MLS awards: Our picks for MVP, Coach of the Year, Best XI and more

The 2023 MLS season may be remembered as the one where Lionel Messi joined the show, but in truth, the vast majority of the on-field highlights were owned by others. FC Cincinnati completed its turnaround, Atlanta United featured a rising young South American star, the Columbus Crew entertained and St. Louis City over-performed just about everybody’s expectations.

Advertisement

It leaves a crowded field for most of the league’s major year-end awards, which start getting handed out this week as the playoffs go on. Here’s how our MLS writers voted for MVP, Defender of the Year, Coach of the Year and more.

Most Valuable Player

Bogert: With due respect to LAFC’s Denis Bouanga and Houston Dynamo’s Hector Herrera, Acosta is the clear MVP this season. He had 17 goals and 14 assists, leading FC Cincinnati to the Supporters’ Shield. Don’t overthink this.

Rueter: Why not think about this, Tom? I have made my case for Herrera at multiple points this year. In terms of both all-around quality and “value” to his team, I think he’s in a class of his own this season. Meanwhile, you could argue that Acosta wasn’t even the best player at his position given Thiago Almada’s brilliance.

Bogert: Counterpoint: No

Cárdenas: There have been years where I’ve struggled to pick an MVP. Not in 2023. Acosta has been the frontrunner all year. The Argentine has become irreplaceable in Cincinnati as a chance creator and as a leader of men.

Goalkeeper of the Year

Cárdenas: This was Djordje Petrovic’s award to lose but the former New England Revolution standout left for Chelsea in August. Roman Burki stood out, in my opinion, because he lived up to the expectations of being a DP goalkeeper for first-year club Saint Louis City. Goalkeeping can crush an expansion side in year one. Thanks to Burki, that didn’t happen.

Rueter: The lasting images of him picking Sporting Kansas City’s speculative shots out of the net do little to blemish what a fine first MLS season he’s had. Like Vito Mannone with Minnesota in 2019, Bürki’s big-game pedigree and cultured veteran savvy have helped improve his team’s defensive mettle.

Maurer: This is my chaos selection, made purely via eye test, more or less. No regrets.

Advertisement

Defender of the Year

Bogert: Orlando City center back Robin Jansson didn’t even make the finalists, which is crazy to me. I figured Matt Miazga would win, but Jansson has been the best defender in MLS this year. His 1v1 defending, ability to cover ground and break lines in possession gives him the edge.

Rueter: Columbus Crew center back Steven Moreira also didn’t even make the finalists. I’m really not sure what that’s about – none of Wilfried Nancy’s high-flying, breakneck-attacking methodology this year would’ve been advisable without Moreira’s capable anchoring.

Newcomer of the Year

(Note: Atlanta United striker Giorgos Giakoumakis took home this award on Thursday, beating Lionel Messi)

Bogert: Lionel Messi played exactly 372 minutes in MLS, the only competition supposed to matter for this award. Yet he is a finalist. Come on guys. Give me a break.

Maurer: Is it though? Are the rules for any of these awards published anywhere? Don’t answer that, I don’t actually care — Messi has clearly been a transformational force for MLS, even if it was largely done in a made-up tournament that didn’t exist last year. Feel free to complain about my selection in the comments, which I promise you I will not read.

Cárdenas: Giakoumakis came to Atlanta in the winter, claimed Josef Martinez’s No. 7 shirt and quickly became Atlanta United’s newest league star. The Greek striker scored 17 goals in 27 appearances. If he hadn’t missed games through injury, Giakoumakis would’ve claimed the Golden Boot. He has been a fantastic addition to Atlanta.

Rueter: I really don’t get why St. Louis didn’t nominate the presumptive Goalkeeper of the Year for this award.

Burke: Yeah, I voted for Giakoumakis, but I have no qualms with anyone voting for Messi. Is he not *literally* the best newcomer to MLS? His impact off the pitch is unquestionable, and he’s been no slouch on it; The Athletic’s John Muller pointed out that Messi racked up more net g+ above average in 312 MLS minutes than Giakoumakis (1852 mins) or Lowen (2462 mins) did all season.

Advertisement

Alexander Abnos, editor, butting in rudely: Counterpoint: No.

