For the third year in a row, midfielder Osvaldo Alonso has been chosen as the Seattle Sounders’ Most Valuable Player, no mean feat on a team that includes three designated players (none of which are him), Eddie Johnson and Michael Gspurning. Yet it’s no surprise that Alonso, who finally broke into MLS’s Best XI this season, took the honor voted on by his teammates.
I say finally broke into the Best XI because although Alonso does seem to become more comfortable going forward with each passing season, he has basically been the same player over the last two or three seasons. Yet this year’s honor was his first. Hmm ...
Whereas his 2009 introduction to MLS may have included more mistakes and destruction than the player we see now, since 2010 (when he started winning team MVP awards), he’s basically been this game-defining wrecking ball that allows the Sounders to have one of the league’s best defenses despite average defenders. He allows Sigi Schmid to abandon him in the middle knowing Alonso will go land mine whenever comes too close. He’s a badass.
Making comparisons to players who never played in MLS often obfuscated these types of conversations, but in terms of the impact Alonso has on games, he’s as influential as former Real Madrid/Chelsea/France destroyer Claude Makelélé. Only he’s started to provide more going forward.
So how has he not become a staple in the Best XI when he’s perpetually the league’s best at his position? I brought this up to a few people at MLS Cup, who put forth the following ideas:
- Midfield has suddenly become deep, as evidenced by Kyle Beckerman (among others) not making the team.
- Best XI isn’t for the best players. It’s for the best attackers with a few defenders thrown in for credibility.
- Unless you’re a numbers guy, you can’t get into the Best XI playing for a West Coast team. There are too many start times (and, too many simultaneous start times) that are too late for East Coast voters to develop an affinity for a more nuanced performance.
- Osvaldo Alonso has actually become overrated.
There’s some truth in all of these except number four. Perhaps Alonso’s biggest fans are louder than ever, but there’s still a deep underappreciation for what he brings to Seattle. The farther I get from Seattle, the less likely I am to find somebody who can articulate Alonso’s importance to Seattle (whether they agree on his quality or not).
Perhaps that’s because the raw numbers aren’t there. Perhaps it’s because (like any soccer player) it takes more than one game to gauge his impact. And perhaps it’s because Seattle’s games aren’t as accessible to most of the countries as, say, Dax McCarty’s.
But Alonso’s teammates know how valuable he is. That’s why he’s always team MVP.