To no one’s surprise, today Major League Soccer announced that San Jose Earthquakes striker Chris Wondolowski was voted the Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player for the 2012 season.
Wondolowski also won the 2012 Golden Boot for scoring 27 goals, which tied Roy Lassiter’s single-season goal record set in 1996. “Wondo” also became the only player in MLS history to score the most regular season goals in three consecutive seasons. His consistency throughout the season kept the Quakes at the top of the table and earned Wondolowski four MLS Player of the Month awards, a feat unrivaled through the 16 MLS seasons.
Right player for the right team
Under MLS 2012 Coach of the Year Frank Yallop, the California native led the Earthquakes to their second Supporters’ Shield title in club history, just a year removed from finishing 14th overall in the League.
Since entering MLS in 2005, Wondolowski recorded a total of 68 league goals, 64 of which came after moving from Houston Dynamo to San Jose in the middle of the 2009 season. He ranks twentieth all-time in MLS goal scoring, two behind Cobi Jones.
Wondolowski swept the voting for the MVP award, gleaning 91 percent of the club votes, 97 percent of the media votes and 71 percent of the player votes. The other two finalists were Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi and New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry. Below is a breakdown of the voting for the top four candidates:
The MVP award was voted on by media, MLS players and MLS club management based on regular season performance.
Player % Club Votes % Media Votes % Player Votes Weighted Total
Chris Wondolowski (SJ) 91.23 96.97 70.83 259.03
Thierry Henry (NY) 0 3.03 11.46 14.49
Graham Zusi (SKC) 3.51 0 3.13 6.64
Brad Davis (HOU) 3.51 0 0 3.51
All-Time MLS Most Valuable Players:
2012: Chris Wondolowski – San Jose Earthquakes
2011: Dwayne De Rosario – D.C. United
2010: David Ferreira – FC Dallas
2009: Landon Donovan – LA Galaxy
2008: Guillermo Barros Schelotto – Columbus Crew
2007: Luciano Emilio – D.C. United
2006: Christian Gómez – D.C. United
2005: Taylor Twellman – New England Revolution
2004: Amado Guevara – MetroStars
2003: Preki – Kansas City Wizards
2002: Carlos Ruiz – LA Galaxy
2001: Alex Pineda Chacón – Miami Fusion
2000: Tony Meola – Kansas City Wizards
1999: Jason Kreis – Dallas Burn
1998: Marco Etcheverry – D.C. United
1997: Preki – Kansas City Wizards
1996: Carlos Valderrama – Tampa Bay Mutiny
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