Ted Lasso: The 9 Best Soccer Players, Based On Skills

The popularity of Ted Lasso stems from several aspects, with the most notable being the relatable comedic elements that audiences can enjoy even if they don’t care about soccer. That being said, the sports aspect does still play a major part, and seeing the games unfold makes for some of the best drama.

As is the case with sports shows like Friday Night Lights, viewers appreciate seeing which players on the field are the best at what they do. Some members of AFC Richmond are superstars, some are veterans who lead the team, and others, unfortunately, don’t contribute much that is seen on screen.

9 Richard Montlaur

A lot of fans might not know Richard Montlaur by name but they’re sure to recognize his face as he has popped up a ton throughout the show’s two seasons. Although he’s always around in the background, he’s not someone who really gets all that much time to display his talents on the pitch.

The most memorable scene involving Richard did have to do with his soccer skills though. During the episode where Ted brought out his angry alter ego Led Tasso, he made sure to scold Richard for the weak pass he sent towards Jamie Tartt. Still, Richard seems to be a consistent starter for AFC Richmond for a reason.

8 Colin Hughes

Poor Colin Hughes is often the butt of the joke whenever he’s around. In season 1, he’s even one of the main people to get roasted multiple times by Nate and he began season 2 by taking more of a verbal beating from those around him. In the first game shown in season 2, it was said that Colin made a crucial mistake.

His flub led to a goal by Nottingham Forrest, which resulted in yet another tie for the club. Even the team’s newest Dutch player had something to say about Colin’s bad play. Like Richard, Colin is someone who you’re sure to always see hanging around but he hasn’t shown much else just yet.

7 Jan Maas

Speaking of the team’s newest Dutchman, Jan Maas wasn’t around in season 1. Instead, his first time on screen was actually his discussion about Colin’s lackluster performance. It was quickly made clear that he wasn’t being a jerk when he said it but that’s just how blunt he is known to be.

For the most part, Jan’s inclusion in the series is mostly to bring more comedy and another interesting character into the mix. The only real time that he’s shown on the field saw him do like Colin and make a key mistake during a game. However, he was shown to be upset about it while watching the footage back, meaning he’d likely do what it took to fix things.

6 Thierry Zoreaux

For most of season 1, AFC Richmond’s goalie isn’t given much shine on screen. In “Make Rebecca Great Again,” it was revealed that he tore his hamstring (which Ted called a torn butt) so Thierry Zoreaux was replacing him between the posts. Almost immediately, he made an impact to help the team.

Although they suffered a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds of season 1’s “The Hope That Kills You,” one of the first things that Ted Lasso said to the team was to heap praise on Zoreaux. He played an incredible game but was just unlucky to be on the losing end of the battle. He continued to be a strong goaltender in season 2.

5 Isaac McAdoo

It takes someone truly special to take over as the team captain following the retirement of the iconic Roy Kent. In his final game, Roy gave the position over to Isaac McAdoo, the team’s center back. The difference between them is that Roy was considered an all-time great and Isaac isn’t quite on that level.

That’s not a knock on Isaac though because while he’s not a superstar, he’s exactly the kind of leader that the team needs. He seems to be in the mix whenever anything is going with the team and he’s the vocal one to motivate everyone to be at their very best. That’s a crucial part to play on a team.

4 Sam Obisanya

If there was a “Most Improved Player” award given out on Ted Lasso, there’s no doubt that Sam Obisanya would be the winner. He started season 1 as a guy who was struggling because he was feeling homesick after leaving Nigeria to join AFC Richmond. It seems like he took Ted Lasso’s advice of being a goldfish to heart.

Those words were designed to have Sam forget about mistakes and move on. By the time season 2 rolled around, Sam played a much bigger part. Commentary noted that he was often a bright spot of the team, scoring a few goals and mostly racking up the assists while passing to more seasoned scorers.

3 Roy Kent

He’s here, he’s there, he’s every f***ing where. Roy Kent is the definition of a fan favorite. He was a star in his prime but by the time Ted Lasso becomes coach of AFC Richmond, Roy is in the final days of his playing career. He was even benched for being too slow to make important plays.

However, in Roy’s final game, he managed to chase down Jamie Tartt and stop him from scoring. Roy gave his all on the field and that was evident on every single play. His love of the game continued after retirement with him landing roles as a television pundit and later as a coach.

2 Dani Rojas

At the start of the series, Jamie Tartt was clearly the best player on the team but that changed with the arrival of Dani Rojas in “Two Aces.” He had a much different demeanor than Jamie, bringing enthusiasm and joy to every play. Dani lives by the motto of “football is life” and it shows in his play.

In his first episode, Dani is seen matching Jamie in skills on several occasions, proving his level of talent. After accidentally killing the team mascot with a kick, Dani went through the yips and struggled for a while but made up for it in the season 2 finale, scoring the tying goal to secure a promotion for the team.

1 Jamie Tartt

As noted, Jamie Tartt is the obvious star of the team. Even Roy Kent, who hated Jamie for a long time, said that his foot was basically kissed by the gods because of his impressive scoring ability. The problem was that Jamie’s ego held him back and even led to him getting benched in one game.

The team thrived without him, showing that Jamie had work to do. He took Ted’s advice and became a better team player, getting a game-winning assist in the season 1 finale. Season 2 saw him make AFC Richmond a better squad again and though he was a good teammate, Roy reminded him to be the jerk who could score when the team needed it from time to time.

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