With the MLS season over and playoffs underway, it's time to take a look at end-of-season awards. It's important to remember that only league play is taken into account here so for players like Cucho Hernandez who had impressive exploits in Concacaf Champions Cup, that won't count toward possible MVP hopes. With so many impact stars around the league, it was quite hard to determine what the cut-off was for awards but considering that I have a vote in assisting with that determination, standards had to be set.
While there's no strict playing time requirement, impact on the pitch and lifting your team to a different gear is critical. Each player who I selected has had quite an impact on their sides being able to change matches on their own. Let's get to some of the picks.
Newcomer of the Year: Gabriel Pec, LA Galaxy
With the amount of star power coming into the league, Gabriel Pec joining from Vasco Da Gama in Brazil looked like a good move for the Galaxy but hardly seemed like it would be one of the biggest moves of the season. Fast forward, and while the Galaxy may have been disappointed to not have secured the number one seed in the Western Conference, Pec has grown into a star in his first season in the league which will be critical during playoffs.
Pec scored 16 goals while assisting 14 more from the wing for the Galaxy. He's been able to link up with Riqui Puig to form one of the most feared attacks in the league and it could end up leading the Galaxy to MLS Cup.
Comeback Player of the Year: Ian Fray, Inter Miami
The fact that Ian Fray is still playing soccer is remarkable. Three ACL tears in consecutive years is enough to end most careers but Fray has returned to the pitch for Inter Miami to contribute as a squad member. Fray was able to score a goal in his first match back on the pitch against the Columbus Crew, and while he may not be an automatic starter for the Herons, what he has fought and persevered through makes him more than worthy.
Young Player of the Year: Diego Luna, Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake have been one of the surprises of the Western Conference and could make a real run. One reason why they've been able to do that is because of the creativity of 20-year-old Diego Luna's eight goals and 12 assists in the center of the attack. Luna has taken quite a step forward and is also knocking on the door of the United States men's national team. While players like Diego Gomez have also had good seasons, going by that most impactful metric, Real Salt Lake wouldn't be what they are without the exploits of Luna this season.
Goalkeeper of the Year: Kristijan Kahlina, Charlotte FC
Matt Freese and Patrick Schulte have had excellent seasons but during the back end of the season, as Charlotte FC made a run to the playoffs, one of the main drivers behind that has been their defense led by goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina. He prevented a league-high 12.31 goals while making 117 saves and keeping 12 clean sheets during the season. Those 12 clean sheets are number one among goalkeepers alongside Hugo Lloris. Sometimes keepers can look good because they aren't facing many shots and while Charlotte's defense moved things into better positions to handle, that doesn't mean that he didn't see plenty of action in protecting his team's net.
Defender of the Year: Steven Moreira, Columbus Crew
Defender of the Year can be a tough award because it's about balancing offensive contributions with actual defensive effort as well. Jordi Alba may have led all defenders in assists but he almost operated as a winger who happened to be listed as a defender. While there's nothing wrong with that, it does make a difference in how his impact can be judged. But for the Columbus Crew, Steven Moreira operated as a center back in a back three, helping make the system tick.
From stopping oncoming attacks to stepping up with the ball to spring the Crew into action, Moreira is critical to making the Crew go. He likely isn't the best pure defender in the league but his veristitly is hard to beat on one of the best overall defensive teams in MLS.
Coach of the Year: Wilfried Nancy, Columbus Crew
While Lionel Messi is the best player in the league, having him and so much talent at his disposal knocks Tata Martino down a few notches for me. This isn't to say that he didn't do a good job but more that he wasn't the most impressive coach because there were others who did more with less at their disposal. One of those is already the reigning coach of the year in Wilfried Nancy.
Selling star midfielder Aidan Morris in the middle of the season wasn't enough to stop the Crew from rolling along as Nancy is a flexible coach who has continued to evolve during this time with the team. Miami may have won the Supporters' Shield but they actually had a worse goal difference than Nancy's crew whose plus-32 was the best in the league.
MVP: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami
Yes, games played were an issue for Messi, and yes Miami were also able to win some of their games without him but that doesn't disqualify him from being the league MVP as no player has had a greater impact on their team's performance than him. Messi's 16 assists were third in the league while he added an eye-popping 20 goals which was good for second behind Christian Benteke. No player had more than Messi's 36-goal contributions on the pitch despite Messi playing 1,000 minutes fewer than most of the players around him. If Messi played in a full season, he'd be putting up video game numbers.
But then it also comes down to the recruitment side of things too. If Messi isn't in Miami, this roster doesn't look anything how it currently does. Intangibles matter for an MVP, and when Messi was able to do what he did on the pitch while also playing a meaningful role in pushing the team forward, he helped ensure that they were in the best position to succeed.
Best XI
- GK Kristijan Kahlina (Charlotte FC)
- DEF Yemir (Seattle Sounders)
- DEF Steven Morieira (Columbus Crew)
- DEF Nkosi Tafari (FC Dallas)
- MID Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati)
- MID Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy)
- MID Evander (Portland Timbers)
- MID Denis Bouanga (Los Angeles FC)
- FWD Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
- FWD Christian Benteke (D.C. United)
- FWD Cucho Hernandez (Columbus Crew)
Five spots in the best XI go without saying because award picks for the best in their positions and the MLS Golden Boot winner are pretty simple to break down. Acosta, Puig, and Evander were also the best non-Messi midfielders in the league all pushing their teams to perform each week. If Messi didn't exist, either Evander or Cucho would've been the players who I would be split between for MVP -- and it does hurt to not vote for Evander despite his meltdown after the Portland Timbers were knocked out of the playoffs by the Vancouver Whitecaps. Yemir is someone who I considered for MLS Defender of the Year, but Tafari was one of the best tacklers in the league despite FC Dallas' issues in front of him, and it doesn't get much more consistent than Bouanga for LAFC.