5 American players to look out for in MLS 2020

3. Ike Opara, Minnesota United

After enduring a tough and injury-plagued start to his MLS career, Ike Opara has been at the peak of his powers over the past few seasons. The tall and supremely athletic defender was named Defender of the Year in 2017 while playing for Sporting KC and even got a place in the Best XI. Another strong season in Kansas saw him called up to the USMNT where he earned his first (and to date, only) senior cap in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

His move to Minnesota United in January 2019 didn’t affect his form at all - in fact, he enjoyed arguably the best year of his career to date and picked up the Defender of the Year award for the second time in three years. His arrival coincided with Minnesota conceding a staggering 40% fewer goals over the course of the season as well as the first playoff berth in franchise history. The 30-year-old will be hoping for 2020 to go much the same as 2019 at club level, with the addition of a few more international caps.

About the author

Vaibhav is a European and international football journalist who writes post-match articles for Sportskeeda. A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, he boasts a total experience of 6 years and has worked for reputed websites such as Times Internet and Men's Health India.

Vaibhav's journey as a football fan began after he was left impressed by the fast-paced action and the gripping storylines of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He admires Kaka's elegance and determination, while his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scotsman's decision-making, vision and man-management abilities. He is also a passionate Manchester United supporter, and believes that Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could create a historic rivalry similar to the Ronaldo-Messi one.

Vaibhav always cross-checks his information from a number of trustworthy websites and relies on his creative writing skills to produce compelling content. His exploits in journalism have led him to interviewing Indian footballers Robin Singh and Eugeneson Lyngdoh in his career so far.

Vaibhav’s favorite FIFA World Cup moment is Andres Iniesta's tribute to Daniel Jarque in the final of the 2010 edition. When not writing, he likes to read murder mysteries and watch stand-up comedy.

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Edited by Sai Teja