Marco Etcheverry, the midfield maestro behind D.C. United’s powerful attack, captured Major League Soccer’s 1998 Honda Most Valuable Player award Friday, Oct. 23, at the league’s annual MLS Cup media luncheon in Los Angeles. Etcheverry’s 10 goals in 1998 were a career high, and his 19 assists equaled his MLS career-best, which is also the league single-season record he established in 1996. He is one of two United players to reach double figures in both goals and assists, joining fellow Bolivian Jaime Moreno as United’s first two players to hit double digits in both categories. “Over the past three years, Marco Etcheverry has proved to be the finest player in Major League Soccer — and arguably the top player in each of the first three seasons,” said United head coach Bruce Arena, whose team attempts to win its third consecutive championship when it faces the Chicago Fire in MLS Cup ’98 on Sunday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. “I think his recognition as this year’s Honda Most Valuable Player is only appropriate. He has clearly been our leader and our top player on the field, and now he’s receiving the same accolades on a league level.” Etcheverry, 28, captained D.C. United to an MLS-best 24-8 record in 1998, which tied the Los Angeles Galaxy for the best regular-season record in MLS history. The man known as “El Diablo” (“The Devil”) ranks No. 1 among MLS assist leaders, with 49 over three seasons. From his usual position behind the two frontrunners, Etcheverry connects D.C. United’s staunch defense to its lethal offense using precision passing and deadly free-kick prowess. Six times this season Etcheverry scored directly from a restart. During his United career, nine of his 19 goals have come through his own free kick magic, and four times he has drawn a foul near the penalty area and stepped up to promptly put the ball in the back of the net. In the community, Etcheverry joins Moreno in sponsoring a Bolivian men’s league in the Washington area. Etcheverry also hopes to establish a soccer school/training center in Washington modeled after the famous Tahuichi Academy, which was his second home from age eight to 16 in his hometown of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. “I live from soccer, and I live for soccer,” Etcheverry said. “My life is soccer, and if I need to practice longer to get better, I am going to do it. Anything I can do to make the team better. I love soccer and I don’t do it out of necessity anymore, but my body needs soccer.” Presented to the player judged by the media, coaches and general managers to be the most valuable to his team during the regular season, the Honda Most Valuable Player award winner is a player whose presence made the biggest impact on his team’s overall play during the regular season. The other two finalists for the award included: dreadlocked speedster Cobi Jones of the Los Angeles Galaxy, who joined Stern John (1998) and Roy Lassiter (1996) as one of three players to surpass the 50-point scoring threshold in the league’s history; and midfield engine Piotr Nowak, the former captain of the Polish national team and the German Bundesliga’s Playmaker of the Year in 1995-96, who sparked the expansion Chicago Fire to a 20-12 record, the league’s third-best mark.