One night before he has a chance to lead his club team to a championship, Jozy Altidore collected some individual honors.
U.S. Soccer named the Toronto FC striker its 2016 Male Player of the Year on Friday evening. The award was announced in conjunction with FS1’s MLS Cup Preview Show.
Jozy Altidore Named 2016 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year
It marks the second time Altidore has taken home the award, the first coming in 2013. The voting was relatively close between him and fellow US forward Bobby Wood. Altidore received 32 percent of the vote while Wood, who currently plays in the Bundesliga for Hamburger SV, garnered 30 percent. Geoff Cameron (15 percent) was the third highest vote-getter.
The 27-year-old designated player has been a major reason why his TFC team is in the league’s championship game. Altidore totaled five goals during this year’s MLS Cup Playoffs, a feat that no other player in league history has achieved. He also played provider on a consistent basis, tallying four assists in the postseason.
In addition to his exploits for club, he made a significant contribution to country as well in 2016. Despite a hamstring injury that forced him to miss Copa America Centenario, Altidore led the US with ten goals while adding six assists. Four of his scores came in World Cup Qualifying. That included two in a 4-0 rout of Trinidad and Tobago in the final game of the CONCACAF semifinal round.
The dynamic center forward is now up to 16 World Cup Qualifying goals which puts him first all-time among US players.
Altidore’s TFC hosts the Seattle Sounders in Saturday night’s MLS Cup final. Both teams have the chance to capture the title for the first time in franchise history. The match kicks off at 8 PM ET and will be televised in the US on FOX (English) and Univision (Spanish) as well as in Canada on TSN (English) and RDS (French).
