Just because you can make a case for something doesnāt mean you ought to act on it. Thatās a free life lesson that applies your daily decisions as well as soccer.
For instance, I can make compelling Landon Donovan MVP cases for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Josef Martinez (get well soon, hermano) ā theyāre having seasons that, in any other year, would be worthy of the award ā but that doesnāt mean they should get my vote. And they wonāt, not this year anyway.
Carlos Vela is the rightful 2019 Landon Donovan MLS MVP, and any other result is malpractice on the part of voters. I shouldnāt have to make my case here, and I wonāt. You watched the games. Youāve had the stats beaten over your head. Even Zlatan, the āMVP of MVPs,ā says winning the award isnāt important to him ā¦ perhaps because he knows it wonāt happen.
So instead of arguing about something that doesnāt deserve any more oxygen than itās currently getting, letās spread the MVP love around Major League Soccer. Here are five players who I think deserve some MVP-level dap for what theyāve done a level down from the Big Three.
Maxi Moralez (New York City FC)
Itās hard to compare eras, but here are some past MVP campaigns, names and year removed to prevent bias from creeping into your brain.
- Season A: 15 G, 12 A
- Season B: 10 G, 10 A
- Season C: 7 G, 19 A
- Season D: 8 G, 13 A
- Season E: 12 G, 6 A
This season, Moralez has seven goals and 20 assists, just the third to ever hit that number, for MLSās second-best team. Itās no fluke, either. He had eight and 16 last year. Heās both second forward and No. 10. Heās the guy who makes Heber, Taty Castellanos, Alexandru Mitrita tick.
In most other years, his numbers, influence and status as the best player on MLSās second-best team would push him into MVP consideration. Hell, he might have won the thing.
In case you were wondering about the blind seasons above, the key is below. How many did you guess?
- Season A: 2011, Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls, D.C. United)
- Season B: 2004, Amado Guevara (MetroStars)
- Season C: 2008, Guillermo BarrosSchelotto (Columbus Crew)
- Season D: 2010, David Ferreira (FC Dallas)
- Season E: 2009, Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
Ike Opara (Minnesota United)
Opara wonāt win MVP, but he doesnāt need it. Heās almost certainly going to be the Defender of the Year.
The Loons defensive improvement has been that stark ā 30 fewer goals allowed so far than in 2018! ā and the individual (previously mighty Sporting KC have struggled mightily without him) and collective (MNUFC were bad before and now theyāre good!) narratives are sure to suck in voters. I think he deserves the honor, but Iād also urge you to give NYCFCās Maxime Chanot a closer look. One and two in my book.
For me, Opara has been MNUFCās MVP this season, too. Bobby Warshawās Chad Marshall theorem explains why I think that. Boiled down, center back is a position that can lift everyone else on a team to heights they wouldnāt have approached otherwise. Theyāre the foundation. Itās tough to find good center backs in MLS right now ā just ask Minnesota ā so itās an opportunity for competitive advantage.
Iām not a big believer in judging defenders on statistics alone. They can tell you something, but elite defenders force their opponents to change the way they play in order to avoid their strengths. Iām more concerned with the effect players have on their own team and how that relates to defensive performance and results. Oparaās given MNUFC a measurable competitive advantage in the most important statistic: the points to make the playoffs
Haris Medunjanin (Philadelphia Union)
The question before the season started was whether Medunjanin had the legs to excel as a defensive midfielder in MLS. Turns out that question was mostly a red herring. The 34-year-old hasnāt missed a minute for Jim Curtin.
More to the point, Medunjanin doesnāt need to run and tackle that much when heās got Jamiro Monteiro, Alejandro Bedoya and Brenden Aaronson buzzing around him. Nobodyās completed more passes (2,052) than the 34-year-old this season. In fact, nobody is even close. LAFCās Eduard Atuesta is 163 behind.
These arenāt just sideways and backwards, either. Medunjanin leads the league in successful passes in the opponentās half (1147). Heās fourth in successful passes ending in the final third (585). The players around him in those categories are the best attacking midfielders in MLS: Carles Gil, Alejandro Pozuelo, Nicolas Lodeiro.
Philadelphia arenāt the best possession team in MLS, but Medunjanin might just be the most effective player in possession. He accounts for 16.1 percent of the teamās completed passes, one every six or so, by far the highest percentage among the elite orchestrators around the league. The gameās flows through his feet during the Unionās best-ever season.
Carles Gil (New England Revolution)
Revs fans on Twitter arenāt happy with me right now.
Thatās because, as I said on Extratime, itās my hope that both 7-seeds are eliminated in Round 1. Iām not anti-upset and Iām not anti-Revs. Itās just that, in order to validate the playoff format and render regular-season results/home-field advantage truly meaningful, it'd be better if the second-best team in both conferences win that game.
And if they donāt, then Iāll be ready to prostrate myself on the bonfires of Twitter schadenfreude while heaping praise on Bruce Arena and his squad for a job well done.
Anyway, they say Iām a hater. I say no matter what happens New England has a bright future in front of them. Gustavo Bou is one reason why, but the biggest reason is Gil, who is having a very quiet 10-goal, 14-assist season thatās making all the āWill he get on the scoresheet?ā hand-wringing from preseason seem pretty silly.
The guy is 26-years-old. Heās in his prime. Arena is only going to make this team better with more time and more resources. Right now, Vela and Pozuelo are the only others with double-digit seasons of goals and assists. Decent company.
Florian Jungwirth/Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes)
San Jose were historically bad last year. Matias Almeyda arrived, made very few changes to the squad and has them within striking distance of a playoff berth.
Howād Almeyda do that?
Well, thereās too much to unpack there for this column, but to start he put Jungwirth (seek-and-destroy specialist with the feet of a defensive midfielder) and Yueill (ball-spraying savant) in roles that maximized their attributes. Theyāve thrived, and the Earthquakesā fortunes, with help from plenty of other faces, have followed.
Iāll let Doyle explain to combo effect.
āThe way I see it, Yueillās passing raised the Quakesā ceiling, while Jungwirthās field coverage, reading of the game and distribution raised the Quakesā floor. And they needed that floor to be raised before they could raise the ceiling.ā