Finalists Announced for 2020 MLS Awards
Blake, Lodeiro, Morris, Pozuelo and Rossi vying for Landon Donovan MLS MVP;
Aaronson, Dike and Rossi finalists for inaugural AT&T Young Player of the Year award
NEW YORK (Nov. 11, 2020) – Major League Soccer today announced the finalists for the 2020 year-end awards honoring the league’s top performers during the MLS regular season.
This year’s race for the 2020 Landon Donovan MLS MVP Award features a diverse array of talents from the top shot stoppers, playmakers and scorers in the league. Among the five finalists for MVP include Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake, Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro and forward Jordan Morris, Toronto FC midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo and Los Angeles Football Club forward Diego Rossi. The five finalists hail from four different countries including Pozuelo from Spain and Lodeiro and Rossi from Uruguay. Morris, an American, was developed via the Sounders FC Academy, and Blake, who hails from Jamaica, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas.
The four field players who are finalists for MVP each ranked as the top four players in combined goals and assists in 2020. Pozuelo paced the league with 19 combined goals and assists, followed closely by Morris and Rossi with 18 apiece, and Lodeiro at 17 combined. Blake, meanwhile, manned the league’s top defense, allowing 18 goals in the regular season for a 0.88 goals allowed average and a 77.8 save percentage, both league best for goalkeepers with 20 or more appearances this season.
This season marks the inaugural honor of the AT&T MLS Young Player of the Year award, which will recognize the top player in the league age 22 or younger. The finalists are Philadelphia Union 20-year-old Homegrown midfielder Brenden Aaronson, 20-year-old Orlando City SC forward Daryl Dike, and 22-year-old Rossi. A product of the Union Academy, Aaronson was among the top 10 in MLS with seven assists on the season to go along with four goals scored. Dike, who was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, scored eight goals and registered four assists for the Lions, while Rossi led the league with 14 goals scored to capture the 2020 MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi.
The Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year finalists include Philadelphia Union’s Jim Curtin, Orlando City SC’s Óscar Pareja and Toronto FC’s Greg Vanney. Curtin led the Union to the top spot in the standings, home-field advantage throughout the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs, and the club’s first ever trophy with this year’s Supporters’ Shield. Pareja guided Orlando to its first ever Audi MLS Cup Playoffs appearance in his first year with the club and is in search of his second Coach of the Year trophy after winning with FC Dallas in 2016. Vanney, meanwhile, is in search of his second Coach in the Year honor, previously winning with Toronto in 2017, after leading TFC this season to a second-place finish in the regular season standings.
Among other honors, Nashville SC defender Walker Zimmerman looks for his first Defender of the Year honor after finishing as a finalist twice with both LAFC and FC Dallas. Among the other finalists include Philadelphia Union 21-year-old Homegrown Mark McKenzie, and Columbus Crew SC and Ghana National Team defender Jonathan Mensah.
The finalists earned the most votes in polling of three voting groups:
- Current MLS players
- MLS clubs (Coaches, Technical Directors/General Managers)
- Select media members representing local and national outlets who consistently covered the 2020 MLS regular season
The AT&T MLS Goal of the Year and MLS Save of the Year presented by Allstate will be decided by online voting at MLSsoccer.com or the free MLS app from Nov. 12-18. All MLS awards, including the 2020 MLS Best XI will also be announced in the coming weeks.
2020 Major League Soccer Awards Finalists
(Listed in alphabetical order by last name within each award category)
Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player Finalists
Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union)
Nicolás Lodeiro (Seattle Sounders FC)
Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC)
Alejandro Pozuelo (Toronto FC)
Diego Rossi (Los Angeles Football Club)
MLS Defender of the Year Finalists
Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union)
Jonathan Mensah (Columbus Crew SC)
Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists
Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union)
Eloy Room (Columbus Crew SC)
Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
MLS Newcomer of the Year Finalists
For this award, “newcomer” is defined as a player with previous professional experience who made his MLS debut in 2020
Robert Berić (Chicago Fire FC)
Alan Pulido (Sporting Kansas City)
Lucas Zelarayan (Columbus Crew SC)
AT&T MLS Young Player of the Year Finalists
For this award, “young player” is defined as a player age 22 (born on or after Jan. 1, 1998)
Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union)
Daryl Dike (Orlando City SC)
Diego Rossi (Los Angeles Football Club)
Sigi Schmid MLS Coach of the Year Finalists
Jim Curtin (Philadelphia Union)
Oscar Pareja (Orlando City SC)
Greg Vanney (Toronto FC)
MLS Comeback Player of the Year Finalists
Honors an MLS player who has overcome injuries and/or adversity in order to achieve success during the 2020 regular season Kevin Molino (Minnesota United FC)
Milton Valenzuela (Columbus Crew SC)
Bradley Wright-Phillips (Los Angeles Football Club)
MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year
Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers)
Mark-Anthony Kaye (Los Angeles Football Club)
Justin Morrow (Toronto FC)
MLS Referee of the Year Finalists
Joe Dickerson
Ismail Elfath
Jair Marrufo
MLS Assistant Referee of the Year Finalists
Kathryn Nesbitt
Cory Richardson
Corey Rockwell
