The article is thorough but I particularly enjoyed the discussion, excerpted in part below, about whether the the MVP should be on the year-end Best XI.
The article is thorough but I particularly enjoyed the discussion, excerpted in part below, about whether the the MVP should be on the year-end Best XI.
The best player in the league
When voters don’t go for the best guy on the best team, they’ve historically treated this like a “player of the year” contest. It’s how Mukhtar ran away with it in 2022 despite Nashville finishing ninth in the league table. It’s also why Diego Valeri won the award in 2017 even as Toronto FC completed a rare treble-winning season, and why Josef Martínez’s then-record 31 goals won out in 2018 even as the New York Red Bulls narrowly won the Shield over Atlanta United.
In the cases of Mukhtar, Valeri, Martínez and Vela, you knew it when you saw it. They were each “HIM,” as the kids say. This is also where Acosta’s case isn’t quite as ironclad. Depending on what you value, Acosta warrants MVP consideration while also justifying omitting him from the year-end Best XI, as is the case with two of the fellow voters I’ve consulted.
Unlike past seasons which forced voters to choose four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards regardless of tactical coherency, this year’s MLS Best XI can be in one of six soccer formations.
For those who stick with a 4-3-3, it’s a stacked competition. Do you pick three Number 10s from a league chock-full of them and forgo structural practicality? Do you try to prioritize showing love for defensive midfielders, who are historically underrepresented? For all of their quality for over a decade, Osvaldo Alonso, Kyle Beckerman, Diego Chara and Dax McCarty combined for just three Best XI honors. That’s criminal.
The article is thorough but I particularly enjoyed the discussion, excerpted in part below, about whether the the MVP should be on the year-end Best XI.