A survey conducted by players around the MLS deemed Jozy Altidore to be the second most overrated player.

An anonymous survey conducted by 123 players across the MLS clearly showed where their opinions lied. According to ESPN FC, the survey asked everyone who the most underrated and overrated players were in the league. Taking the crown of most overrated player was Mix Diskerud of the Sky Blues, but just behind him was our very own Jozy Altidore.

Looking at the rest of the top 10, though, it’s seemingly an issue they have with the teams rather than the players themselves. Three of the five most overrated players are from NYC, as Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo occupy the third and fourth spot respectively, while Captain America Michael Bradley was in sixth.

Lampard and Pirlo being overrated isn’t much of a surprise since that’s a common opinion held by the league and fans alike. Don Garber certainly didn’t help matters when he picked them to the All-Star team ahead of Giovinco. But that being said, it really doesn’t make a lot of sense why MLS players, who are mostly American born, would take shots at Diskerud, Bradley, and Altidore all of whom have represented their country well. It could be that they’re just salty they got picked over them, which makes sense considering that 18 of the top 38 players were American internationals. Or, as mentioned earlier, it’s more a dislike of the teams they play for.

It’s true that Altidore is a very injury-prone player, but he’s shown what he’s capable of when he’s 100% match fit. Marking his first appearance in a TFC shirt with a brace against the Whitecaps is surely a moment that will live on in fans’ memories. More than anything, he’s underrated – his 14 goal total last year is impressive considering it came in 27 games and his accomplishments are often overshadowed by the brilliance of Seba.

The most underrated player in the league was a tie between Darlington Nagbe and Dax McCarty. When you won the MLS Cup, it’s easy to earn plaudits from the league, but Nagbe really is a talented player who often gets overlooked in favour of someone like Diego Valeri or Fanendo Adi. The same goes with Dax who gets overshadowed by Bradley-Wright Phillips a lot. There was nobody from TFC on the underrated players list, although for our money, Benoit Cheyrou definitely deserves a look there.

When asked about coaches players would most like to play for, Bruce Arena was far and away the top choice and it’s hard to argue for anyone else. Winning championships in three out of five years is impressive in any sport, and if he keeps on winning, he could be placed in the same tier of L.A. coaches as Phil Jackson. As for Greg Vanney, he was one of four coaches that weren’t even named to the survey despite being the only coach to get Toronto FC to the playoffs. Let’s go live to Vanney himself to see how he feels about that snub:

…As I suspected. But make a deep run this year or perhaps even win the whole thing, and you might change some people’s minds.

I hope you enjoyed this survey of most overrated and underrated players, or as I like to call it, people are biased confirmed. Obviously what players say should be taken with a grain of salt since they are conditioned to hate a certain player or team and they often only know what it’s like to play under one system. Plus the more popular you are, the more haters you’re likely to receive. Just ask Jose Bautista:

“If you ain’t got no haters you ain’t poppin’…” Rico Richie — Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19) March 11, 2016





Hopefully this new survey doesn’t lead to Altidore getting hurt feelings or having more defenders target him.