The 2007 MLS season has been the year of the newcomer, and ESPN’s Ives Galarcep expects newcomer players and coaches to dominate this year’s player and coach of the year awards. The MLS Player of the Year should be D.C. United’s Luciano Emilio, who hasn’t stopped scoring goals since he arrived last spring. Emilio’s deadly finishing (20 goals and one assist in 26 matches) has kept United on pace to secure the best record in MLS for the second year running. The only other realistic candidate (with apologies to Maykel Galindo, Ante Razov and Shalrie Joseph, who’ve also had great seasons) is the Red Bulls’ Juan Pablo Angel. His goal-scoring (17 goals and four assists in 20 games) is just about the only consistent thing about New York’s season.
If Angel doesn’t beat Emilio to the MVP award, he will certainly take Newcomer of the Year as a consolation prize. Galarcep says that Galindo, Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Juan Toja should also be considered, but Angel has become the most notable franchise player. Coach of the Year should go to yet another newcomer, either Chivas USA’s Preki or D.C.’s United’s Tom Soehn.
In the other categories, Galarcep says that Red Bulls winger Dane Richards should pip Toronto’s Maurice Edu for Rookie of the Year, mostly because of Toronto’s poor first season. Brad Guzan of Chivas USA, with a league-leading 11 shutouts, should take the Goalkeeper of the Year award, while New England all-star Michael Parkhurst should be Defender of the Year.