Zusi also sits fifth in all of MLS with a plus 32.1 Score (a stat that measures the number of passes over/under the expected number). Basically, he completed 32.1 more passes than the average passer would have expected – good for fifth most in the entire league.

To recap, Zusi is getting a plurality of his team’s touches, attempting the most passes, and he’s completing those passes at an incredible rate. But, even with Touch%, Total Passes, and Score we have only seen a portion of Graham Zusi’s true value to Sporting Kansas City.

Passes, Pct%, and xPct% in the attacking third:

Just about a third of the way through the Major League Soccer season, few players have been as involved in the attacking third as Zusi. He leads all defenders in passes in the attacking third with 301 (that number is a whopping 34% of his total passes). On his own team, the only other players even over 200 passes in the final third are Daniel Salloi and Johnny Russell, both wide attackers whose position mandates that they spend more time higher up the field. Across the entire league, the only player above him in terms of passes in the attacking third is Atlanta United playmaker Miguel Almiron. If that doesn’t speak to Zusi’s value in Vermes’ system, I don’t know what does.

Digging deeper into final third numbers, we find even more telling stats. Of all right backs with 100 or more passes in the last third, Zusi sits sixth in terms of Pct% (pass completion percentage) with 75.1%. Of players with 200+ passes in the final third, Zusi is fifth with that 75.1% Pct% and sixth with a 70.8 expected pass completion percentage (xPct%). He also has the highest Score among the same set of players, with 13.0. Again, we see Zusi outperforming his peers.

Still, as great as these numbers are, effectiveness is not all about volume and completion percentages. In order to truly be a pivotal, efficient player in any system, you must put up more than just raw possession and passing numbers. Fortunately for Sporting Kansas City, Zusi is doing exactly that.

KeyP:

Graham Zusi is tied for eigth in the league in KeyP (key passes, meaning passes that lead directly to a shot) with 24. Every single player above him in this category, apart from teammate Ilie Sanchez and Whitecaps midfielder Felipe, performs a strictly attacking role for their team. Zusi’s 24 key passes is eight (eight!) more than the next defender on the list, right winger recently turned right back for Real Salt Lake, Brooks Lennon. To put it another way, Zusi has more key passes than 12 separate MLS backlines (L.A. Galaxy, Chicago, Montreal, San Jose, Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, New York, New York City, Dallas, D.C., Colorado, and Atlanta). How’s that for production?

xA:

Although he is yet to register a direct assist (he has one secondary assist), Graham Zusi is tied for eighth (with Nacho Piatti) in Major League Soccer with 3.0 expected assists. This means that he is creating a very high number of chances that are simply not being finished. Yes, we are looking right at you and your -2.8 G-xG number, Khiry Shelton. Looking at the other names near the top of this metric, Zusi is again positionally out of place. The rest of the top 20 players in xA are all central midfielders, attacking midfielders, or forwards. You have to go all the way down to the 24th spot to find another defender (Chicago’s Brandon Vincent).

We have examined volume possession and passing metrics, effectiveness in the attacking third, key passes, and expected assists. All of these stats combine to illustrate Graham Zusi’s unique and valuable role in Peter Vermes’ Sporting Kansas City squad. Right now, SKC are playing some of the most enjoyable soccer in MLS and they looked poised to go far this season, especially if Zusi continues to perform at this elite level.