Best MLS Player ESPY Award

Awarded for| best MLS player
Country| United States
Presented by| ESPN
First award| 2006
Currently held by| Carlos Vela (MEX)
Most awards| Landon Donovan (5 times)
Website| www.espn.co.uk/espys/

The Best MLS Player ESPY Award is an annual award honoring the achievements of an individual from the world of Major League Soccer (MLS).[1] It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 2006.[2] The Best MLS Player ESPY Award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan,[3] is presented to the MLS player adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year at the annual ESPY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.[1] Balloting for the award is undertaken by fans over the Internet from between three and five nominees selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee, which is composed by a panel of experts.[1] It is conferred in July to reflect performance and achievement over the preceding twelve months, which generally includes a portion of each of two MLS seasons.[4]

The inaugural winner of the Best MLS Player ESPY Award was LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan in 2006.[5] He is one of two people to have been presented with the award more than once in its history, winning it a further four times in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011; he also earned a nomination in 2008. English right midfielder David Beckham, also for LA Galaxy, has been the second most successful player, winning twice in 2008 and 2012. American players have been the most successful with five wins and twenty-eight nominations, while those who play in the position of a forward have been recognized on fourteen occasions, and those who have played for LA Galaxy have won a total of nine awards. It was not awarded in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] The most recent winner of the award was Carlos Vela of Los Angeles FC in 2022.[7]

## Winners and nominees

[edit]

Key  * | Player's team won the MLS Cup

|

†  | Player's team lost the MLS Cup
‡  | MLS Cup Most Valuable Player
Best MLS Player ESPY Award winners and nominees  Year  | Image  | Player  | Nation  | Team  | Position  | Other nominees  | Ref(s)

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2006 |  | Landon Donovan |  USA | LA Galaxy | Forward | Dwayne De Rosario ( CAN) – San Jose Earthquakes
Jaime Moreno ( BOL) – D.C. United
Taylor Twellman ( USA) – New England Revolution | [5][2]
2007 |  | Landon Donovan (2)  |  USA | LA Galaxy | Forward | Jeff Cunningham ( USA) – Toronto FC
Christian Gómez ( ARG) – D.C. United
Matt Reis ( USA) – New England Revolution | [8][9]
2008 |  | David Beckham |  ENG | LA Galaxy | Right midfielder | Juan Pablo Ángel ( COL) – New York Red Bulls
Cuauhtémoc Blanco ( MEX) – Chicago Fire
Landon Donovan ( USA) – LA Galaxy
Luciano Emílio ( BRA) – D.C. United | [9][10]
2009 |  | Landon Donovan (3)  |  USA | LA Galaxy | Forward | Juan Pablo Ángel ( COL) – New York Red Bulls
Jon Busch ( USA) – Chicago Fire
Kenny Cooper ( USA) – FC Dallas
Guillermo Barros Schelotto ( ARG) – Columbus Crew | [11]
2010 |  | Landon Donovan (4)†  |  USA | LA Galaxy | Forward | Conor Casey ( USA) – Colorado Rapids
Jeff Cunningham ( USA) – FC Dallas
Shalrie Joseph ( GRD) – New England Revolution
Kasey Keller ( USA) – Seattle Sounders FC | [12][13]
2011 |  | Landon Donovan (5)*‡  |  USA | LA Galaxy | Forward | Edson Buddle ( USA) – LA Galaxy
David Ferreira ( COL) – FC Dallas
Chris Wondolowski ( USA) – San Jose Earthquakes | [14][15]
2012 |  | David Beckham (2)  |  ENG | LA Galaxy | Right midfielder | Dwayne De Rosario ( CAN) – D.C. United
Brad Davis ( USA) – Houston Dynamo
Chris Wondolowski ( USA) – San Jose Earthquakes | [16][17]
2013 |  | Thierry Henry |  FRA | New York Red Bulls | Forward | Chris Wondolowski ( USA) – San Jose Earthquakes
Graham Zusi ( USA) – Sporting Kansas City | [18]
2014 |  | Tim Cahill |  AUS | New York Red Bulls | Forward | Marco Di Vaio ( ITA) – Montreal Impact
Robbie Keane ( IRL) – LA Galaxy
Mike Magee ( USA) – Chicago Fire | [19]
2015 |  | Robbie Keane*‡  |  IRL | LA Galaxy | Forward | Obafemi Martins ( NGA) – Seattle Sounders FC
Lee Nguyen ( USA) – New England Revolution
Bradley Wright-Phillips ( ENG) – New York Red Bulls | [20]
2016 |  | Sebastian Giovinco |  ITA | Toronto FC | Forward | Kei Kamara ( SLE) – New England Revolution
Laurent Ciman ( BEL) – Montreal Impact
Luis Robles ( USA) – New York Red Bulls | [21][22]
2017 |  | David Villa |  ESP | New York City FC | Forward | Andre Blake ( JAM) – Philadelphia Union
Stefan Frei ( SUI) – Seattle Sounders FC
Matt Hedges ( USA) – FC Dallas
Bradley Wright-Phillips ( ENG) – New York Red Bulls | [23]
2018 |  | Nemanja Nikolić |  HUN | Chicago Fire | Forward | Tim Melia ( USA) – Sporting Kansas City
Ike Opara ( USA) – Sporting Kansas City
Diego Valeri ( ARG) – Portland Timbers | [24][25]
2019 |  | Zlatan Ibrahimović |  SWE | LA Galaxy | Forward | Josef Martínez ( VEN) – Atlanta United FC
Aaron Long ( USA) – New York Red Bulls
Wayne Rooney ( ENG) – D.C. United | [26]
2020 | Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic | [6]
2021 |  | Diego Rossi |  URU | Los Angeles FC | Forward | Andre Blake ( JAM) – Philadelphia Union
Alejandro Pozuelo ( ESP) – Toronto FC
Lucas Zelarayán ( ARM) – Columbus Crew | [27][28]
2022 |  | Carlos Vela |  MEX | Los Angeles FC | Forward | Valentín Castellanos ( ARG) – New York City FC
Jesús Ferreira ( USA) – FC Dallas
Carles Gil ( ESP) – New England Revolution | [7][29]

