In only his first year as a full-time starter, Sporting KC's Oriol Rosell has already established himself as budding star in Major League Soccer. The former Barcelona Academy product made a seamless transition into Sporting KC's lineup after the departure of Roger Espinoza to English club Wigan Athletic and is a big reason Sporting KC is once again battling for Eastern Conference supremacy.
Rosell's work has not gone unnoticed, as the Spanish midfielder was named No. 14 on MLSsoccer.com's countdown of the top 24 players under the age of 24. Rosell is the first Sporting KC player to feature in this year's countdown.
Each year, MLSsoccer.com polls a series of soccer journalists from around the country and asks them to grade players based on the following criteria:
- Technical (skills, dribbling, shooting, first touch, heading, etc.)
- Tactical (positioning, reading game, soccer IQ, etc.)
- Physical Attributes (speed, endurance, strength, vertical leap, etc.)
- Personality (marketability, media savvy, quotability, charisma, intangibles, etc.)
- Potential (upside, national team potential, potential future transfer value, etc.)
At only 21 years of age, Rosell leads all Sporting KC players in games started (31), games played (32) and minutes played (2,705) in all competitions this season. Rosell has played 27 of 28 regular season games in 2013 and has contributed one goal and two assists from his defensive midfield position.
In addition, Rosell leads all MLS players with 113 interceptions, is tied for third among midfielders with 78 tackles and is fifth among MLS midfielders in successful passes (1,235).