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On Tuesday, Chivas USA acquired midfielder Nathan Sturgis via trade. Once he hits the field in a competitive game for the Goats, Sturgis will break a record for most MLS teams played for in a career, with seven. The guy is only 26 years old!
It turns out, if a player is going to get around the league, he's practically required to make a stop at some point with Chivas USA. Here are the players who have played for six teams in their MLS career:
- Ezra Hendrickson (MetroStars, LA Galaxy, Dallas Burn, D.C. United, Chivas USA, Columbus Crew)
- Carey Talley (D.C. United, Kansas City Wizards, FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, Chivas USA, New York Red Bulls)
- Alejandro Moreno (LA Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo, Columbus Crew, Philadelphia Union, Chivas USA)
- Andy Williams (Columbus Crew, Miami Fusion, New England Revolution, MetroStars, Chicago Fire, Real Salt Lake)
- James Riley (New England Revolution, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, Chivas USA, D.C. United, LA Galaxy)
- Nathan Sturgis (LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Seattle Sounders, Toronto FC, Houston Dynamo, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA*)
Italics: Still active
* - Hasn't yet played for that team
That's right, five of the six players who have played for the most teams in MLS history featured at Chivas USA at one point or another. They are the only team to have that many players on that list.
Of course, just because a player plays for a lot of teams, that doesn't mean he's any worse than a player who stayed with the same club for his entire career, especially in MLS, where the salary cap often forces players to move on. Also, expansion has been a hallmark of the era, leading to several of these moves among this group of players.
But the stat perhaps does say quite a bit about Chivas USA. By now, it's obvious that instability has been a hallmark of this club, and picking up well-traveled player after well-traveled player may indicate a team that's looking for quick solutions in gaining experience. Some of the players did very well with the Goats, while others were so-so.
Overall, it's not a massively revealing statistic, but one worth noting anyway. It's not everyday you come across yet another player who has seemingly played for every team, and guess what! He's played for CUSA too, only Chivas USA seems to get these players an awful lot.
What do you think? Leave a comment below!