not Kreis, Preki, Ante Razov or any of the other strikers who have approached 100 goals in this league. The fun part of it would be picking out which goal, as there are plenty of examples from the late-'90s, when his goals were more of the end-to-end varieties, while his more recent body of work has displayed cheeky touches, quick feints in the box, and pin-pointed shots when 'keepers least expected one to come.
To this day, my favorite Moreno goal came on a ho-hum August night back in 2004 when he nutmegged Colorado Rapids defender Joey DiGiamarino with ease before virtually creating an own goal with a deft pass off of Ritchie Kotschau. When the play was over, his teammates couldn't contain their laughter. They knew that their veteran teammate accomplished exactly what he was trying to do, as they'd probably seen it in training many, many times. It was one of the many examples of, and excuse the modern-day sports cliché, Jaime being Jaime.
What remains one of the most mind-boggling facts is that Moreno does not have a league MVP trophy to his name. His time should have come in 2004. However, the award was given to MetroStars midfielder Amado Guevara -- a voting outcome that still seems criminal, considering how dominant Moreno was for the eventual MLS Cup champions that season.
But no one should feel sorry for Moreno. He has four rings to his credit, a U.S. Open Cup championship, a place on Major League Soccer's best team in history (the 1998 D.C. United side that won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and InterAmerican Cup, despite losing to Chicago in the MLS Cup title game), and that all-important street cred amongst the players, past and present, when it comes to his exploits.
"He has the respect of everyone in the league," Eric Wynalda said before the 2004 MLS Cup. "To go with all the talent he brings to the table, his contribution to the league and the championships he's won puts him in rare company. There are not a lot of players you can look at and say, 'Everyone respects this guy.' But he's one of them.
"For me, he's the best player this league has ever seen."
Agreed.
And now that he's into triple-digits in goals scored, the all-time scoring record seems destined to ultimately belong to him when it's all said and done.
Marc Connolly is the managing editor of ussoccerplayers.com and regularly writes to MLSnet.com. Marc can be reached at marc@oakwoodsoccer.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
