MLS Major League Soccer

2008 MLS Awards Finalists and Announcement Schedule

Published on October 30, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


NEW YORK (Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008) - Major League Soccer today announced the finalists for its 2008 year-end awards. Winners for each award will be announced in the coming weeks, beginning with the Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year and Fair Play winners on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player announcement will air live on ESPNews on Thursday, Nov. 20.

The 2008 awards announcements culminate on Saturday, Nov. 22 with the unveiling of Major League Soccer's Best XI and the Comeback Player of the Year, which will both be announced at the MLS Awards Gala taking place in Los Angeles on the eve of MLS Cup 2008.

The finalists, listed in alphabetical order below for each award, earned the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and members of the media. The U.S. Soccer Foundation & MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year will be determined by representatives from the U.S. Soccer Foundation and MLS W.O.R.K.S., and will be announced on Friday, Nov. 7.

2008 Major League Soccer Awards Finalists

Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists

Jon Busch - Chicago Fire

William Hesmer - Columbus Crew

Matt Reis - New England Revolution

Fair Play Finalists - Individual

Juan Pablo Angel - New York Red Bulls

Michael Parkhurst - New England Revolution

Chris Rolfe - Chicago Fire

MLS Comeback Player of the Year Finalists

Jon Busch - Chicago Fire

Kenny Cooper - FC Dallas

Santino Quaranta - D.C. United

Visa Defender of the Year Finalists

Jimmy Conrad - Kansas City Wizards

Chad Marshall - Columbus Crew

Bakary Soumare - Chicago Fire

adidas Referee of the Year Finalists

Michael Kennedy

Jair Marrufo

Terry Vaughn

Gatorade Rookie of the Year Finalists

Geoff Cameron - Houston Dynamo

Kheli Dube - New England Revolution

Sean Franklin - Los Angeles Galaxy

MLS Coach of the Year Finalists

Dominic Kinnear - Houston Dynamo

Sigi Schmid - Columbus Crew

Frank Yallop - San Jose Earthquakes

Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player Finalists

Cuauhtémoc Blanco - Chicago Fire

Landon Donovan - Los Angeles Galaxy

Guillermo Barros Schelotto - Columbus Crew

Newcomer of the Year

Darren Huckerby - San Jose Earthquakes

Claudio Lopez - Kansas City Wizards

Andre Rocha - FC Dallas

Schedule of Awards Announcements:

Tuesday, November 4

Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year

Fair Play Award Individual & Team

Thursday, November 6

Visa Defender of the Year

adidas Referee of the Year

Friday, November 7

US Soccer Foundation & MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year

Tuesday, November 11

MLS Newcomer of the Year

MLS Coach of the Year

Thursday, November 13

Gatorade Rookie of the Year

Wednesday, November 19

Sierra Mist Goal of the Year

Thursday, November 20

Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player

Saturday, November 22

MLS Best XI

MLS Comeback Player of the Year




Major League Soccer Stories from October 30, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central