here at the beginning of the season.
A lot of players have made this top ten their home:
McBride - 8 times Moreno - 5 times Schelotto - 3 times Ferreira/Ljungberg/Morales - 2 times
McBride's 8 top tens in this category are tied for the record in any of them, along with Andy Williams in the next award, Most FC + FS.
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 | 2010
| Brian McBride
| CHI
|
7. Most FC + FS
And the winner is...
DC United's Argentine import Pablo Hernandez. Hey, now we can say that DC won something this year. He ranked second in fouls suffered, and just outside the top ten in fouls committed.
2010 Top Ten
|
| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | FS | FC | FS | 1 | Pablo Hernandez | DC | 5.091 | 1149 | 29 | 36 | 2.27 | 2.82 | 2 | Salou Ibrahim | NY | 4.940 | 747 | 26 | 15 | 3.13 | 1.81 | 3 | Kenny Mansally | NE | 4.752 | 928 | 20 | 29 | 1.94 | 2.81 | 4 | Joseph Ngwenya | HOU | 4.737 | 589 | 14 | 17 | 2.14 | 2.60 | 5 | Javier Morales | RSL | 4.619 | 2163 | 35 | 76 | 1.46 | 3.16 | 6 | Macoumba Kandji | NY/COL | 4.464 | 1129 | 36 | 20 | 2.87 | 1.59 | 7 | Dema Kovalenko | LA | 4.298 | 712 | 18 | 16 | 2.28 | 2.02 | 8 | Emilio Renteria | CLB | 4.201 | 857 | 18 | 22 | 1.89 | 2.31 | 9 | Alan Gordon | LA/CHV | 4.128 | 1199 | 37 | 18 | 2.78 | 1.35 | 10 | Steven Lenhart | CLB | 4.006 | 1640 | 38 | 35 | 2.09 | 1.92 | All the usual battlers are here, it seems. Six players make their second top ten - Gordon/Kandji/Kovalenko/Lenhart/Mansally/Ngwenya. Last year's winner (and FC vs FS winner) Quincy Amarikwa didn't play enough minutes to qualify, but he certainly was on pace to win again (6.98 per 90).
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 | 2010
| Pablo Hernandez
| DC
|
8. Least FC + FS
And the winner is...
It shouldn't be a surprise if you've read this far. He made the top ten for the least amount in both categories. It's double award winner Jason Hernandez of San Jose. It's also the lowest mark in league history. In fact, the top four here are all in the top ten all time.
2010 Top Ten
|
| Team | Per 90 | Min | FC | FS | FC | FS | 1 | Jason Hernandez | SJ | 0.448 | 2412 | 5 | 7 | 0.19 | 0.26 | 2 | Tim Ream | NY | 0.633 | 2700 | 13 | 6 | 0.43 | 0.20 | 3 | Scott Palguta | COL | 0.643 | 560 | 2 | 2 | 0.32 | 0.32 | 4 | Darrius Barnes | NE | 0.700 | 1800 | 8 | 6 | 0.40 | 0.30 | 5 | Robbie Russell | RSL | 0.752 | 1915 | 8 | 8 | 0.38 | 0.38 | 6 | Shavar Thomas | PHI/KC | 0.754 | 1432 | 10 | 2 | 0.63 | 0.13 | 7 | C.J. Brown | CHI | 0.769 | 2340 | 12 | 8 | 0.46 | 0.31 | 8 | Bobby Boswell | HOU | 0.830 | 2277 | 16 | 5 | 0.63 | 0.20 | 9 | Eric Alexander | DAL | 0.854 | 1054 | 6 | 4 | 0.51 | 0.34 | 10 | Michael Stephens | LA | 0.908 | 1884 | 13 | 6 | 0.62 | 0.29 | The previous winner and record holder, Sam Cronin, wasn't even in the top third of eligible players.
Multiple top tens in this category: Barnes/Hernandez/Palguta with two.
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 | 2010
| Jason Hernandez
| SJ
|
Further Reading
Labels: brian mcbride, foul awards, fouls, Jason Hernandez, Javier Morales, Joseph Niouky, Pablo Hernandez, Salou Ibrahim, shavar thomas |
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