What a deeply strange Major League Soccer season — and not only in Seattle, where the Sounders travelled a winding and perilous path to a familiar place.
After years of steady and consistent on-field gains, this MLS campaign featured few true standouts, be those dominant teams or star players. That sense of league-wide malaise is reflected in my end-of-season awards ballot, where few choices were immediately obvious.
Landon Donovan MLS MVP
First choice: Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC
Second choice: Bradley Wright-Phillips, New York Red Bulls
If goal-scoring prowess is your thing, one can make a convincing case for either Wright-Phillips or crosstown rival David Villa of NYCFC, both of whom fought for the Golden Boot all the way into the final weekend and helped lead their teams to first-round byes in the Eastern Conference.