In a suit, tie and unable to hold back his tears. This is how Carles gil showed up to pick up the Landon Donovan 2021, award that accredits him as the most valuable player in Major League Soccer (MLS) this season. The Valencian midfielder did not trust that he would sign for New England Revolution It would allow him to enjoy football again. He risked and it is now when he reaps the fruits of his dedication. Because his first season in the United States was unbeatable. He scored 10 goals and distributed 12 assists, but the outbreak of the pandemic and an Achilles tendon injury forced him to rebuild. He did it and today, a year and a half after breaking against DC United, he is the best player in an MLS in which Carlos Valderrama, David Beckham, Sebastian Giovinco, Robbie Keane, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa have already shone with their own light.
And it is that Gil not only won, but also swept votes that give a voice to players, clubs and the media. The Spaniard obtained 52% of the votes, many more than those obtained by Hany Mukhtar (11.8%), Joao Paulo (4.9%), Daniel Salloi (4.73%) or Taty Castellanos (3.87% ). “Thank you to everyone who voted for me to win this trophy. In fact, I am crying and I did not think to cry in my life. Winning this is incredible, you just have to see the list of players who have won it. It is evident that it is a league in which there is more and more talent. Every time there are better players, better coaches and better teams, “said a visibly excited Carles Gil. The Valencian was also included in the ideal XI of the season and was named ‘Comeback Player Of The Year’, an award that rewards the player who improved the most after overcoming a serious injury.
In what was his third season wearing the New England Revolution jersey, Carles Gil scored four goals and distributed 14 assists. The Spanish fell in the semifinals of Conderencia against New York City, but he played a fundamental role for his team to establish a record of points (73) during the regular season, conquer the Supporters’ Shield -awarded to the best team of the regular season- and will be awarded one of the four places in the MLS for the next edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, whose start is scheduled for next February. “Right now I have everything here: I am happy and I am enjoying myself in a team that is growing. Next year we have very nice competitions like the Concachampions, which I have never played and there are very competitive teams like the Mexicans. I don’t like to look far because football is constantly changing, but right now I’m happy, “said Gil, who has a contract with NE Revolution until December 2024.
Gil takes the baton from Pozuelo
For the second consecutive season, a Spanish footballer was named MLS MVP. In 2020 it was the turn of Alejandro Pozuelo, which Landon Donovan picked up after scoring nine goals for Toronto FC and defeating Diego Rossi (Los Angeles FC) and Nicolás Lodeiro (Seattle) with 35% of the vote. The first to do so was David Villa (2016), who was ahead of Bradley Wright-Phillips (NY Red Bull) and Sacha Kljestan (NY Red Bull) after signing 23 goals and taking New York City to the first play-offs in its history. Gil, Pozuelo and Villa were named MLS MVPs, but neither knows what it is like to lift the MLS Cup. That privilege is reserved for Oriol Rosell, who won it with Sporting KC in 2013; Víctor Vázquez, who achieved it with Toronto in 2017, and Víctor Rodríguez, who scored and was MVP of a 2019 final in which Seattle beat Toronto.