David Villa Wins 2016 MLS MVP by Jake Martino
It is without a doubt that whatever team you like in the MLS, David Villa carried NYCFC this season. With only the team only being in existence for 2 years and having eager fans, this award lightened up the tough loss in the Eastern Conference Semi Finals.
David Villa deserved this award in all aspects of the game, on the field and off. He scored 23 goals and had 4 assists, 1 goal shy of capturing the Golden Boot. Villa was involved in about 45 percent of NYCFC’s goals for the season.
This season was a huge turnaround for NYCFC after a tough inaugural season. The team mainly won games due to Villa’s presence, even though they improved in almost all aspects of the pitch. Villa played 33 games this season starting 32 out of the 33 games.
Villa is the first Spaniard to win and it was only a battle to achieve this award. It was a battle due to his competitors, Bradley Wright-Phillips (NYRB) and Sebastian Kljestan (NYRB). In my mind I believe the voters saw that Villa was putting the weight on his back and carrying his team through the playoffs, while Wright-Phillips and Kljestan were splitting the weight.
Can we see David Villa repeat next year? Possible. But you have to stay with Upstate Sports Zone for continued coverage of NYCFC and the MLS… @upstate_sports
By Jake Martino
