The Week of 99: A look at the numbers

It’s hard to sum up the exploits and impact of a player like Jaime Moreno. The forward joined D.C. United in the second half of the inaugural season of MLS. After becoming the first ever Bolivian in the Premier League at Middlesborough, Jaime Moreno joined fellow Bolivian and future club legend Marco Etcheverry at D.C. United. Since then Moreno has collected four MLS Cups, climbed to the top of the all-time goal scoring list, and has been recognized five times in the MLS Best XI.

To start the Week of 99, DC United at The Offside will take a closer look at his numbers.

The Numbers

First Name on the Teamsheet -The final game against Toronto will mark the end of Moreno’s 14th season at the Black and Red. In those 14 seasons, Moreno played in 328 league games for the team. In those 328 games for D.C. Moreno started 284 of them. That equates to Moreno starting in over 86% of the matches he played in. It’s no secret that Moreno’s role over the past two years has diminished, so looking at the numbers before 2009 that percentage jumps up to 94%.

Two Weeks Notice – In those games played for D.C, Moreno has played 25195 minutes in MLS league matches. That means he’s spent around seventeen and a half days on the field.

Forever Young – Moreno scored his first D.C. United goal on August 10th, 1996 in a 3-2 loss to Columbus Crew. To put that in perspective, Andy Najar, this season’s leading scorer, was 3 years, 4 months, and 25 days old. It would be another 13 years, 8 months, and 18 days until Najar scored his wonder goal against Dallas.

“It’s in the Net” – Everyone knows about the goals Moreno has scored. 132 in the league and 11 in the playoffs. The 132 has him tied for first with Jeff Cunningham as the all-time leading scorer in MLS. He has averaged 8.8 goals a season.

Making an Impact – According to my calculations, D.C. United has scored 736 goals since 1996. Moreno has scored 130 goals for D.C. in the league. That means he has scored around 17% of D.C.’s goals. The real eye-opening number is when you look at his goals and assists. Moreno has been directly involved in 232 Black and Red goals, 32% of D.C.’s goals in MLS.

From the Spot – Moreno is one cool customer from the spot. Of those 132 league goals he has scored, 43 have come from the penalty spot. From that spot Moreno’s success percentage was 84%, those 43 conversions coming from just 51 attempts.

Hit the Target – Moreno has taken 681 shots in MLS league games. Of those 681, 392 were on target. That’s 57%.

Another Dimension – Goals and practical jokes weren’t the only thing Moreno added to the D.C. team. He also proved equally dangerous as a creator of goals as he was a scorer. Moreno has been credited for 102 assists in his 15 seasons in MLS, averaging 6.8 a season

Consistency is the Key – Over the course of his career in MLS, Moreno has averaged a goal or assist ever 1.4 games, that further breaks down to around 109 minutes between each goal/assist.

Behave Yourself – Moreno is well known to be a prankster off the field, but how disciplined was when playing? Moreno collected a total of 29 yellows and 6 reds in his MLS career. That averages out to just under 2 yellows per year. So on any given night of watching D.C., what would be your chances of seeing Jaime booked? Just 8.5%. Chance to see him get sent off? 1.7%.

Tough Love – So Jaime wasn’t exactly Pablo Mastroeni out there with his bookings, but what about him being fouled? Moreno was fouled a staggering 703 times.

99 – Moreno donned the 99 when he returned to D.C. after a brief stint with the Metrostars. That number 99 will forever be connected to the Bolivian’s quality on and off the field.

Category: Current Roster, DC United Team News