With one final swoosh of Roman Torres’ right foot from the penalty spot the 2016 MLS season was concluded. The Seattle Sounders are MLS Cup champions for the first time and the shutters have been brought down on what was a compelling campaign.
It’s now time to reflect on the past 12 months in North American football’s top flight, sift through the numbers and figures and decide whether was unfolded was reflective of what the statistics told us. Here is WhoScored’s review of the 2016 MLS season.
MVP
David Villa picked up the official MLS award this season after an extremely successful season. Indeed, the Spanish striker is one of the finest talents currently playing in North America, scoring 23 goals in 35 appearances for New York City FC in 2016. Was he truly the most valuable player in MLS last season?
Many would make the case for Sebastian Giovinco. The Italian is widely hailed as MLS’ greatest player - maybe even MLS’ greatest ever player - and his statistics over 2016 certainly make for impressive reading, scoring 21 times and contributing 16 assists, contributing to a WhoScored rating of 7.77, as Toronto FC made a run all the way to the MLS Cup final.
Bradley Wright-Phillips also enjoyed another successful season in MLS, finishing once again as the league’s top scorer with 25 goals to his name. But these numbers only illustrate attacking prowess. There are also cases to be made for the Seattle Sounders’ midfield kingpin, Osvaldo Alonso, and the New York Red Bulls’ Sacha Kljestan.
Difference makers
Great teams are defined by the great players who make a difference. These are the players who, on the big occasion when the pressure is on, deliver. Jozy Altidore was one such player over the course of 2016.
On the whole, Altidore enjoyed his best season in MLS so far, finishing the campaign with 17 goals, but it was in the play-offs where the US international really made a difference, netting five times in five games before the MLS Cup final defeat to Seattle. Giovinco is the main man at Toronto FC, but it was Altidore who proved to be the driving force behind their post-season streak.
Jordan Morris was another such player in 2016. Signed straight from college at the start of the year, the 22-year-old enjoyed one of the best rookie seasons on record, scoring 14 goals as the Sounders finally broke their MLS Cup duck. But it was his contribution in the big games that mattered most, netting six game-winning goals over the course of the season to set a new record for a rookie.
Defensive prowess
Statistics don’t always illustrate the quality of defenders as well as they do with attackers, but they can reveal something that isn’t always immediately obvious on the pitch. Victor Cabrera enjoyed a successful season for the Montreal Impact, even if his campaign was somewhat hindered by injuries. He averaged 4.5 interceptions and 3.3 tackles per game, with his defensive partner Laurent Ciman averaging 4.3 interceptions and 2 tackles per game. In truth, the Impact’s defensive record should have been better given the performances of their two centre backs.
As is often the case, Sporting KC led the way when it came to defensively responsibility, allowing an average of just 9.5 shots on their own goal per game. Matt Besler averaged 3.1 interceptions per game and the US international has become the spiritual on the field leader of Peter Vermes’ side over the past few years. He is arguably the most important defender in the league. Without him Sporting KC wouldn’t be the same team.
Steven Gerrard vs Frank Lampard
The duo’s careers have been intertwined ever since the debate over whether they could play in the same England midfield was first sparked, so it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise when both Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard simultaneously chose to make the move to the United States.
This season was the first full season either of them had played in MLS, and as it turned out this was the last full season either of them would play. Gerrard will be remembered as something of a disappointment for the LA Galaxy, even if he did average a commendable two key passes per game. He finished the season as the club’s top assist maker with nine, but that was more of an indictment on the season endured by the Galaxy.
Lampard fared rather better, scoring 12 goals in just 16 starts for New York City FC. His average of 1.7 shots on goal per game from his position in the centre of midfield marked him out as a hub of attacking activity for NYCFC, but injuries took their toll on the former Chelsea man. His decision to call it a day in MLS at the end of the season was probably a wise one.
Most improved
While the MVP award in American sports is often ill-defined, this is something European football could surely borrow. The Most Improved award rewards those who have strove to get better and in MLS this season there were plenty who improved dramatically from the 2015 season.
Marlon Hairston was one such player, with the full-back notching five assists for the Colorado Rapids over 2016. Kevin Molino was another who enjoyed a marked improvement from last year, with the Trinidadian scoring 11 goals and charting eight assists with an average of two shots on goal per game, as well as 1.4 dribbles and 1.4 key passes.
Jack Harrison, along with Seattle’s Morris, will surely go down as the breakthrough performer of the season, with the Englishman averaging 1.5 key passes per game, notching six assists for the campaign, putting him behind only Andrea Pirlo in that regard at New York City FC. 2016 was a standout year for many in the North American game.
