CARSON, CA - Forward Landon Donovan, Defender Chris Albright, and Cobi Jones were named recipients of the 2006 Los Angeles Galaxy team awards today. The awards will be presented to the winners prior to the Galaxy's final game of the 2006 MLS regular season against FC Dallas tonight at 7:30 p.m. at The Home Depot Center.
Donovan was voted the Galaxy's Honda Most Valuable Player, Albright was selected as Galaxy's Defender of the Year. Donovan, who leads the team with 10 goals through Oct. 9, was also awarded the club's Budweiser Golden Boot. Cobi Jones was selected as the U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year for his efforts throughout the year.
A closer look at the Galaxy's team award winners follows:
HONDA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Landon Donovan, in his sixth season in Major League Soccer, was chosen as the team's Honda Most Valuable Player by the Los Angeles media. Donovan, 24, had an impressive offensive season with the Galaxy in 2006, despite missing eight games due to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. He has scored 10 goals and added six assists in 23 games (all starts), to lead the club. His most productive months proved to be July, August and September as Donovan scored eight goals in 15 games. He was also voted the MLS Player of the Week after scoring a goal and adding two assists in a 3-2 victory against Real Salt Lake on April 22.
DEFENDER OF THE YEAR: In his eighth season as a professional in Major League Soccer and his fifth in a Galaxy uniform, Chris Albright was voted the club's MLS Defender of the Year for the first time by the press corps that covers the Galaxy. During the 2006 regular season, the 27-year-old Albright appeared in 22 regular season matches - all starts, and registered two goals and four assists as he split his time between the club and the U.S. World Cup squad, missing eight games while at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany. He also helped lead a Galaxy defense that allowed a total of 35 goals, an average of just 1.13 per contest, with nine shutouts. Over his eight-year career, the Philadelphia, PA native has played in 166 regular season matches, 138 of them starts, a total of 12,191 minutes, while scoring 11 goals and contributing 19 assists.
BUDWEISER GOLDEN BOOT: Landon Donovan earned the club's 2006 Budweiser Golden Boot for the second consecutive season after scoring his tenth goal on the second to last weekend to giving him an insurmountable six goal lead over his closest teammates Alan Gordon (4 goals) and Herculez Gomez (4 goals). Overall, Donovan ranks sixth in the 2006 Budweiser Golden Boot race and boasts four game winning goals. He also registered two multi-goal games with two strikes each on July 1 at Kansas City and August 26 at D.C. United. Donovan's numbers are even more impressive when considering that he appeared in only 23 matches for the Galaxy, the fewest of anyone in the top ten except for Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching (21 games and 11 goals). In addition, he missed a large amount of time due to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, appearing in all three USA games. Additionally, the 5-8, 158-pound forward was voted the MLS Player of the Week after recording a goal and two assists in a 3-2 win over Real Salt Lake on April 29.
U.S. SOCCER FOUNDATION HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR: The Los Angeles Galaxy is proud to announce Cobi Jones as their 2006 U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year. Jones serves as the face of the current campaign for Little Feet, Big Goals - an organization dedicated to collecting soccer balls for disadvantaged children around the world. At the present time, Little Feet, Big Goals is collecting soccer balls for the children of Iraq that will be distributed by the U.S. Soldiers stationed in the region. Jones was also featured in a "Wednesday's Child" segment this past July on the FOX 11 10 O'clock News. Jones spent time with and taught soccer skills to a young boy, awaiting adoption, on the main stadium soccer field at The Home Depot Center. Each Wednesday and Sunday night on FOX 11 10 O'clock News, FOX 11 profiles children looking for loving families to call their own in "Wednesday's Child." In addition, Jones demonstrated outstanding involvement during the 2006 MLS season in all Galaxy outreach, grassroots, and soccer programs as well as the charitable endeavors done in conjunction with the Galaxy Foundation. He has visited children in LA area hospitals and through clinics assisted in growing the sport of soccer by demonstrating not only skills, but also character and sportsmanship to thousands of kids.
The following are the Galaxy's past team award winners:
Honda Defender Budweiser U.S. Soccer Foundation
MVP of the Year Golden Boot* Humanitarian of the Year
2006 Landon Donovan Chris Albright Landon Donovan Cobi Jones
2005 Herculez Gomez Tyrone Marshall Landon Donovan Kevin Hartman
2004 Kevin Hartman Tyrone Marshall Carlos Ruiz Galaxy team
2003 Kevin Hartman Danny Califf Carlos Ruiz Cobi Jones
2002 Carlos Ruiz Alexi Lalas Carlos Ruiz Mauricio Cienfuegos
2001 Ezra Hendrickson Greg Vanney Cobi Jones Mauricio Cienfuegos
2000 Simon Elliott Danny Califf Cobi Jones Marvin Quijano
1999 Kevin Hartman Robin Fraser Cobi Jones -
1998 Cobi Jones Robin Fraser Cobi Jones -
1997 Mauricio Cienfuegos Robin Fraser Welton -
1996 Eduardo Hurtado Jorge Campos Eduardo Hurtado -
* = Previous known as the Budweiser Scoring Champion 1996-2004.
Fireworks four-pack tickets are available starting at just $32 and in most seating categories. Make sure to get four great seats, while supplies last. A limited number of field side seats are also available for the match. Sit on the field and get as close to the action as you can be without signing an MLS contract. Tickets are available for $150 each. For more information or to order tickets, please call the Galaxy ticket office toll-free at 1-877-3GALAXY or visit www.lagalaxy.com.
