Brothers are having a professional sports moment, one that extends far beyond today’s news in Portland. Last week, the Holiday brothers made history in the National Basketball Association, with Jrue, Justin and Aaron using December 28’s meeting between the New Orleans Pelicans and Indiana Pacers to become the first trio of siblings to appear in the same game. In the National Football League, December 15’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers also featured three brothers, with Buffalo’s Tremaine Edwards on the opposite sideline from his two siblings, Trey and Terrell.
Major League Soccer may not have a Holiday or Edwards moment, but the circuit has a surprisingly long record of siblings in the league. Twenty-nine sets have been rostered throughout the league’s history, with 14 pairs playing on the same team simultaneously. In one instance, a trio of brothers have collected time in the league, with Brian, Jeff and Pat Carroll combining for 377 career appearances (371 by Brian). Perhaps capping the league’s strange (or, prolific) history with brothers, the LA Galaxy had two sets of brothers on the team at the same time in 2017, with the dos Santos brothers, Giovani and Jonathan, sharing a locker room with Jose and Jaime Villarreal.
In that respect, the joining of Diego and Yimmi Chara in Portland is less of an outlier than a trend, though the quality of each positions them to be one of the most influential pairs in league history. Their competition, though, has already set a high bar.
Here are six of the most notable pairs of brother teammates in league history:
DaMarcus and Jamar Beasley (2001, Chicago Fire): Though overshadowed by his legendary brother, Jamar Beasley appeared in games over four seasons from 1998 through 2001, the last of which saw him leave New England for a one-year spell in Chicago, with his younger brother. While DaMarcus would go on to make 222 MLS appearances and feature at four World Cups, Jamar would have prolific indoor career, one that took him to two Futsal World Cups.
Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos (2017-2018, LA Galaxy): Giovani may be remembered most for his departure from MLS, the Galaxy having to part ways with him before the 2019 campaign in order to make room for their other Designated Players. Two years earlier, though, he was one of MLS’ most productive players, posting 14 goals and 12 assists in the first of two straight All-Star seasons. Though the only full year the Dos Santoses shared in Carson proved a disappointment, with the Galaxy missing the 2018 postseason, Jonathan remains a foundational player for the five-time champions.
Alexi and Greg Lalas (1997, New England Revolution): While both brothers continue to have a major impact on MLS media – Alexi with FOX Sports; Greg with MLSsoccer.com – they were briefly teammates during the league’s nascent phase, with Greg making three appearances for the Revolution during his final year on the field. Alexi, in contrast, made 30 appearances that season while starting a five-year, four-team spell that would take him from New England to New York, then Kansas City before, with a year off in between, reaching his career’s last stop: the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Cristian and Alex Roldan (2018-2019, Seattle Sounders): Surprisingly only the second-youngest pair on this list (the Beasleys were 21 and 19 when they joined up in Chicago), the Roldans enjoyed the first two years of Alex’s professional career together at CenturyLink Field. During his time with Portland’s rivals, Alex made 28 appearances, 12 starts, and recorded two assists. For his part, Cristian has become a cornerstone player in Seattle, building on a stellar career at the University of Washington to become a United States international and, over his first five professional seasons, a two-time MLS Cup winner.
Chris and Stephen Wondolowski (2008, Houston Dynamo): Before visions of scoring records were ever cast near “Wondo,” he was one of two Wondolowski brothers striving to make a career in MLS. But whereas Chris has gone on to score 159 goals in his 359 MLS appearances, Stephen never played a minute for the Dynamo, with 2008 the only season he was with an MLS club.
Bradley and Shaun Wright-Phillips (2015, New York Red Bulls): Despite having the more accomplished career in the brothers’ home country of England, Shaun’s time in MLS was relatively short, appearing in only 19 games over two seasons before continuing in the USL. Bradley, on the other hand, has become one of the more accomplished goalscorers in league history, finding nylon 108 times over the course of seven seasons.
