Carlos Valderrama

Carlos Valderrama was the first MLS MVP, in 1996 with the Tampa Bay Mutiny. In 2000 he set up 26 goals, a single-season assist record that has never been matched.

5'9", 157 lbs born Sept. 2, 1961 (age 65)

games
198
starts
198
minutes
17,691
goals
19
assists
117

first recorded game May 14, 1988 · last recorded game Oct. 9, 2002

Career totals and dates are as recorded here.

Honors

Career totals by team

team gp gs min g a sh
Tampa Bay Mutiny 124 124 11010 12 84 121
Colorado Rapids 44 44 4059 2 19 22
Miami Fusion 24 24 2082 3 14 22
Colombia 6 6 540 2 — —

Career totals by competition

competition gp gs min g a sh
MLS 175 175 15621 16 114 154
MLSp 17 17 1530 1 3 11
IF 4 4 360 1 — —
WC 1 1 90 0 — —
CA 1 1 90 1 — —

Goals by season

top flight international 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1988 1989, international: 1 goal 1 1989 0 1992 0 1993 0 1994 1995, international: 1 goal 1 1995 1996, top flight: 4 goals 4 1996 1997, top flight: 3 goals 3 1997 1998, top flight: 2 goals 2 1998 1999, top flight: 4 goals 4 1999 2000, top flight: 1 goal 1 2000 2001, top flight: 1 goal 1 2001 2002, top flight: 2 goals 2 2002

Season by season, clubs

team competition season gp gs min g a sh
Tampa Bay Mutiny MLS 1996 23 23 2059 4 17 24
Tampa Bay Mutiny MLSp 1996 4 4 360 0 2 2
Tampa Bay Mutiny MLS 1997 20 20 1740 3 19 22
Tampa Bay Mutiny MLSp 1997 2 2 180 0 1 2
Miami Fusion MLS 1998 18 18 1542 2 12 16
Miami Fusion MLSp 1998 2 2 180 0 0 1
Tampa Bay Mutiny MLS 1999 27 27 2402 3 13 25
Miami Fusion MLS 1999 4 4 360 1 2 5
Tampa Bay Mutiny MLSp 1999 2 2 180 0 0 3
Tampa Bay Mutiny MLS 2000 32 32 2897 1 26 26
Tampa Bay Mutiny MLSp 2000 2 2 180 0 0 3
Colorado Rapids MLS 2001 12 12 1130 0 3 4
Tampa Bay Mutiny MLS 2001 12 12 1012 1 6 14
Colorado Rapids MLS 2002 27 27 2479 1 16 18
Colorado Rapids MLSp 2002 5 5 450 1 — —

Season by season, international

team competition season gp gs min g
Colombia IF 1988 1 1 90 0
Colombia IF 1989 1 1 90 1
Colombia IF 1992 1 1 90 0
Colombia IF 1993 1 1 90 0
Colombia WC 1994 1 1 90 0
Colombia CA 1995 1 1 90 1

Most recent games

cmp date team r score vs g a minutes venue
MLSp Oct. 9, 2002 Colorado Rapids   0 - 1 Los Angeles Galaxy 0 — 90 Mile High
MLSp Oct. 5, 2002 Colorado Rapids   0 - 4 Los Angeles Galaxy 0 — 90 Rose Bowl
MLSp Oct. 2, 2002 Colorado Rapids   2 - 1 Dallas Burn 0 — 90 Cotton Bowl
MLSp Sept. 28, 2002 Colorado Rapids   1 - 0 Dallas Burn 0 — 90 Mile High
MLSp Sept. 25, 2002 Colorado Rapids   2 - 4 Dallas Burn 1 — 90 Cotton Bowl
MLS Sept. 20, 2002 Colorado Rapids   1 - 1 Kansas City Wizards 0 1 90 Mile High
MLS Sept. 14, 2002 Colorado Rapids   2 - 1 Kansas City Wizards 0 1 90 Arrowhead Stadium
MLS Sept. 1, 2002 Colorado Rapids   3 - 2 Dallas Burn 0 2 90 Mile High
MLS Aug. 28, 2002 Colorado Rapids   1 - 3 New England Revolution 0 1 90 Gillette Stadium
MLS Aug. 24, 2002 Colorado Rapids   3 - 0 San Jose Earthquakes 0 1 90 Mile High
all 198 recorded games →

Most often alongside

Players who appeared in the most games alongside Carlos Valderrama
player together share
Steve Ralston 120 61%
Scott Garlick 98 49%
Ritchie Kotschau 93 47%
Josh Keller 66 33%
Eric Quill 56 28%
Steve Trittschuh 55 28%
Joseph Addo 53 27%
Chad McCarty 52 26%
Dominic Kinnear 51 26%
John Maessner 50 25%
Cle Kooiman 48 24%
Martin Vasquez 48 24%

The 12 most frequent, of the 198 games Carlos Valderrama has an appearance on record for. Two players count as teammates in a game when both have an appearance in it for the same club, so this is drawn from lineups rather than from rosters — and it is only as complete as the lineups are. Whole leagues here recorded none.

In the news

headline source date
Minnesota United FC: Your guide to James Rodríguez's new team MLSSoccer.com 2026-02-06 detail
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi repeats as Landon Donovan MLS MVP MLSSoccer.com 2025-12-09 detail
Decision Day countdown: MVP, Supporters' Shield & other must-follow storylines MLSSoccer.com 2025-10-01 detail
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi named 2024 Landon Donovan MLS MVP MLSSoccer.com 2024-12-06 detail
Your complete guide to the 2024 MLS stretch run MLSSoccer.com 2024-08-22 detail
Philadelphia's talent gap, Seattle's waiting game & more from Matchday 20 MLSSoccer.com 2024-06-16 detail
360 View: Ranking the best No. 10s in MLS MLSSoccer.com 2024-04-26 detail
FC Cincinnati's Luciano Acosta named 2023 Landon Donovan MLS MVP MLSSoccer.com 2023-11-27 detail
Your Tuesday (Playoff) Kickoff: Ranking the 8 remaining teams’ chances of winning MLS Cup MLSSoccer.com 2023-11-14 detail
As an MLS legend, Savarese now aiming for coaching success in Portland American Soccer Now 2018-04-06 detail
all 16 stories →
season salary
1996 $175000.00