During the MLS preseason, ESPN conducted a poll among the 104 league’s players in order to find out who are the most overrated and underrated players in Major League Soccer among other things. As it turns out, LA Galaxy’s forward Giovani dos Santos is the most overrated player in the league, while Montreal Impact’s midfielder Ignacio Piatti is the most underrated.
The 28-year-old dos Santos received 11 percent of the votes, edging out Toronto FC and USMNT midfielder Michael Bradley, who had 10 percent of all votes. The list also contains several other USMNT members like Jozy Altidore (7 percent), Paul Arriola (6 percent), and Tim Howard (4 percent).
Giovani dos Santos is entering his fourth year in the league, having played 67 games for Galaxy and scoring 24 goals in the process.
“He’s a good player, but I think American media overhype him based on his past experience with Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur instead of his MLS performances,” – one player said of Dos Santos. “I think he’s a player who sells a lot of tickets for the Galaxy because of the large Mexican community in L.A., but I don’t think he has the same impact on the league as players like David Villa and Sebastian Giovinco.“
The 33-year-old Ignacio Piatti, who recorded 17 goals and six assists for Impact in the last season, was named the most underrated player ahead of Seattle’s Cristian Roldan and Columbus’ Wil Trapp.
“I think he’s a top-five player in the league.” – said one player about Piatti.
The MLS players voted about their toughest individual opponents with Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco and NYCFC’s David Villa emerging at the top, each of them having 10 percent of the votes.
