The editorial staff at MLSsoccer.com is looking back over the year with our Best of 2010 awards, running Dec. 13 through Jan. 2. Each day we'll hand out an award in a variety of categories culled from the storylines of Major League Soccer and US international players, including Biggest Controversy, Breakout MLS Star of the Year and the Moment of the Year.
This time around we're looking at the Assist of the Year, an award that had our voters split on a number of worthy candidates. But the prize belongs to a nifty heel flick from Philadelphia's Sebastien Le Toux to Danny Mwanga on Aug. 11.
The moments we all live for as soccer fans sometimes happen in the blink of an eye. A quick 1-on-1 move, a perfect throughball, or, in this case, an audacious flick into the run of an attacker darting into the penalty area.
The Philadelphia Union may not have had as successful entrance into the league as 2009’s Seattle Sounders, but there’s reason for hope in the City of Brotherly Love. That hope comes largely from the feet of strikers Sebastien Le Toux and Danny Mwanga, and nothing better exemplifies the promise that partnership holds than this scintillating combination from an August game against Real Salt Lake. [WATCH]
The fact that it came against the best defense in the league only made Le Toux’s “eyes in the back of his head” moment more special.
Why Le Toux's pass to Mwanga won
Second Place: Lindpere heels Henry into space[inline_node:325511]
Thierry Henry didn’t give New York Red Bulls fans as much magic as they’d hoped for, but this was an undeniably exquisite sequence in which he and Estonian Joel Lindpere unlocked the Colorado Rapids defense. Lindpere’s backheel and Henry’s finish were both top-notch. [WATCH]
Third Place: Chavez to Ferreira
It’s simply impossible to measure a cross any better than the one Marvin Chavez put on David Ferreira’s foot for the first goal of MLS Cup. Curved just around the last defender and just out of the reach of keeper Matt Pickens, it was a moment of perfection from the Honduran winger. [WATCH]
Honorable Mention: Moreno “McBrides” Le Toux into open space
Philly’s Alejandro Moreno takes a page out of Brian McBride’s book with this one, first shielding the defender with his body then opening up the defense with an inch-perfect throughball. [WATCH]
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