The Happy Man Who Is Jeff Cunningham

Jack Bell of the New York Times wrote a nice profile of Real Salt Lake's Jeff Cunningham, a player enjoying what must be one of his Best Seasons Ever. As it turns out, Cunningham - who admits to "playing with a chip on his shoulder" - has a reputation around the league for being difficult. That counts news in this corner of the world; he certainly seems nice enough.

But the main point of interest in the article - one that ties in nicely with a Big Soccer thread on whether Cunningham is a Hall-of-Fame-caliber player - comes with the forward's career statistics:

"[In 2006, Cunningham] leads the league with 14 goals, ranks second with nine assists and has scored or assisted on 23 of his team’s 34 goals. In 231 career games in M.L.S., Cunningham has scored 88 goals, which ties him for fourth on the career list with Roy Lassiter. He scored 16 for Columbus in 2002 and has scored 10 or more goals in five of his nine seasons."

I didn't express an opinion on the thread, but whether we're talking about a U.S. Hall of Fame (think that's the case), or a Hall of Fame for the league, Cunningham's numbers so far tell me he ought to go in. Still, BigSoccer's debate touches on a fairly interesting angle: what makes a Hall of Fame player? Is it time with the national team? One's record in league play? If it's the latter, Cunningham, having just turned 30, has some time to pad his numbers.

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