Sounders FC midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro is iconoclastic.
Nominally a No. 10, the way he performs his playmaking duties differs drastically from most of his colleagues in MLS. An archetypal No. 10 camps out between the midfield and defensive lines, constantly searching for tiny pockets of space before surgically threading passes that dissect opponent’s defensive shapes.
Lodeiro, who leads MLS with three assists, is a relentless runner who covers every blade of grass, seamlessly alternating between dropping deep to facilitate buildout play, making lung-busting runs in behind, and drifting wide to create numerical overloads on the flanks.