Maxi Moralez is 37-years-old, five feet three inches tall, and not particularly fast. The Argentine, who started his career at Racing Club in Argentina’s top flight, and would go on to play for Atalanta and Leon, is everything a top-level professional footballer should not be - at least, not in the European sense.
These days, the NYCFC attacking midfielder is a perfect player in Major League Soccer. What he lacks in height and physicality, he makes up for with immaculate technique and an understanding of the cute angles needed to orchestrate in the final third. No. 10s who solely focus on playmaking don’t really exist in world football anymore. But in MLS, they have a home, a final stop for the kind of footballer that most European leagues have largely cast away.
New England Revolution coach Caleb Porter, who has a star No. 10-type of player of his own in Luca Langoni, pointed to a few factors that could benefit the position in North America's top flight.
“It’s interesting, they do really well in our league. Maybe there’s a little more time and space… it’s a position that coaches highlight in our league a bit more,” Porter told GOAL.
