Climbing the Ladder: The least and most fouled in MLS history

Elijah Miller

New England’s Chris Tierney is best known for serving in accurate crosses from the left flank. While he may be skilled at striking the ball, opponents haven’t been quite as successful at making contact with him. In 2011, he’s been literally untouchable. Check the stats: Tierney has played 749 minutes this season and has yet to be fouled.

How long can he go? MLS history suggests that he doesn’t have much of a chance to last the entire season, as nobody’s finished with more than 540 minutes played and zero fouls suffered. Tierney’s already a couple hundred minutes above that.

Most minutes played with zero fouls suffered, full season

Player	Year	Team	Min
Wade Webber	1999	MIA	540
Pablo Escobar	2010	KC	529
Carlos Borja	2010	CHV	456
O'Brian White	2009	TOR	440

The most impressive season for not being fouled would have to be Shavar Thomas’s 2009 campaign. The Jamaican center back then played for Chivas USA, and he was fouled only once in 1,495 minutes. That’s the fewest fouls suffered per 90 minutes ever, and he followed that up by placing third all time last year.

Fewest fouls suffered per 90 minutes (minimum 1,000 minutes played)


Player	Team	Year	Min.	FS	Per 90
1. Shavar Thomas	CHV	2009	1459	1	0.062
2. Sam Cronin	TOR	2009	2363	2	0.076
3. Shavar Thomas	PHI/KC	2010	1432	2	0.126
4. Kris Kelderman	MIA	1998	1187	2	0.152
5. Zak Ibsen	SJ	2002	1077	2	0.167
6. Chris Tierney	NE	2009	1044	2	0.172
7. Bobby Boswell	DC	2007	1963	4	0.183
8. Bobby Boswell	HOU	2010	2277	5	0.198
9. Tim Ream	NY	2010	2700	6	0.200
10. Carlos Mendes	NY	2010	1785	4	0.202

Tierney’s no stranger to this category, but his chances of returning may be low if he continues to lineup in the midfield rather than on the backline.

If it isn’t obvious from the makeup of this top ten, there have been fewer fouls called in MLS over the last few years. There was a big decline starting in 2008, when the USSF issued a clear directive to increase the flow of the game with less interruption from minor infractions. The total number of fouls went from 28 per game in 2007 to less than 25 in every year since.

2. Gaven most fouled in 2011

Columbus’ Eddie Gaven is the league’s most fouled player so far in 2011 with 39 fouls suffered (2.83 per 90). However, among those who’ve been getting regular playing time, several players have been fouled at a higher rate, including New England’s Benny Feilhaber (3.67), Seattle’s Mauro Rosales (3.55), and former teammate Steven Lenhart (3.23) of San Jose. But all three have a long way to go to rank among the highest of all time:

Most fouls suffered per 90 minutes


Player	Team	Year	Min.	FS	Per 90
1. Onandi Lowe	KC	2001	1034	60	5.222
2. Jose Cancela	NE	2003	1142	64	5.044
3.Cuauhtémoc Blanco	CHI	2007	1233	61	4.453
4. DaMarcus Beasley	CHI	2003	1969	96	4.388
5. Jose Cancela	NE	2006	1387	67	4.348
6. DaMarcus Beasley	CHI	2002	1719	83	4.346
7. Andy Williams	NE/NY	2002	1814	86	4.267
8. Alejandro Moreno	SJ	2005	2167	102	4.236
9. Jaime Moreno	DC	2001	1888	87	4.147
10. Guiseppe Galderisi	NE/TB	1996	1961	89	4.085

Another category, and another Jamaican in first. Lowe was signed in mid-2001, was a bright spot for a struggling Wizards team, and then was sold in the offseason. Moreno and Williams are the only players listed who are currently still in MLS, and they’ve been among the league leaders nearly every season of their careers.

So we’ve seen who’s been fouled the least and most of all time, how about those doing the fouling?

3. The fewest fouls committed

Which players have committed the fewest fouls so far? The Crew’s Jeff Cunningham has yet to score or foul in his 361 minutes, while Real Salt Lake defender Nat Borchers has fouled twice in ten games (0.20 per 90).

Fewest fouls committed per 90 minutes (minimum 1,000 minutes played)


Player	Team	Year	Min.	FC	Per 90
1. Terry Cooke	COL	2006	1997	3	0.135
2. Jason Herndandez	SJ	2010	2412	5	0.187
3. Michael Parkhurst	NE	2005	2880	6	0.188
4. Terry Cooke	COL	2007	2288	5	0.197
5. Michael Parkhurst	NE	2007	2197	5	0.205
6. Clyde Simms	DC	2005	1263	3	0.214
7. Steve Ralston	NE	2009	1543	4	0.233
8. Jacob Peterson	COL	2009	1131	3	0.239
9. Gerell Elliott	DAL	1998	1100	3	0.245
10. Terry Cooke	COL	2008	1698	5	0.265

Three fouls in nearly 2,000 minutes for the Englishman Cooke in 2006. To put that in perspective, 13 players equaled that over the weekend. Last year’s leader, Hernandez, meanwhile, has more than doubled his previous total from 2010 with 11 already this season.

The 2010 Fair Play award winner, Sebastien Le Toux, was sixth last season. Over the last five years, the award winner has finished in the top ten each time, though before that it only happened twice. Steve Ralston managed to win it in 2000 despite only ranking 28^th, the lowest of any to receive the honor.

4. The most fouls committed

Among those who’ve played 500-plus minutes so far, Dejan Rusmir and Eric Hassli lead the league (3.24 per 90 each). The Rapids’ Brian Mullan was among the leaders before his suspension, though that hasn’t usually been the case for him throughout his career. Jonathan Leathers and Marcos Mondaini - both of whom were also involved in season-ending injuries for other players - aren’t anywhere near the top.

Most fouls committed per 90 minutes (minimum 1,000 minutes played)


Player	Team	Year	Min.	FC	Per 90
1. Marcelo Saragosa	LA/DAL	2006	1113	48	3.881
2. Atiba Harris	RSL	2006	1146	47	3.691
3. Danny Dichio	TOR	2007	1175	46	3.523
4. Matt Okoh	COL	2000	1039	40	3.442
5. Bakary Soumare	CHI	2007	1072	41	3.442
6. Diego Serna	MIA	2005	2236	83	3.341
7. Roberto Mina	DAL	2005	1270	47	3.331
8. Deigo Serna	MIA	2001	1978	73	3.322
9. Esteban Arias	CHV	2005	1141	42	3.313
10. Atiba Harris	CHV	2008	2014	73	3.262

A defensive midfielder is first all-time, but it’s interesting to see so many attacking players comprising this list. Harris has been a warrior, routinely involved in plenty of whistles both for and against. Another man who doesn’t show up here, yet continually is near the top of the yearly rankings is Toronto’s Alan Gordon. The physical forward isn’t afraid to get in there and mix it up, as evidenced by his four top-five finishes since 2006.