## Statistics

[edit]

Multiple winners and nominees  | Name  | Wins  | Nominations

|
|

Landon Donovan | 5  | 6
David Beckham | 2  | 2
Robbie Keane | 1  | 2
Chris Wondolowski | 0  | 3
Juan Pablo Ángel | 0  | 2
Andre Blake | 0  | 2
Jeff Cunningham | 0  | 2
Dwayne De Rosario | 0  | 2
Bradley Wright-Phillips | 0  | 2
Winners by team represented  | Team  | Wins  | Nominations

|
|

LA Galaxy | 9  | 12
New York Red Bulls | 2  | 8
Chicago Fire | 1  | 4
Toronto FC | 1  | 3
New York City FC | 1  | 2
Los Angeles FC | 2  | 2
New England Revolution | 0  | 6
D.C. United | 0  | 5
FC Dallas | 0  | 5
San Jose Earthquakes | 0  | 4
Seattle Sounders FC | 0  | 3
Sporting Kansas City | 0  | 3
Columbus Crew | 0  | 2
Montreal Impact | 0  | 2
Philadelphia Union | 0  | 2
Atlanta United FC | 0  | 1
Colorado Rapids | 0  | 1
Houston Dynamo | 0  | 1
Portland Timbers | 0  | 1
Winners by nation represented  | Country  | Winners  | Nominations

|
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USA | 5  | 28
ENG | 2  | 5
ESP | 1  | 3
IRL | 1  | 2
ITA | 1  | 2
MEX | 1  | 2
AUS | 1  | 1
HUN | 1  | 1
SWE | 1  | 1
URU | 1  | 1
ARG | 0  | 4
COL | 0  | 3
CAN | 0  | 2
JAM | 0  | 2
ARM | 0  | 1
BEL | 0  | 1
BOL | 0  | 1
BRA | 0  | 1
GRD | 0  | 1
NGA | 0  | 1
SLE | 0  | 1
SUI | 0  | 1
VEN | 0  | 1

## See also

[edit]

