When it comes to Major League Soccer’s ongoing run at the Landon Donovan MVP award, the current state of things looks like this:
It’s Hany Mukhtar and everyone else.
Nashville’s do-all attacker is on a blinding run; the reigning MVP is seriously out front of the field for this year’s chase. But that doesn’t mean the honor is his. We’re not even at the All-Star break, so plenty of miles to go in Major League Soccer’s 28th season.
That means the “everyone else” conversation still carries plenty of merit – because a decent chance exists that this year’s Landon Donovan MVP winner will emerge from this small, impressive bunch of “everyone else.”
And Jesús Ferreira deserves his place in that elite group.
I recently saw an MLS Power Ranking of the 5 top MVP candidates. It was the work of the MLSSoccer.com content creators - men and women who watch a lot of MLS soccer.
Behind Nashville’s talisman on this list were LAFC’s Denis Bouanga, Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta, Atlanta’s Thiago Almada and Columbus’ Lucas Zelarayan. And my first reaction: “It’s a good list. But where is Jesus Ferreira?”
Again, it’s hard to argue with Mukhtar at the top, with his sizable lead on total goal-assist contributions (20). From there – here’s why Ferreira deserves a bigger slice of this tasty conversion pie.
- Ferreira has 12 total goals + assists. That’s just one behind Acosta and Bouanga, whose teams sit higher in the standings, suggesting they perhaps have a better surrounding cast.
- There’s been no high-scoring game to pad Ferreira’s numbers. FCD’s 26 points in 19 matches have mostly been of the grind-it-out variety. Five of Dallas’ 7 wins have come by one goal; those other two “Ws” were by two goals. And when it comes to grinding, Ferreira has led the way; his six game-winning goals leads the league.
- Similarly, Ferreira has no penalty kick goals to boost his total; he’s tied with three others for MLS leadership in non-PK goals. Mukhtar, Zelarayan and Acosta all have at least two goals from the 12-yard spot.
- In terms of percentage of team goals, none of the other contenders comes close to Ferreira (48 percent). That’s a huge argument on his behalf.
- Related to that last bullet point, consider one more element in the MVP Award chase – and it’s a big one:
LAFC might drop off a bit without Bouanga, but not much. The bunch from BMO would still have Carlos Vela (a former MVP himself), impressive young forwards Stipe Biuk and Mahala Opoku and probably the league’s most balanced midfield. The champs would survive a Bouanga transfer or injury.
Acosta is a huge part of Cincinnati’s attack. But so is US international Brandon Vazquez. And so is Young DP forward Brenner (who isn’t having a great season but remains a talented, formidable asset.)
Zelarayan? A terrific player - and you know this if you’ve seen this moment of wonder. But Columbus also has Cucho Hernandez and Christian Ramirez (11 goals between them) being fed from behind by up-and-coming U.S. international Aidan Morris.
So you get the idea. In terms of importance to the club (a perennial force in any MVP conversation across any sport) Ferreira probably ranks right up there with Mukhtar, who means everything to Nashville’s plan of attack.
Suffice to say, FC Dallas would see its prospects of remaining in the Western Conference’s top half, where it has been all year, dim considerably without Ferreira’s contributions in scoring and in possession from deeper areas.
I spoke to FC Dallas manager Nico Estévez about all this. He said he recently had a conversation with Ferreira about it, just before the Dallas striker left for #USMNT duty.
Estévez told the 22-year-old FCD academy product that he just needs a few more assists to be smack in the middle of this conversation. And with Ferreira’s playmaking creativity, that’s well within reach.
Ferreira will be away with the national team for the ongoing Concacaf Gold Cup through mid-July. Ironically, he could further prove his value if the club struggles to score goals over the next few matches. To that point, FCD created few quality scoring chances last week against Austin, the first match without him.
But the chance to gain ground in this conversation lies dead ahead.
I’d love to take credit for this pearl of wisdom, but it goes to MLSSoccer.com’s David Gass. In discussing MLS awards, particularly the Landon Donovan MVP, he observed (paraphrasing): You just need to be special when people are paying attention, and then do enough to keep yourself in the conversation.
Well, Leagues Cup 2023 is just ahead – and everyone from fans to MLS stakeholders seem to be training eyes on this newly created competition with Liga MX clubs.
And even though it’s not supposed to count when votes are cast, it surely wouldn’t hurt Ferreira’s case if he can bag a couple of Gold Cup goals. Again, it’s about drawing eyes – the right sets of eyes.
It’s just June - miles to go before that ballots drop. So it’s all about the conversation right now. The FCD man deserves his part.
