by John Carlton


In terms of quality of play, one aspect of Major League Soccer that has certainly evolved and improved over the years is raw speed. These days, a typical observation made by international players who sign for MLS teams is that the speed of play in the league and among individual players is very fast. What speed existed in the past was often misused by managers who used their speedy forwards to play a dump-and-chase strategy. While that strategy still exists, the speed is now all over the field, with several teams bringing the speed from the wings. Today, MLS center backs need to be athletic and possess good recovery speed, ideally with the ability to turn their hips like NFL cornerbacks.


So who are the fastest players in Major League Soccer? That's the question I put to front office personnel and trainers around the league. Some answered readily, a few were reticent, and a handful cited the league's single-entity structure as a good reason to not openly evaluate guys who might one day be traded or, may be acquired via trade. For the most part, the answers provided a solid consensus among MLS front office folks which players are the league's speed merchants.


Up in New England, the staff is quite comfortable with their team's speed. Said one member of the front office, "Kevin Alston and Sainey Nyassi are not only the two fastest players on the Revs, but probably the fastest in all of MLS." The blazing speed of Nyassi is part of a recent trend in MLS: pacy, mercurial forwards of African lineage poised to become stars if and when they compliment their physical ability with technical prowess and consistently good decision-making.



Kansas City Wizards PR Director Dave Borchardt readily came up with two names synonymous with speed, Michael Harrington and Ryan Smith. Harrington in particular displays tremendous recovery speed at full back and gets up and down the line with alacrity.



Out in the thin air of the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado Rapids have continued to add speed to their roster, most recently the ultra-swift defender, Marvell Wynne. Is Wynne the most rapid Rapid? Colorado's Media Director Jason Gilham sees it this way: "If you went around the locker room and asked all the players, coaches and even fans, their answers would probably split right down the middle between Omar Cummings and Marvell Wynne." Interesting. To my eye, Wynne is the faster straight-line runner, but Cummings certainly runs fluidly and has deceptive speed.



Chivas USA, on the other hand, has no such controversy. "Maykel Galindo is accepted as the fastest guy on our team when he turns on the burners," says Dave Lindholm. Then, almost as an afterthought he adds, "Bornstein has wheels, too."



Dan Barlow, Real Salt Lake's Strength and Conditioning Coach, offered some metrics. According to Barlow, RSL's two fastest players are Robbie Findley and Jamison Olave. Both were timed running 40-yard dashes in the 4.50 range during spring training. I expressed surprise at Olave's speed. John Koluder of RSL's front office countered with this tidbit: "(Olave's) incredibly fast when he wants to be. Our analyst Brian Dunseth interestingly pointed out that you can actually see him find another gear, as he'll do a kind of 'turtle head' movement, sticking his head out before hitting his burst of speed to beat an attacker...quite entertaining to watch. He's one of the top five athletes in our league, hands down."



Down in Texas, where games played in the searing heat of summer calls more for stamina than for speed, there are several very fast players to choose from. At FC Dallas, you have Jeff Cunningham. Te Jamaican-born Cunningham shares his country of origin with current fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt. In Jamaica, competitive running is a national past-time, and is seen as an inexpensive ticket out of poverty. Cunningham's life trajectory was a little different, moving to Florida at the age of fourteen, but it's hard not to see Jamaica's culture of sprinters influencing Cunningham on some level.

Another speedster for FC Dallas is Honduran international Marvin Chavez. Chavez is so fast he is nicknamed "El hijo del viento", or, "Son of the Wind". Chavez has battled injuries in 2010, but is poised to return to the lineup and blow past defenders from either the flank or in an attacking midfield role.



In Houston, there is no question that Dominic Oduro is the fastest player for the Dynamo. Despite his oft-criticized problems with finishing chances, Oduro has made a career in MLS by dint of his sheer sprinter speed. Long, powerful strides take Oduro behind defenders with alarming regularity, even as his touch on the ball continues to improve. Colorado Rapids defender Drew Moor, when he was teammates with Oduro at FC Dallas, related an anecdote about the Ghanaian-born striker. "He asked me if I knew how he got so fast," remembered Moor. "I said I didn't know. He said 'growing up in my country, we had to run from lions'."

In spring 2008, FC Dallas went to the Michael Johnson Performance Center in McKinney, Texas, for speed training. Johnson, an Olympic gold-medal sprinter and current World Record holder in the 400 meter, talks technique with Oduro and critiques the way Oduro uses his arms when running:



Obviously in Los Angeles, you have Landon Donovan. Donovan's speed and stamina are as much a result of hard work and intensive training as they are a product of his physical gifts. On more than one occasion, Donovan has discussed his Kenya theory. "The Kenya runners who always win marathons never jog," he told Outside Magazine in 2006. "They always run at ninety per cent of capacity, teaching their heart and body to endure."



Steve Zakuani plays on the left wing for Seattle Sounders FC, using his speed to sprint toward the byline, or cut inside and race toward the box. He's as tough as any winger in the league to defend, but he could just as easily be terrorizing defenses in a more forward position. "He's almost more dangerous sometimes to run off the ball and get into space," said Freddie Ljungberg, acknowledging the danger presented by Zakuani's raw speed.



Part of the New York Red Bulls early success in 2010 can be attributed to Dane Richards, the diminutive Jamaican-born winger with bags of pace. At only 5'5", Richards routinely torches defenders down the wings. Richards impact as a rookie in 2008 may have spurred Technical Directors and scouts across the league to emphasize looking for pure speed to add to their rosters.



There are many speed merchants making an impact around the league. Patrick Nyarko in Chicago, Boyzzz Khumalo in D.C., Corey Ashe in Houston, Sean Franklin in Los Angeles, Ryan Johnson in San Jose (another Jamaican), and Danny Mwanga in Philadelphia. The influx of speed into the league has created a kind of arms race. As teams stockpile raw speed, they're hoping to train the speedsters into technically sound players whose pace is but one weapon in their arsenal. If the trend continues, Major League Soccer will build a lasting reputation as a "fast league", and that can only help raise its profile further in the coming years.