SPORTS
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
March 20, 2017
Asians in American sports w Asian Americans in world sports
Seven Asian MLS difference-makers look to shine in 2017
By Mike Street
Special to The Asian Reporter
A
s Major League Soccer (MLS) enters its 22nd
season, the league’s Asian contingent has grown
increasingly diverse. While this season will see
two fewer Asian players on the pitch, other top-flight
players with eastern roots continue to shine and develop.
In 2017, seven Asian players hope to make a difference for
five different teams.
At the top of the list is Lee Nguyen, the New England
Revolution midfielder who placed third in MVP award
voting in 2014 after his breakthrough 18-goal season.
Since then, the Vietnamese American has become one of
the Rev’s steadiest and prolific players. In just five
seasons, Nguyen has the most penalty-kick goals in
Revolution history, ranks second in shots, shots on goal,
and game-winning goals, while placing fourth in goals and
assists.
This last mark reflects Nguyen’s increasing attention to
passing as opposing teams have clamped down on his shot
opportunities. He notched 10 assists in each of the last two
seasons, starting at least 30 games each season over that
span, including last season’s team-leading 33 starts. His
skills and dependability will help New England recover
from a 2016 campaign in which they failed to reach the
playoffs for the first time in four seasons.
Playing alongside Nguyen is Daigo Kobayashi, another
sensational Asian midfield talent. Since coming over to
the Revolution from the Vancouver Whitecaps, Kobayashi
has played a vital role in distributing the ball to New
England’s goal-scorers. In 2014, Kobayashi became just
the second Rev player ever to appear in all 34 matches.
Injuries to his back and hamstring, however, held him
to just 21 appearances the following season. In 2016,
Kobayashi appeared in 27 games, scoring his first goal
since 2013. Having this playmaker in the lineup
throughout the entire season will be essential to the Rev’s
success.
Like New England, Toronto FC features two Asian
players: Tsubasa Endoh and Steven Beitashour.
Beitashour, a dual Iranian-American citizen, has spent
his entire career in MLS, playing with San Jose and
Vancouver before joining Toronto in 2016.
Beitashour’s ability to press forward and deliver a
devastating cross distinguishes him from other fullbacks.
Between 2011 and 2015, he accumulated 24 assists, more
than any other defender in that span. Beitashour was
named an all-star in 2012 after notching 13 assists in two
seasons, and he has appeared in 10 playoff matches.
If Beitashour delivers a ball into the opponent’s penalty
box, Endoh will be looking to receive it. The ninth overall
pick in 2016, Endoh was coveted due to his precise skills
MLS TURNS 22. A.J. DeLaGarza (#20) of the Houston Dynamo and Darlington Nagbe (#6) of the Portland Timbers run during a match played at
Providence Park on March 18, 2017. In January, the Houston Dynamo traded for A.J. DeLaGarza, who had shown his versatility and durability with the
L.A. Galaxy. The Guamanian fullback made 20 or more starts for six straight seasons with the Galaxy, anchoring a back line that helped L.A. win three
MLS Cups during his time there. The MLS 2017 season, the league’s 22nd year, kicked off this month. (AR Photo/Jeffrey Lim)
honed in Japan’s youth talent development program and
at the University of Maryland.
With the top-flight Maryland squad, Endoh scored 12
goals and gave 16 assists in 85 matches. Maryland won
the ACC conference tournament in 2012 and 2013, the Big
Ten conference championship in 2014, and the Big Ten
conference tournament in 2015. In the NCAA
championship, the team reached the semifinal in 2012,
the final in 2013 (falling to champion Notre Dame), the
second round in 2014, and the quarterfinal in 2015.
In his first season with Toronto, Endoh appeared 21
times, including 15 starts, scoring two goals on nine shots
on goal. His 1,387 minutes played ranked tenth on the
club and fourth among Toronto forwards, a great sign of
his growing importance to the club. Just 23 years old,
Endoh will be an exciting MLS player to watch for years to
come.
Another offensive-minded player, midfielder Justin
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Meram, is beginning his seventh season with the
Columbus Crew. When Meram was young, his Iraqi
family moved to Michigan, where he began his soccer
career. After winning the NJCAA national championship
with Yavapai College, Meram transferred back home to
the University of Michigan, scoring 24 goals and recording
14 assists in 41 matches. efender
With the Crew, Meram has started 104 matches, most
of them since a breakout 2014 campaign in which he
doubled his career bests with eight goals and four assists.
He went on to score 11 goals and give 18 assists over the
next two seasons, adding two goals in seven postseason
starts. Meram will be crucial to a Columbus squad looking
to recover from a ninth-place finish in 2016 after narrowly
losing the 2015 MLS Cup to the Portland Timbers.
Continued on page 16
Malaysia soccer squad barred
from travelling to North Korea
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Malaysian
government has barred the country’s national soccer team
from travelling to North Korea for an Asian Cup quali-
fying match on March 28 because of security concerns.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary-
general Hamidin Mohamad Amin issued a statement
saying Malaysia’s expulsion of North Korean ambassador
Kang Chol has “made the current situation unsafe for
Malaysians to travel to North Korea for the moment.”
Hamidin said FAM has written to the Asian Football
Confederation to ask for the venue to be shifted from
Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, to a neutral arena.
The North Korean ambassador was expelled from
Malaysia over his criticism of the investigation into the
killing of Kim Jong Nam, the exiled half-brother of North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at a crowded airport in Kuala
Lumpur.
Ambassador Kang Chol said Malaysia was taking
“extreme measures” that will do “great harm” to bilateral
relations.
North Korea disputes Malaysia’s determination that
the victim was killed by the nerve agent VX. Malaysia has
rejected the North’s contention that he may have suffered
a heart attack.
The March 28 Asian Cup qualifier in Pyongyang had
been in doubt for weeks. At a news conference in early
March, Hamidin said he would leave it up to the Asian
Football Confederation to decide whether or not to
postpone the match or move it to a neutral venue.
There have been other occasions when international
issues caused games in Asia to be played in a neutral
country — including the Asian Champions League that
kicked off recently.
Saudi Arabia and Iran’s lack of a diplomatic relation-
ship means that for the second straight year, meetings
between clubs from the two nations in the continental
championship are taking place in a third country.