Three Atlanta United players announced as MLS MVP nominees

To the surprise of no one, Atlanta United’s Miguel Almiron, Josef Martinez, and Tito Villalba were nominated for MLS’s Landon Donovan MVP Award, the league announced today. The winner of the award will be announced in December.

Without the DP trio, Atlanta would hardly be where they are right now as one of only three MLS expansion sides to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs in its first year. Martinez’ immense knack for scoring, along with Almiron’s creativity and skill as one of the league’s top number 10’s and Villalba’s play out wide, have buoyed Atlanta as they currently sit at third in the Eastern Conference with two matches remaining.

Atlanta needed to get their designated player signings absolutely right, and they did just that by bringing in Almiron, Martinez and Villalba. We’ve written in the past about the front office and their work in putting this team together, and while striker/wingers may be some of the more “sexy” positions because they have an immense contribution to the team’s attack, the contributions of other players on this team can’t be overlooked. Hopefully it all culminates in Atlanta United holding up the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy come December 9.