There is no denying that part of what continues to make MLS so successful is the influence that foreign players have on the league, and that influence is ever-growing.
Paladarnegro.net conducted a recent analysis of the league's imports, and some of the numbers were pretty interesting.
For starters, 48.97 percent of the league is made up of foreign players (248 of 564). The nation with the most talent in the league after the US and Canada was Argentina with 28 players. England is second amongst foreign countries with 21, Brazil is next with 19, and Colombia and France round out the top five with 18 and 16, respectively.
Now, filling your roster with foreign-based talent does not necessarily guarantee success or failure. The New England Revolution have just six foreign players per the survey, and are healthily in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. However, the leaders in foreign talent, the Vancouver Whitecaps, sit atop the league standings. The Whitecaps have 20 foreign players.
Other numbers that pop out a bit are the Philadelphia Union's league-most three Brazilians, Orlando City boasting the highest amount of Englishman with four and New York City FC leading the way with three Colombians on their roster.
It is likely that a lot of these numbers will continue to grow in the coming years with the league introducing more teams, but it's already apparent just what kind of an impact foreign-based talent has on the league.
