We'll start with this just so we can tell who even bothered to click the article: Miguel Almirón is one of the greatest talents in MLS history, but he only graced the league for two years. This series has and will always be based on statistics and longevity, the Paraguayan star has the stats, but moved onto bigger and better things so early on. This is as high as you'll find a player with just two MLS campaigns to his name. On December 5th, 2016, Atlanta United signed Miguel Almirón from Lanus on an $8m transfer fee. He was set to join as a Young DP. The attacker wasted absolutely no time showing out for the expansion side.
Almiron opened his account in a snowy Minnesota wonderland in March, rocketing a shot into the back of the net after 13'. He made it a brace in the second half, catching a left footed volley perfectly. After this match, Almiron did not score in the next eight matches, though he did provide 3 assists during that time frame.
On May 20th, at Bobby Dodd Stadium on the campus of Georgia Tech, Almiron laced his first home goal against the Houston Dynamo. He was far from done. Late in the first half, he rolled the ball over the defender's foot, before smashing a shot into the top right corner. They gifted him the second half penalty kick to complete the hat trick, which would have had a chance to be the first in club history if it weren't for a guy named Josef Martinez. Almiron followed this match up in a big way, finding himself wide open against NYCFC in the next match. His fifth goal in two games was an easy finish into a wide open net for a brace. In June, Almiron scored a match-winner off a long solo run against the Columbus Crew.
Once the month of September came around, the beautiful new state of the art Mercedes-Benz Stadium was ready to host games. Atlanta played their first half of home games at Georgia Tech, but it was time to move into their permanent home. Almiron noticed a double of assists in this match, grabbing a secondary helper on Leandro Gonzalez-Pirez's goal, then the second to Josef Martinez in the pair's signature connection. Almiron was named to the 2017 MLS All-Star team, playing one half in the match against Real Madrid. He scored his first goal at the Benz against the LA Galaxy with a cheeky chip. Atlanta played their final six matches of the campaign all at home as they waited so long for the stadium to open. Atlanta finished fourth in their inaugural season, giving them a home playoff match against Columbus. They drew 0-0, but lost 3-1 in penalties. Almiron was named to the 2017 MLS Best XI and won the 2017 Newcomer of the Year Award.
In 2018, Miguel Almiron played in his second, and last Major League Soccer season. It was certainly one to remember. He added to his walking highlight reel of a career with an absolute bullet into the top left corner against DC United in match two. Regardless of where your loyalty lay, the 2018 Atlanta United team was pure entertainment, it was must-watch TV. On April 7th, Atlanta put five past LAFC, including an Almiron brace of penalty kicks. He scored another PK at the death in a 2-0 victory over Zlatan's Galaxy. In the next match, he snuck yet another pen past Montreal. Later in the match, he scored his first non-penalty goal in quite a while, tapping it into the net off a strange bounce. Almiron was named an MLS All-Star again in 2018, playing a half against Juventus.
Almiron's next goal(s) came two months later, as he and Josef overpowered Orlando City with their pure pace. He made it a brace with said pace, running straight in behind and putting it into the bottom corner. Miggy scored his next brace in a Colorado match, smashing one in at the back post, then added another off the Josef setup. Almiron was named to the 2018 MLS Best XI.
Atlanta United finished the season in second place in the Eastern Conference, just two points shy of the leading New York Red Bulls. They faced off with NYCFC in the Conference Semis. They won the first leg 1-0, then went back home for the return leg. Almiron scored an incredible left footed curled free kick in a 3-1 win to advance in the playoffs. Next up was the first seeded New York Red Bulls in the ECF, which proved to be no problem in a 3-1 aggregate victory. The MLS Cup was set, it would be the Portland Timbers hosted by Atlanta United. Almiron added a secondary assist on Atlanta's second goal of the final. That goal was also the last one, as Atlanta defeated Portland 2-0, and hoisted the cup high.
This was also, of course, Miguel Almiron's last ever match in MLS. On January 31st, 2019, Atlanta United sold Miguel Almiron to Newcastle for an MLS record outgoing fee of around $27m. The Paraguayan remains at the Premier League to this day, scoring 22 goals in his 151 total appearances. Miguel Almiron is quite literally one of the greatest talent the MLS has ever seen, and will ever see. His run to the cup will be remembered forever. It's simply too bad he only spent two years with the club, scoring 21 goals and assisting 28. Don't worry, I am very prepared to listen to the crying around this ranking, but it is not talent based. A talent based ranking would see Almiron in the very top echelon. With that being said, Almiron comes in at #62.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2018 | ATL | 2,760 | 12 | 14 |
2017 | ATL | 2,394 | 9 | 14 |
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