The Case for MVLee

The MLS MVP race is going to come down to this final weekend, and the race is tight. The clear frontrunner is Robbie Keane, the Irish striker for LA Galaxy that seems to have taken a dip in the fountain of youth before the season began. He has 19 goals and 14 assists on the season, good for third and tied-second respectively, but he has not scored a goal since October 4th, which puts into perspective just how big of a season he was having before the slump. Obafemi Martins has 17 goals and has been one of Seattle Sounders best players all year. And, of course, Landon Donovan will be in contention, well because he is Mr. MLS and it is his last season ever so everyone can feel happy he got a Derek Jeter moment and won the MVP in his final season. But I think there is one clear choice.

No one has been more valuable to their team than Lee Nguyen of the New England Revolution. And I know what your thinking right now, "This is bias, he's from New England, of course he wants his guy to win..." and you're right. I am bias. But this is the truth. Lee Nguyen has been seemingly unstoppable this year. He has 17 goals, same as Obafemi Martins, and 5 assists, which isn't much but it is more than USMNT midfielder Michael Bradley, who has 4. Maybe the best stat Nguyen has is Game Winning Goals. He has 8. That's the most in the league. It's 3 more than Keane. Lee Nguyen has technically won more games than 3 teams in MLS and would be tied with 2 others. He's also done all of this goal-scoring out of the midfield, while Keane is a striker. That, my friends, is what we call a difference maker. He has been without a doubt the Revolution's best, most impactful player. They would not be 2nd in the Eastern Conference without him, in fact they would not be in the playoffs if it was not for his 8 game winners. He is the most valuable player to his team on the list of candidates.

He should also be getting a call up to the U.S. Men's National Team soon. It would be an utter disappointment if Jurgen Klinssman didn't call up the player riding maybe the biggest hot streak of a season in recent memory to the national squad. Lee Nguyen is one of the best MLS players out there right now, and he deserves recognition.

#MVLEE #NGUYENING

Also he scores goals like this, a little incentive: