Be afraid, be very afraid: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Clint Dempsey and the scariest footballers to play in America - ranked

One of the most famous players to ever step foot in MLS, Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived and was immediately considered the most imposing figure in the league. Nicknamed The Lion, the Swede was a leader, but one who spread fear into opponents. Strong, tall, and skillful, he boasted a mentality unlike any other.

You could try speaking to him on the field, but he would brush you aside like a tumbleweed in the wind. You could play well against him, and he would purposely act as if he didn't know who you were. The sheer amount of confidence he exuded made him unapproachable, and it struck fear into those around him.

Speaking to ESPN in 2022 after departing the league, that confidence was put on full display: "I was too good for the whole competition. That is what I showed," the Swede said. "And I'm the best ever to play in MLS and that is not me having ego or trying to show off now."

That is true. Standing 6-5 with a menacing stare, he was a towering figure in the attack, and if you saw him charging at you or leaping over you for a header, you were immediately on your back foot.

He was Zlatan, after all. The world's villain, Europe's biggest footballing personality for more than a decade, then one of the most daunting players in the MLS. He knew what he was, and he played like it.

Jermaine Jones scored what is arguably the most stunning goal in U.S. men's national team history. However, when his name is brought up, it's not the strike or individual moments you remember. Rather, it's what he brought to the pitch.

He was a proper workhorse. Nonstop, always fighting, always arguing, always defending the badge. During his time with the USMNT, he was the one midfielder on the pitch that truly never stopped, and if you were in trouble on the field, he would have your back.

Unafraid of contact - or any opponent - Jones played with an intensity that few could match.

Often carefully reckless, Jones was cocky, and played with an arrogance that he backed up with performances on the pitch. For opposing players, he was a impossible to solve. He would rile up foes, get in their heads and play mind games. For teammates, though, he was the ultimate force in the middle of the park.

A nightmare for referees and teams at both the club and country level, Jones was a terrifying competitor.

Nicknamed The Honey Badger, Alonso is one of MLS' greatest-ever midfielders, and is arguably the best villain to ever take the pitch in the league.

Scrappy, yet composed, Alonso ran the midfield during his time in the league with the Seattle Sounders, Atlanta United and Minnesota United. Playing the No. 6 position as a CDM, Alonso was one of the first real destroyers in the middle of the park. Someone who went into every tackle with the confidence he would win it, and if a fight came as a result of the tackle, he would win that, too.

He never backed down from a challenge, never stepped away from an argument, and more often than not, was the instigator in both situations.

What made him scary, though, was his mobility on the pitch. For as much as he attacked, he created just as much to draw the balance level. From goals to assists to outlandish cross-field passes, the Cuban midfielder was a creative menace in the middle of the park.

Sounders fans will never forget his stoppage-time winner in the 2011 US Open Cup, in which he ran around an entire defense, and the opposition goalkeeper, to calmly slot home.

Ask anybody in U.S. Soccer about Oguchi Onyewu, and you will only hear good things. Considered one of the nicest and most kind individuals to ever come through the program, to friends and colleagues, he was a giant teddybear.

However, he was also a 6-4 defender and, on the pitch, not someone you ever wanted to cross.

There's only one story you need to know about Onyewu: The day he almost put Zlatan in a hospital, and without teammate intervention, it could have been worse. While playing for AC Milan in 2010, during a 5v5 training session, Onyewu and Ibrahimovic clashed, as told by former teammate Alexandre Pato on the Fala, Brasólho podcast.

"Let me tell you in detail," Pato relayed. "So we went to play a little game, like 5v5. Onyewu is a big defender. Ibra had the ball so he went to mark him, then Onyewu unintentionally hit him, 'BAM.' The thing is Ibra’s foot is huge, so it was hard to tackle without hitting it. We knew it had no malice. Onyewu was just coming from an injury and starting to train again. He controlled the ball with his back to Ibra, then Ibra went in with both feet on Onyewu, really trying to hurt him.

“They both fell to the ground. Onyewu got up calmly. He was really nice, with a heart of gold. Ibra is more impulsive, he got up immediately and started insulting him. Ibra was cursing in Swedish, we didn’t understand what he was saying. He tried to grab Onyewu like this (by the collar), and tried to throw him to the ground.

“What did Onyewu do? He grabbed Ibra and ‘BAM.' He threw him down instead. It was easy for Onyewu, like drinking a glass of water. Imagine Ibra, that guy is huge. But Onyewu grabbed him and threw him to the ground easily. He then jumped on top of him, pinned him down, and raised his arm.

“When he did that, I said to him: ‘Stop, my God, stop. You’re going to kill him!' If we didn’t break it up, I don’t know what would’ve happened to Ibra.”

During his incredible playing career, Clint Dempsey could be as unhinged as they come. The ex-Fulham, Tottenham and MLS attacker was not afraid of anything, or anyone, any time.

During his rookie season in MLS with the New England Revolution, former USMNT manager Bruce Arena labeled Dempsey as someone who would "look at me like you wanted to kick my ass," revealing to CBS Sports in 2024 that he was a "difficult" character and that during their years together, he never fully understood him.

Dempsey's intensity and competitiveness on the pitch was well-known. He wasn't hesitant to be overly aggressive, verbally or physically.

Notably, in 2007, he clashed on the pitch with now-CBS Soccer pundit Micah Richards in a feisty six-goal thriller in the Premier League. Dempsey got in Richards' face and as the two argued, he told Richards in a menacing manner, "You don't know where I'm from, dawg."

The phrase has now been a trademarked joke surrounding Dempsey in his post-playing career, but at the time, he was not a foe that Richards - or anyone else - wanted to mess with.