Posted by Heath Harshman

By Heath Harshman- WFD Fan Correspondent

In a country where stars and celebrities are lauded incessantly and are necessary for the success of a professional sports league, it is rare that someone who has the stats and skill to be a superstar falls under the radar. The average MLS fan knows about the David Beckham's, the Thierry Henry's and the Landon Donovan's. But, apart from the Pacific Northwest, Seattle Sounders FC forward Fredy Montero has not been placed in the same echelon as these bigger named stars. The 23 year old Colombian has lit up the league in his short time here but is yet to gain the status of those who have done as much (Donovan) or less (Beckham) than he.

The Sounders acquired the then 21 year old Montero on loan in January of 2009 from Deportivo Cali, Montero's club team in his home nation. Fredy joined Cali as a 13 year old and worked his way through the youth team, making his first senior appearance in 2005 at the age of 18. He showed his obvious talent throughout his time in the top Colombian league, scoring 40 goals in 74 appearances and leading the league in scoring in back to back seasons in 2006-07.

Although he was fairly unknown to the common MLS fan at the time of his arrival, it didn't take long for the 5-foot-9-inch striker to make his presence known. Montero scored his, as well as the Sounders, first career MLS goal in the twelfth minute of his and the Sounders debut on March 19th, 2009 in a 3-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls. He would go on to tally 12 goals and four assists in his rookie MLS campaign and lead the Sounders to their first ever playoff appearance and their first trophy as an MLS team in the US Open Cup. He also garnered the honor of 2009 MLS Newcomer of the Year.

After what was considered a successful season for Seattle and Montero alike, hopes and expectations were high coming into 2010. The Sounders returned the nucleus of the playoff team from the year before and were able to hold on to Montero. There was rumored interest from Europe, specifically Fulham in England, but Montero decided to stay in America with the Sounders for at least one more year. It would seem as though he made the right choice.

He has been the most consistent and productive Sounders player this season and was a large part of their second-half rebirth that has now put them firmly in the playoff picture. In his last 16 games (Going into Thursday's matchup with Real Salt Lake) in all competitions Montero has scored eight goals and tallied five assists. He is in the top five in the MLS in major offense categories such as goals (10), assists (9), shots (72), shots on goal (30), game winning goals (4) and game winnings assists (3).

The MLS needs more Fredy Montero's. It is great that players like Beckham, like Henry, like Marquez are coming to the MLS and giving it national exposure. But the way the league will evolve and go from a semi-retiree plus American collegiate league into a true North and South American developmental league is with players like Montero. Hopefully the Northwest expansion in the coming years with the teams in Portland and Vancouver can reach even deeper into the Caribbean and peripheral South American markets, like Montero's native Colombia.

The MLS is still relatively young and the development into a solid league full of players like Mr. Montero is a bit much to ask at this point. But with the expanding soccer markets, the USA soccer exposure from the 2010 World Cup, the possible 2018/22 World cup bids and more and more diverse teams in the league, hopefully the MLS can make the transformation into a solid developmental league that teams from Europe will look to for talented young prospects. Fredy Montero, and others like him, are the key to that change that I think any MLS fan would support.


In addition to being a weekly blogger for WFD, I write for the Washington State University student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen, where I have a weekly sports column. I am also the Washington State University men's basketball beat writer for Jim Basnight's college hoops blog on mynorthwest.com. You can find past pieces and follow my work not only for WFD but for The Daily Evergreen and mynorthwest.com by following me on twitter @heathharshman.