MLS: Awards based on start of the season

CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 11: MLS commissioner Don Garber announces the renaming of the coach of the year award to the Sigi Schmid award in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft on January 11, 2019, at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Patrick Gorski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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KANSAS CITY, KANSAS – MARCH 07: Roger Espinoza #15 of Sporting Kansas City celebrates with Gadi Kinda #17 after scoring during the 1st half of the game against the Houston Dynamo at Children’s Mercy Park on March 07, 2020 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Newcomer of the Year

The Newcomer Of The Year award goes to a new player to MLS who has experience in another professional league. It does not include rookies, and the Rookie of the Year award will be covered in the next slide. So far this season, this award is a toss-up between two players, both of whom play for the same team.

Both Gadi Kinda and Alan Pulido have been superb in the first two weeks of the season. They both have two goals, their overall impact has been excellent, and Sporting Kansas City look like a genuine MLS Cup contender thanks to their respective performance level.

In this case, I’m going to give it to Kinda because he is a midfielder who has scored goals, not just a center-forward. A goalscoring central midfield is immensely valuable in modern soccer. It could really go either way and Pulido has enjoyed an equally excellent start to the season, but Kinda just edges it.

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