We are more or less at the mid-season mark of the 2015 Major League Soccer campaign, what better time than now to re-visit my predictions from the start of the season? From the Landon Donovan MVP Award to Newcomer of the Year, I stuck my neck out and made some bold predictions. Let’s see where my predictions stand as of today.
|
MLS Award |
Crosky on Soccer Prediction |
Leading Candidates |
| Landon Donovan MVP Award | Federico Higuain – Columbus Crew | Sebastian Giovinco – Toronto FC Benny Feilhaber – Sporting KC Fabian Castillo – FC Dallas Clint Dempsey – Seattle Sounders Kei Kamara – Columbus Crew |
| Golden Boot Award | David Villa – New York City FC | Kei Kamara – Columbus Crew (15) Sebastian Giovinco – Toronto FC (13) David Villa – New York City FC (12) Cyle Larin – Orlando City SC (9) Robbie Keane – LA Galaxy (9) |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Jaime Penedo – LA Galaxy | Stefan Frei – Seattle Sounders Clint Irwin – Colorado Rapids Bill Hamid – DC United David Ousted – Vancouver Whitecaps Dan Kennedy – FC Dallas |
| Defender of the Year | Chad Marshall – Seattle Sounders SC | Matt Besler – Sporting KC Liam Ridgewell – Portland Timbers Chad Marshall – Seattle Sounders Bobby Boswell – DC United Kendall Waston – Vancouver Whitecaps |
| Coach of the Year | Gregg Berhalter – Columbus Crew SC | Oscar Pareja – FC Dallas Carl Robinson – Vancouver Whitecaps Peter Vermes – Sporting KC Ben Olsen – DC United Gregg Berhalter – Columbus Crew |
| Newcomer of the Year | Kaka – Orlando City SC | Sebastian Giovinco – Toronto FC David Villa – New York City FC Kaka – Orlando City SC Krisztian Nemeth – Sporting KC Sebastian Lletget – LA Galaxy |
Barring a strong spike in play it certainly doesn’t look as if Federico Higuain will be bringing home the Landon Donovan award. One of his teammates may end up pulling that one off however, as Kei Kmara and Ethan Finlay have been fantastic this season.
Predicting David Villa as the Golden Boot award winner is looking like a true possibility, he currently stands third in the league with 12 goals. The addition of Pirlo and soon to be Frank Lampard should only provide Villa more opportunities to find the back of the net. Can he catch Seba Giovinco??
My Goalkeeper of the Year candidate, Jaime Penedo, has played well for the Galaxy this season but being away with the Panama National Team during the most recent Gold Cup tournament limits his minutes. Do you think he can make a strong push and take the trophy by seasons ends?
The Defender of the Year, I went with a safe pick of Chad Marshall. The Seattle Sounders centerback has won the award a league record three times, including last season. The Sounders have been without their attacking stars, Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins, but the defense has been solid and Marshall is a big reason why.
I expected alot out of Columbus Crew SC this season, predicting them to win the Eastern Conference and bring home some individual hardware. One of those pieces of hardware was Gregg Berhalter claiming the Coach of the Year award. Thus far, I believe he has done quite well but at this point in the season I have him slotted in fifth position for the award. Carl Robinson and Ben Olsen are making a strong push for the award, as is league leading FC Dallas coach, Oscar Pareja. Who do you think is the front runner?
Lastly, the Newcomer of the Year award was destined to be a barn burner considering the influx of great talent this offseason. We have seen the likes of world-renowned superstars Kaka, David Villa, Andrea Pirlo, Steven Gerrard, and maybe someday we will actually see Frank Lampard step on an MLS field. Though, none of them have made the impact that the Atomic Ant, Sebastian Giovinco has made. He is the clear cut winner at this point. Who do you think can catch Seba?
What are your thoughts? Who did you have winning the various awards? Who do you think are the leading candidates at this point in the season?
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