Real Salt Lake midfielder Nikolas Besagno will officially be named the 2005 Boys Soccer Player of the Year in this weekend's edition of Parade magazine, according to a report in Tuesday's Seattle Times. The No. 1 overall selection in the 2004 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, the 16-year-old Besagno is considered one of the top young players in the country and is a member of the U.S. U-17 national team.
"It's awesome to be recognized like that," Besagno told the Times.
Besagno is the third consecutive Player of the Year selection that has joined Major League Soccer at a young age after much media hype and fanfare. D.C. United sensation Freddy Adu took home the honor in 2003 as a 15-year-old and Columbus Crew midfielder Danny Szetela was the choice a year ago. Adu was a major contributor in D.C. United's MLS Cup championship season in 2004, appearing in every game of the season. Szetela has earned a starting role with the Crew this season after being used mostly as a substitute in his rookie season last year. Besagno is the only one of the three to have signed a professional contract before being named Player of the Year.
Besagno has yet to join his expansion teammates full time, as he is still in Florida finishing his high school studies. He moved from his hometown of Maple Valley, Wash., to Bradenton, Fla., in the spring of 2004 to join the U.S. Soccer U-17 residency program at the IMG Academy. Besagno will graduate from high school on Saturday and then move to Salt Lake City to join his new club team.
Commitments to the youth national team will again take the youngster away from his first professional club in September, when he will travel with his teammates to the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in Peru.
A hard-working defensive midfielder, Besagno is comfortable on the ball and has a good understanding of the game. His above-average size for his age (6 feet tall, 175 pounds) makes him a dominating force at the youth level and able to compete with much older players. His older brother Jake, 21, also plays professionally as a member of the Seattle Sounders of the United Soccer Leagues First Division (second tier).
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
