Major League Soccer on Wednesday announced the finalists for each of the 2018 year-end awards which honor the league’s top performers during the regular season.
A total of five finalists were unveiled in the race for the 2018 Landon Donovan MVP award with MLS Golden Boot winner Josef Martinez joining Atlanta United teammate Miguel Almiron, as well as newcomers Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy), Wayne Rooney (D.C. United) and Carlos Vela (LAFC).
The latter trio make up the finalists for Newcomer of the Year as well.
The finalists (in alphabetical order) which follow below earned the most votes in polling among three voting groups: current MLS players, MLS club technical staffs (coaches, technical directors/GMs) and a select group of media members.
2018 Major League Soccer Awards Finalists
Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player Finalists
- Miguel Almirón (Atlanta United)
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy)
- Josef Martinez (Atlanta United)
- Wayne Rooney (D.C. United)
- Carlos Vela (LAFC)
Defender of the Year Finalists
- Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls)
- Chad Marshall (Seattle Sounders)
- Michael Parkhurst (Atlanta United)
Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year Finalists
- Stefan Frei (Seattle Sounders)
- Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls)
- Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew SC)
Newcomer of the Year Finalists
For this award, “newcomer” is defined as a player with previous professional experience who made his MLS debut in 2018
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy)
- Wayne Rooney (D.C. United)
- Carlos Vela (LAFC)
AT&T Rookie of the Year Finalists
For this award, “rookie” is defined as a player without previous professional experience who made his MLS debut in 2018
- Corey Baird (Real Salt Lake)
- Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union)
- Chris Mueller (Orlando City SC)
Coach of the Year Finalists
- Bob Bradley (LAFC)
- Gerardo "Tata" Martino (Atlanta United)
- Peter Vermes (Sporting Kansas City)
Comeback Player of the Year Finalists
Honors an MLS player who has overcome injuries and/or adversity in order to achieve success during the 2018 regular season
- Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders FC)
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic (LA Galaxy)
- Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew SC)
MLS WORKS Humanitarian of the Year presented by AdvoCare - Finalists
- Matt Lampson (Minnesota United FC)
- Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls)
- Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)
Referee of the Year Finalists
- Alan Kelly
- Nima Saghafi
- Robert Sibiga
Assistant Referee of the Year
- Joe Fletcher
- CJ Morgante
- Corey Rockwell
