By Miguel Rapetti
Nov 27, 2023, 17:33 PM EST
FC Cincinnati midfielder, Luciano Acosta, was chosen this Monday as the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 season in the MLS, surpassing his Argentine compatriot Lionel Messi, thanks to the scoring and assist contributions that led his team to become the best team of the year in the American league.
Acosta finished the campaign with a total of 17 goals and 14 assists, enough for FC Cincinnati to win its first title in history, winning the Supporters’ Shield, which they won for being the best team of the entire season.
As if that were not enough, the team’s number 10 remains on track towards a commitment not to settle and seek the absolute title of the competition, now facing the Columbus Crew in the finals of the MLS Eastern Conference.
The midfielder from Buenos Aires, trained at Boca Juniors, was elected with 60.37% of the votes, ahead of the Gabonese Denis Bouanga (14.97%) and the Argentine Thiago Almada (6.46%).
Acosta is the ninth South American player to win the MVP and the first since 2018, when Venezuelan Josef Martínez won it. As if that were not enough, he is the fourth Argentine, after Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers, 2015), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew, 2008) and Christian Gómez (DC United, 2006).
Argentina is now the country that has had the most MLS MVP winners, after the United States, with eight.
Acosta’s great performance also served and helped Cincinnati qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League.
The MLS has awarded the award to the MVP of the season since 1996 and determines it with the votes of players, club coaching staff and a small group of media.
Since his signing with Cincinnati (2021), Acosta is the second player with the most assists in the league (43), behind Uruguayan Nicolás Lodeiro, of the Seattle Sounders, with 80.
This year, Acosta also won the award for best goal of the season, for his ‘Maradonian’ goal signed against Charlotte on September 23, when he received the ball in his defensive half of the field in the 78th minute, freeing himself from Frenchman Adilson Malanda with a ‘pipe’ and attacked the rival defense.
He dribbled past two more rivals, entered the penalty area and beat the goalkeeper with a right-footed shot into the top corner.
In this way, Acosta takes over the position of Most Valuable Player of the season in the MLS from the Nashville SC attacker, Hany Mukhtar, who won the award in 2022.
Keep reading:
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