NEW YORK - New York Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel was selected Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for his performance in the Red Bulls 4-0 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday, May 19, 2007. Angel played a part in three of the Red Bulls goals, as he scored his first goal since joining the team, added an assist and helped set up another. The Red Bulls (4-1-2, 14 pts) are in second place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the New England Revolution.
Angel got the home team going early when he combined on a give-and-go with Dane Richards, who fed a cross to the center of the penalty area for John Wolyniec to finish in the 17th minute. The assist was Angel's first of the season. In the 51st minute Angel helped set up a goal for Clint Mathis with a flicked header that unsettled the Columbus defense. Mathis headed in the errant clearance to put the Red Bulls up 2-0. Angel put the game away in the 61st minute when he stole a pass from the Crew defense and raced in one-on-one with Columbus goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum. He slotted the ball to the right corner of the goal and gave New York a 3-0 lead.
The 31-year-old Angel is in his first season with the Red Bulls and the award comes after his second league game with the team. He last played with English Premiership club Aston Villa, where he appeared in 205 games scored 62 goals in all competitions. His best season with Villa came in 2003, when he scored 23 goals in 38 games.
Angel joined the Red Bulls as the team's second Designated Player. Claudio Reyna was the second Designated Player signing in League history, as he joined the Red Bulls from English Premiership club Manchester City. Other Designated Players joining MLS are Mexican international Cuauhtémoc Blanco who will join the Chicago Fire and English midfielder and current Real Madrid star David Beckham, who will join the Los Angeles Galaxy. Angel and the Red Bulls return to action versus Chris Armas and the Chicago Fire on Thursday, May 24 in the ESPN2 MLS Primetime Thursday match at 7 p.m. ET.
The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from the Professional Soccer Reporters Association (PSRA).
2007 Player of the Week Winners
Week 1: Jeff Cunningham (Real Salt Lake)
Week 2: Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards)
Week 3: Maykel Galindo (Chivas USA)
Week 4: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 5: Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo)
Week 6: Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)
Week 7: Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls)