Tenorio: No one can argue that Messi’s presence has had the biggest impact on MLS overall, but that’s not what this award is really about. It’s about on-field impact, and it doesn’t count Leagues Cup. If Messi had been healthy, I think Miami would have made the playoffs and maybe the conversation would be different. But he wasn’t and they didn’t and that made this an easy pick.

Young Player of the Year

Cárdenas: After winning the Newcomer of the Year award in 2022, Almada had an MVP-caliber season in 2023. No shame in losing that honor to Acosta. Voting for Almada for the young player of the year award was a no-brainer, but the award doesn’t do him justice. Almada’s a top player. Period.

Rueter: I’m making Diego Luna the favorite for this award next season. No contest this year.

Burke: As the sole English representative on the soccer staff, I almost went for Noel Buck for this award. While his contribution on the offensive end does not yet (and probably will never) match a player of Almada’s style and caliber, he has all the tools to be the prototypical modern No 8, combining athleticism and physicality with a rocket shot and impressive weight of pass. He’s a real prospect.

Tenorio: Shout out to my guy Big Duncs (Orlando City’s Duncan McGuire), but Almada deserved this award.

Comeback Player of the Year

Rueter: No real wrong answers among the presumptive front-runners. Parks came back from a blood clot procedure and returned to his usual high level at the heart of New York City FC’s midfield.

Bogert: Alan Pulido missed all of the 2022 season after struggling with injuries the previous two seasons with Sporting KC. He returned this year amid questions if he was even the starter anymore, and in all likelihood was set to depart when his contract expired this winter. Instead, Pulido was one of the best center forwards in MLS with 14 goals in 28 appearances and signed a new, long-term contract.

Advertisement

Coach of the Year

Rueter: Nancy took a team of players that had largely languished under Caleb Porter and instantly unlocked something within them to become MLS’s best entertainers. No team was winning for a greater share of their regular season matches (44%, Orlando’s next at 36%) than Columbus. Style and substance? Find you a manager who can do both.

Tenorio: I just don’t think the St. Louis roster is anywhere as good as where they finished on the table, yet they continued to get results. It’s not easy in an expansion season to bring a completely new team together and get them all on the same page. Carnell did that and also had the team way overperforming where I think the roster should have finished. Maybe the best I’ve ever felt about a coach of the year pick.

Maurer: St. Louis was picked as basement-dwellers by nearly every pundit in the league (this one included.) Nancy, Noonan and a handful of others all have solid arguments in their favor, but none of them hold a candle to Carnell’s performance. He has pushed an expansion team to the promised land and has done so with a roster that’s entirely bereft of star power.

The Athletic MLS Staff’s combined Best XI

(Number indicates vote tally among seven ballots)

• GK: Roman Bürki (6)
• D1: Matt Miazga (5)
• D2: Steven Moreira (4)
• D3: Robin Jansson (4)
• D4: Kai Wagner (3)
• M1: Thiago Almada (7)
• M2: Hector Herrera (7)
• M3: Lucho Acosta (6)
• M4: Cristian Espinoza (3)
• F1: Denis Bouanga (7)
• F2: Cucho Hernandez (4)

(Note: Obinna Nwobodo also received 3 votes, but lost a staff tiebreaker against Wagner and Espinoza. Also receiving votes: Giakoumakis (2), Yeimar Gómez Andrade (2), Carles Gil (2), Brian White (2), Daniel, Diego Palacios, John Tolkin, Jakob Glesnes, Jackson Ragen, Riqui Puig, Hany Mukhtar, and Bongi Hlongwane)

Some of our own ideas….

Dave Sarachan interim head coach of the year: Troy Lesene

Maurer: Lesene is a clear choice here and he has the classic interim head coach pedigree: honed in the pits of the NCAA and USL and thrust into the spotlight at the New York Red Bulls in just his second year of top-flight coaching. Lesene has helped engineer an impressive turnaround in Harrison, something that Sarachan — the patron saint of American interim coaches — would be proud of.

GO DEEPER

Meet the 35-year-old first-time manager/technical director leading New Mexico United’s U.S. Open Cup run

Rueter: This was a season full of interim coaches, but few can match Lesesne’s accomplishment of… finishing 8th in the East and winning the play-in match. Frank Klopas kept Chicago in the playoff hunt until the final day, as did Miles Joseph in Portland. Javier Morales didn’t last long between Phil Neville and Tata Martino, but he did oversee the gutsy away win in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal against Birmingham Legion.

