Popular U.S. national team defender Alexi Lalas easily won the 1995 Honda Player of the Year Award as the top American player in voting by U.S. media.
Lalas, who is the first American to play in Italy’s Serie A, outdistanced U.S. teammates John Harkes and Marcelo Balboa in winning the award by the largest margin in its five-year history.
The winner was announced at ceremonies in Los Angeles Jan. 17 on the eve of the USA-Brazil match in the semifinals of the Gold Cup.
Lalas received 209 points (3-2-1 point system), including 52 first-place votes. Harkes (94 points, 18 first-place votes) and Balboa (91, 17) followed.
Lalas plays for Padova, which avoided relegation from Italy’s Serie A in its first season back, and will compete for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer. Lalas played with Balboa and Harkes on the U.S. national team that won U.S. Cup ’95 and finished a surprising fourth at the ’95 Copa America.