BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - ST. KITTS AND NEVIS’ Atiba Harris ranks third on the list of five most successful Caribbean players to have played in the Major League Soccer (MLS) by the league’s website mlssoccer.com.
Last week the MLS announced a new partnership with the Caribbean Football Union that will host a new Caribbean Player Combine in Antigua in January in an effort to discover young footballers from the Caribbean islands, particularly the smaller islands that do not get the exposure like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba.
In light of that recent announcement, the MLS website decided to highlight some of the best players in MLS history who hail from the smallest islands in the Caribbean in which Harris is ranked third.
Ranking above Harris is Shalrie Joseph of Grenada, a four-time MLS Best XI selection. Joseph joined MLS in 2003 and is today considered by many to be one of the top players in league history.
Also ranked above him is Ezra Hendrickson of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who is the only three-time MLS Cup champion from the Caribbean. Hendrickson lifted the trophy with the LA Galaxy (2002), D.C. United (2004) and the Columbus Crew (2008).
Peguero Jean Philippe of Haiti and Khano Smith of Bermuda are the others who round off the top five.
The article describes Harris as follows: “Injuries have limited the talented attacker's contributions over the years, but he has still made 167 regular-season appearances for five clubs since 2006.
“Currently with the Colorado Rapids, Harris first signed with Real Salt Lake and has also had stints with Chivas USA, FC Dallas, and the Vancouver Whitecaps. His best season so far came in 2010 when he had four goals and two assist in 29 games for FCD. He also had a goal and three assists in the playoffs as the club reached its first-ever MLS Cup final.”
Harris is a seven-year veteran of MLS, having scored 22 goals and added 20 assists in 167 matches with five different clubs, and captained St. Kitts and Nevis in the qualifying phase of the 2012 Caribbean Cup.
