Sacha Kljestan returned to MLS in 2015 after New York acquired the top spot in the allocation rankings via trade with Montreal. New York completed a transfer from Belgian giants RSC Anderlecht to bring the Huntington Beach, California native back to MLS, where he began his career in 2006 with Chivas USA.
Per Opta, Kljestan led the league in successful passes in the opponent’s half (1076) and passes ending in the final third (894). He was third in the league in possessional passes with 1995 (teammates Dax McCarty and Felipe also finished in the top four) and was second in all of MLS in touches 2514 in touches, behind only McCarty.
Kljestan was integral to the Red Bulls success all season, though his point production started off slow. Kljestan recorded two goals and one assist through the first 14 matches, but then found his offensive touch, finishing the season with six goals and thirteen assists in the final 19 regular season matches. Kljestan created 79 chances in 2015, tied for second-most in the league (Cristian Maidana, PHI) behind only Real Salt Lake’s Javier Morales (84).
Kljestan had many memorable moments in 2015 – including a Goal of the Year candidate strike from distance against Orlando City in July, a stoppage-time set piece that proved too much to handle for D.C.’s Bill Hamid, allowing Lloyd Sam to score a game-tying goal on the final play in March, and the Supporters’ Shield-clinching goal from the penalty spot on the final day of the season.​