Carlos Valderrama hair of the year: Cade Cowell

Bogert: For what Cade Cowell didn’t contribute in goals or assists, he made up for with the flow. Elite mullet. Looks great when he’s sprinting. Shoutout to John Tolkin, Ivan Franco and Lalas Abubakar. They’re always up for this award.

Maurer: Stick with critiques that relate to facial hair, Bogert. When it comes to what’s going on up top, Nashville SC’s Jacob Shaffelburg’s absolutely spectacular mullet is the clear winner here. As a native Nashvillian, I gotta say: It’s too perfect that a man from Canada heads to Tennessee to teach us about our own culture.

Advertisement

Chivas USA worst team of the year: Toronto FC

Maurer: How can this award go to anybody other than Toronto FC? They were dreadful on the field, yes, but the tire fire burned brightest off of it. TFC had everything in 2023: a revolt from a pair of high-profile Italians (one of whom refused to stop vaping in the locker room) and accusations of nepotism between player and coach. They lit a record amount of money on fire and ended up with very little to show for it. They were so bad that their new coach, who took over with a handful of games remaining, seems to have refused to coach the team until next year, to avoid the stench of 2023 tarnishing his resume. Spectacular.

Rueter: Toronto has a vise grip on this category, but I do want to give one dishonorable mention. The only thing that’s arguably worse than being an expensive mess is being irrelevant. Unfortunately, Colorado Rapids fans have been treated to low investment, pretty blatant apathy from ownership, a coaching change that doesn’t seem to address the club’s main issues, and — after seeing injured midfielder leader Jack Price and striker Diego Rubio leave the club — another rebuild. That’s an awfully bleak state of affairs.

The Columbus Crew ‘we are aware of the issues with our scoreboard’ award for excellence in social media

Maurer: Atlanta United didn’t do a lot of winning on the field this year but they’ve taken home this title, named after the most understated social media post in the history of MLS. Messi missed Miami’s encounter with the Five Stripes, notably posting a photo of an Argentine pizza to his social media a night prior. The pizza itself may have looked tasteless but Atlanta’s post, well, it was delicious.

Acá tienen su pizza para el viaje 🍕✌️ pic.twitter.com/qwKrWTHCHt

— x – Atlanta United Fútbol Club (@VamosATLUTD) September 16, 2023

Honorable mention: Felipe catches a stray

After a relatively lukewarm criticism of journeyman defender Andrew Gutman, our own Felipe Cárdenas found himself being shushed on social media.

Shut your mouth 🤫

— Andrew Gutman (@_andrewgutman_) February 26, 2023

Cárdenas, who regularly shows all of us youth soccer clips of himself during staff calls, is probably convinced he’d do well in a 1v1 with Gutman. I’d pay to see it.

Robert Taylor Lionel Messi beneficiary award

Maurer: As much as I’d like to hand this award to Yassine Chueko (Messi’s ubiquitous bodyguard) the award has to go to Taylor. The 29-year-old had cycled through nine different clubs before he arrived in Fort Lauderdale and he’s somehow become a world-beater. It’s not a knock on his quality and he’s far from the first player in MLS to morph from caterpillar to butterfly in the presence of greatness.

GO DEEPER

How mysterious Finn Robert Taylor has made the most of playing with Messi

Rueter: Well, he went supernova in the Leagues Cup but didn’t really carry that form back into the regular season. Taylor scored twice after play resumed, and it was a brace against lowly Toronto FC so that’s hardly worthy of his butterfly wings. Further back the field, Benjamin Cremaschi went from a talented young midfield prospect to someone the United States felt rushed to bring into the senior national team in hopes of warding off Argentina. I’m still not sure where Cremaschi projects in Gregg Berhalter’s system, or if he’ll be a factor for the Copa América roster should the USMNT qualify, but his stock has skyrocketed thanks to Messi.

GO DEEPER

Armas, Little among finalists in Rapids coaching search

(Top photos: Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57lGlpbGlganxzfJFsZmppX2V%2FcLnLrGSar5GnsbR5z6KapKtdosOxecGeqq1lqJ58

 Share!

• Share on Facebook
   
• Tweet
   
• Share on Google+
   
• Post to Tumblr
   
• Pin it
   
• Submit to Reddit