24 Under 24: #18 Octavio Rivero, Vancouver Whitecaps

Octavio Rivero | Forward | Vancouver Whitecaps | Age: 23

Last Year in 24 Under 24: n/a

2015 Stats: Matches played: 29 - Goals: 10 - Assists: 3

There will always be a place for pragmatic soccer, and few No. 9s in the league are as pragmatic as Vancouver's Young DP from Uruguay. Octavio Rivero makes the right runs, takes a beating, brings his wingers into the play and is always effective – whether he's scoring or not.

If you're looking for flashy skills and blinding pace, you need to turn elsewhere (and the Whitecaps have their share of guys with those exact traits). If, however, you're looking for someone who goes out and does the job of making the game easier for his teammates, then Rivero's your man.

What the technical staffers say: "He’s another where I think he is a pretty good finisher. He’s shown that there can be an end product there – pretty clever in his movement and running as well. I thought he could be a little bit of a handful.

“He doesn’t shy away from it, either. He's a big guy, and he's willing to use it, and he's not going to make it easy for you to push him around."

What Opta Sports says: Octavio Rivero ranks second among 24 Under 24-eligible players with his 10 goals scored this season. He has taken 18 more shots than any other eligible player (86 total).