* Landon Donovan MVP Award
* MLS Best XI

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Nelson, Murry R. (2013). American Sports: A History of Icons, Idols and Ideas. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 399–401\. ISBN 978-0-313-39753-0. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2015 - via Google Books.
2. ^ a b "Nominees Announced and Fan Voting Begins for 14th Annual ESPYs". ESPN. June 28, 2006. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
3. ^ Avard, Christian (August 2, 2013). "Sculptor commissioned to complete Joe Frazier statue has died". Barre Montpelier Times Argus. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
4. ^ "New categories unveiled for The 2002 ESPY Awards" (Press release). ESPN. 2002. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
5. ^ a b "2006 ESPY Awards Winners; Steelers earn best team kudo". Variety. July 12, 2006. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
6. ^ a b Messer, Lesley (June 19, 2020). "7 ways the 2020 ESPYS will be different amid the pandemic". Good Morning America. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
7. ^ a b "Carlos Vela gana el ESPYS al Best MLS Player 2022" [Carlos Vela wins the ESPYS for Best MLS Player 2022] (in Spanish). ESPN. July 20, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
8. ^ "Major League Soccer (MLS) – New England Revolution" (Press release). Our Sports Central. June 25, 2007. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
9. ^ a b "Revolution's Reis Nominated for ESPY Award". The Sun Chronicle. July 2, 2008. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
10. ^ D'Aniello, Chris (July 21, 2008). "2008 ESPY Awards: The Winners & The Other (Real) Winners". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
11. ^ Neil, Lanee (July 17, 2009). "Athletes Score Big with UPP Entertainment Marketing ESPY Gifting – Suite of Dreams". LA's The Place. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
12. ^ Myers, Laura (July 14, 2010). "Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Galaxy's Landon Donovan take home ESPYs". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
13. ^ "Lakers nominated for 'Best Team' Espy Award". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. June 24, 2010. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
14. ^ "U.S Women's National Team Accepts Best Play at 2011 ESPY Awards from Germany". U.S. Soccer. July 14, 2011. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
15. ^ Langford, Richard (June 26, 2011). "2011 ESPN ESPY Awards: Nominees and TV Schedule". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
16. ^ Harris, Beth (July 12, 2012). "LeBron is king of the 2012 ESPY Awards". The Durango Herald. Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
17. ^ "Canadian kickboxer up for Espy Award, soccer's Dwayne De Rosario also nominated". HuffPost. The Canadian Press. June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
18. ^ Della Femina, Frank (July 18, 2013). "2013 ESPY Winner for Best MLS Player: Thierry Henry". New York Red Bulls. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
19. ^ Adno, Carly (July 18, 2014). "Tim Cahill named best MLS player at ESPYs for his stellar season with New York Red Bulls". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
20. ^ "ESPYs: Lionel Messi, Robbie Keane, U.S. women's team all win awards". ESPN. July 16, 2015. Archived from the original on September 19, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
21. ^ Becker, Josie (July 14, 2016). "Toronto FC's Sebastian Giovinco wins 2016 ESPY for Best MLS Player". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on July 19, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
22. ^ "Giovinco, Ciman nominated for top MLS player at ESPY awards". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. June 23, 2016. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
23. ^ "NYCFC's David Villa win Best MLS Player at ESPYS". ESPN. July 13, 2017. Archived from the original on January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
24. ^ Willis, Kelcie (July 18, 2018). "2018 ESPY Awards: Winners list". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
25. ^ Kovzan, Sam (June 20, 2018). "Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia and defender Ike Opara nominated for Best MLS Player at 2018 ESPYS". Sporting Kansas City. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
26. ^ Paulina Maupomé, Ana (July 11, 2019). "Zlatan Ibrahimovic named MLS Best Player at ESPY Awards". Diario AS. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
27. ^ "Diego Rossi Wins Best MLS Player Award at 2021 ESPYS". Los Angeles FC. July 11, 2021. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
28. ^ Wheeler, Daniel (June 23, 2021). "Andre Blake earns ESPY nomination". The Jamaica Star. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
29. ^ "Revs captain Gil receives ESPY nomination for best MLS' player". The Sun Chronicle. June 29, 2022. Retrieved August 11, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Best MLS Player ESPY Award winners

* 2006: Landon Donovan
* 2007: Landon Donovan
* 2008: David Beckham
* 2009: Landon Donovan
* 2010: Landon Donovan
* 2011: Landon Donovan
* 2012: David Beckham
* 2013: Thierry Henry
* 2014: Tim Cahill
* 2015: Robbie Keane
* 2016: Sebastian Giovinco
* 2017: David Villa
* 2018: Nemanja Nikolić
* 2019: Zlatan Ibrahimović
* 2020: Award not given
* 2021: Diego Rossi
* 2022: Carlos Vela

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*[Ref(s)]: References
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