Justin Meram was drafted 15th overall in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft by the Columbus Crew, after transferring and playing his final two years of college at the University of Michigan. The Michigan-born and Iraqi National Team winger did not get many opportunities in his first three seasons. He scored 5 goals and assisted 3 during those first campaigns.
In 2014, where this series begins, Meram got his first real looks in professional soccer, and he took advantage. He did still start the season as a substitute, but proved himself enough to be a starter. Meram subbed in during the final minute of a late-March match in Seattle, stepping up and striking an immediate match-winner with 30 seconds to play. In August, Meram scored in three consecutive matches, including a lovely curler against LA Galaxy, and a dribbling showcase and finish against Houston. Two matches later, he scored a brace against the dying Chivas USA, the first one of his signature curlers, the second being a finish of very similar nature. The Crew finished as the third seed. In the first leg against New England, Meram smashed home a goal, but Columbus lost 7-3 on aggregate. Meram scored 8 goals and assisted 4 on the season.
In 2015, he posted another solid campaign, as did the rest of his team. In the very first game of the season, Meram scored a power header from distance, placing it into the bottom right corner. He scored two games in a row in April, a gift against Orlando City, and one against Philly that just barely snuck in. On Decision Day, he slid the ball onto his left foot and scored on Bill Hamid from a tough angle. Columbus finished in second place in the East. They defeated Montreal in round one, then advanced to play the New York Red Bulls. Just TEN SECONDS into the first leg of the Eastern Conference Final, Justin Meram volleyed home the first goal. The Crew would move onto MLS Cup 2015 against the Portland Timbers. Meram played 78 minutes in the match, but the Crew lost in a heartbreaking 2-1 fashion at MAPFRE Stadium.
In 2016, Meram saw a huge uptick in assists, hitting a career-high mark of 13. He also added 5 goals. Though, his team did not share the same success. The Crew missed the playoffs, finishing in second to last in the East. Meram's first goal of the season was a flicked header off a corner in Frisco, Texas. In April, he assisted two goals from his left wing position, before putting one into the back of the net on his own later on. He continued to show consistent production throughout the summer months. In August, he earned his own penalty versus San Jose, placing it into the bottom right, while also assisting the other goal in the match. Despite Columbus missing the playoffs, Meram finished strong, assisting a goal in all four of the team's final matches. Additionally, he scored in one of these matches, against Chicago. He opened up his hips as to take the curler he had become accustomed to scoring, only to send Sean Johnson the other way and score at the near post.
In 2017, Meram swapped his assist total from the previous year for his goal total. He scored a career-high 13 years from his winger position. Somehow, he was not even selected as an MLS All-Star, to which he responded, "It’s not even an All-Star game in my eyes; it’s a celebrity match to me." Meram's comments can be backed up by some of the selections in previous years, choosing bigger names over players actually performing well. He scored a brace on April Fool's Day, though it was no joke. He kept defenders guessing by smashing one home with the left foot, then cut in on the right to hit one low and hard. On May 13th, Meram dropped three on the Montreal Impact. His hat trick was kicked off by a goal from outside the box, followed by a slick touch and finish around the keeper, closed by a 91' winner on a 3v2.
In July, he scored the lone goal of the match on a deflection against Philadelphia. He found himself another match-winner against Chicago in the following month. Two games later, he placed a strike in the top left corner, a capper in a match that Columbus missed two separate penalties. His final goal of the season was an absolute screamer, striking a shot from a tough angle off the underside of the crossbar and in. Columbus finished fifth, beating Atlanta in the knockout round. Meram scored in the first leg against NYCFC, putting some movement on his shot, while adding an assist. The Crew lost in the ECF in a rare 1-0 aggregate manner.
All the while, Meram was getting calls into Iraq's National Team, he has scored 4 goals in 36 totals caps for the country he represents internationally. In 2018, Meram left the Columbus Crew, but not for long. On January 29, 2018, Orlando City SC acquired Meram in exchange for $1.05m in allocation money. Justin Meram scored his first, and last, Orlando MLS goal against Atlanta in May. This is because in August, after only making a number of appearances for the Lions, Columbus brought Meram back in exchange for $750K in GAM. They ended up making over $250K in profit for losing him for just a few months. In his second start back in his original MLS home, he scored a winner against NYCFC. The Crew finished as the five seed, then lost to the Red Bulls in the second round.
Meram began the 2019 season back in Columbus, but he very quickly left for the second time. Atlanta United acquired him on May 7, 2019, in exchange for $100K in GAM. He opened his Atlanta account against Montreal, in his very first start at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and it was a nice one. It did not stop there, as he doubled it with the outside of his boot right in front of goal, and won them the match. Ten minutes into a July match against RBNY, he found some space and scored. Early in a contest with San Jose, Meram scored a deflected goal from outside the eighteen. In the 2019 US Open Cup, Atlanta marched all the way to the final. They hosted Minnesota United, where Meram assisted the would-be game-winner to Pity Martinez. Atlanta United hoisted the trophy. They also won the Campeones Cup against Club America a few weeks prior. Atlanta was eliminated by Toronto in the playoffs, after finishing second.
Atlanta did not renew his contract, so Meram was off to find his fourth team The team was Real Salt Lake, where he signed in February. He opened his account with the club on a back post first-time finish in Colorado. He showed his incredible composure and patience in the box against LAFC, scoring again. Meram added an equalizing header against Vancouver in September. RSL, though, missed out on the 2020 postseason. In 2021, they barely snuck in as the seventh overall seed. Meram scored twice during the season, a bottom corner finish against Houston, and a header with a little bit of help in San Jose. The #7 seed Real Salt Lake made it to the Western Conference Final, but lost 2-0 to Portland,
In 2022, Justin Meram posted another impressive 7 assists. He also scored three times. Per usual, RSL slid into that seventh and final playoff spot. Meram scored an absolutely incredible goal early in the season, going upper 90 on TFC. He walked in and scored in June against Vancouver. He also put away a diving header on a rebound off the crossbar. RSL, of course, qualified for the playoffs in the seventh and final slot. They lost to Austin FC in a wild matchup.
Meram started his 2023 with Real Salt Lake, but made another quick change to another roster. In April, Charlotte FC acquired his rights in exchange for $200K in GAM. Meram has cost a lot of allocation money over the course of his career. In one of his first matches with Charlotte, he scored on the back post against his former team, Atlanta, and chose not to celebrate. Meram scored once again later in the match, and again showed respect to the home crowd. Most recently, Meram scored against September 20th, when he scored the opener against the Philadelphia Union.
As it stands, his Charlotte FC side are one point out of the playoffs ahead of a double header with Inter Miami, Meram's newest side will have a chance to punch to their first ticket to the postseason. Meram has 4 goals and 5 assists in 2023. Justin Meram has been one of the most consistent wingers in Major League Soccer across the past decade, constantly being a threat to create for others, or score. There is no telling how much longer the 34-year-old will play, but he will always be a danger for opposing back lines as long as he does. The class act that is Justin Meram comes in at #54.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2023 | RSL/CLT | 1,459* | 4* | 5* |
2022 | RSL | 2,289 | 3 | 7 |
2021 | RSL | 1,398 | 2 | 5 |
2020 | RSL | 1,146 | 3 | 3 |
2019 | CLB/ATL | 1,649 | 4 | 0 |
2018 | ORL/CLB | 1,867 | 2 | 4 |
2017 | CLB | 2,588 | 13 | 7 |
2016 | CLB | 2,604 | 5 | 13 |
2015 | CLB | 2,230 | 6 | 5 |
2014 | CLB | 1,683 | 8 | 4 |
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