David Villa has been named NYCFC’s Offensive Player of the Year for 2016.
The lethal Spanish striker takes the first of three annual awards given to recognize an Offensive Player, as well as our best Defensive Player and our overall MVP.
El Guaje was an obvious choice, having netted on 22 occasions this season, finishing second in the race for the league’s Golden Boot - goals which fired NYCFC to the MLS Playoffs for the first time.
In addition to this title, David was named the Third Rail’s MVP for 2016, winning a fan vote for the supporters’ club’s recognition.
Commenting on that award and the appreciation he receives on a daily basis from NYCFC supporters, David said: “I’ve been here from the first day and I’ve always tried to work hard every day on and off the pitch and I think the people are happy with me because they show me every day on the internet, at Yankee Stadium, and on the road.
“I want to say thank you to everybody, to all my teammates, to all the staff – there are no individuals in sport, it’s about the team – this is for everybody associated with NYCFC.”
His Head Coach Patrick Vieira paid tribute to Villa on Friday, highlighting his ongoing commitment to team success as a defining attribute of his character.
Vieira said: “I think we all appreciate the goals he scores but, beyond that, when I came to this football club and I spoke to David I understood that he really loves this club and what I really like about him is that he works every day to try to win something.
“When you talk about players coming into this country – they like to have a nice time at the end of their careers and enjoy themselves but David is not the type of person to do that.
“He won everything in Europe, he won the World Cup, the Champions League but he has got this desire to compete and he really fell in love with this club.”
We will be announcing Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday, before revealing our MVP on Wednesday.
Everyone at New York City FC would like to congratulate David on his phenomenal achievements over the course of 2016.
