Major League Soccer’s 20th season kicks off Friday when the Chicago Fire take on the champion Los Angeles Galaxy in Carson, Calif. With America's top-flight competition on the cusp of its third decade, here are our picks for the 20 greatest players to have played in MLS.

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20. Donovan Ricketts

One of the most talented goalkeepers to don an MLS jersey, Ricketts has been named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year twice. The Jamaican national has played for three MLS clubs and won the MLS Cup with the L.A. Galaxy. Expansion side Orlando City SC signed him for its inaugural season.

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19. Preki

Having already played for iconic English clubs Everton and Portsmouth, the Serbian-born midfielder (whose real name is Predrag Radosavljevic) made an immediate impact on MLS when he joined the Kansas City Wizards in 1996. An MLS Cup winner with Kansas City and a two-time league MVP (1997, 2003), Preki scored 79 goals and made 112 assists over the course of 242 league appearances.

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18. Mauricio Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos had already carved out a respectable career in Mexico and El Salvador by the time he joined MLS in its inaugural season. During eight years with the Galaxy, the Salvadoran midfielder established himself as one of the best playmakers in the league. He won the MLS Cup in 2002 and was an MLS All-Star seven times.

17. Robin Fraser

Selected by the Galaxy as the fourth overall pick in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft, the defender played five seasons in L.A. and was named Defender of the Year in 1999. A transfer to Colorado Rapids saw the Jamaican-born U.S. international win a second Defender of the Year honor (2004) and the 2009 MLS Cup.

16. Piotr Nowak

A veteran of German Bundesliga outfits like Dynamo Dresden and FC Kaiserslautern, the Polish midfielder joined Chicago Fire in 1998. In his four years with the club, he won the 1998 MLS Cup and two U.S. Open Cups.

15. Eddie Pope

Chosen by D.C. United in the first round of the MLS College Draft in 1996, the defender spent 12 years in MLS, representing United, MetroStars and Real Salt Lake. Before retiring in 2007, the former U.S. international made the MLS Best XI four times and won MLS Defender of the Year once in 1997.

14. Brad Davis

A six-time MLS All-Star, Davis began his MLS career with the MetroStars in 2002. After a couple of seasons in Dallas and one with the San Jose Earthquakes, the U.S. international joined Houston Dynamo in 2006 and went on to win two MLS Cups.

13. Carlos Ruiz

In his debut MLS season, the Guatemalan striker scored 24 goals to win the Golden Boot and led the L.A. Galaxy to the 2002 MLS Cup. Subsequent transfers to FC Dallas, Toronto FC, back to the Galaxy and Philadelphia Union never saw Ruiz equal his first season’s success. But a bicycle kick he scored against D.C. United in 2006 was voted MLS’s Goal of the Decade.

12. Omar Gonzalez

Named MLS Rookie of the Year in 2009, Gonzalez ushered in a new era of dominance in L.A. by winning three MLS Cups. The U.S. international has the distinction of being the first defender named as a designated player by the Galaxy.

11. Taylor Twellman

A lethal striker, Twellman scored 101 goals during an eight-year career with the New England Revolution, placing him fifth on the all-time MLS scoring charts. In 2009, Twellman's career was cut short by a relapse of a concussion he’d suffered a year earlier. He now enjoys a successful career as an analyst.

10. Cobi Jones

After brief stints in England and Brazil, the U.S. international joined the Galaxy for the inaugural MLS season in 1996. “He was kind of the league’s first superstar,” said veteran striker Alan Gordon, who played with Jones on the Galaxy. “For a young guy like me to be playing with Cobi Jones, who’d been in World Cups and played at international level, it was special.” Jones won two MLS Cups with Galaxy and served as interim manager for the club in 2008.

9. Carlos Valderrama

Known for his tangled mop of unruly blonde hair, the Colombian playmaker was already an international star when he joined Tampa Bay Mutiny for the inaugural MLS season. An MLS MVP and Supporters’ Shield winner in his first season, Valderrama set a single-season record with 26 assists in 2000, a mark that still stands today.

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