2-year-old Uruguay National Team forward led MLS with 14 goals scored The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) and Major League Soccer announced today that LAFC forward Diego Rossi has been named the 2020 AT&T MLS Young Player of the Year, honoring the Uruguay National Team star as the top player in the league age 22 and under. The 22-year-old Rossi wins the inaugural AT&T Young Player of the Year award after a breakout year for the Black & Gold in which he led the league with 14 goals, becoming the youngest player in MLS history to win the Golden Boot presented by Audi. Rossi also added four assists across 19 matches played, and his 18 combined goals and assists tied for the second-most in the league. - Highlights of Diego Rossi’s season can be found HERE
This marks the fifth individual award for Rossi this season, as he also captured the regular season Golden Boot and a trio of honors at the MLS is Back Tournament including the Golden Boot presented by Audi, Young Player of the Tournament presented by AT&T 5G, and being named to the tournament Best XI presented by BODYARMOR. In three years in MLS, Rossi is LAFC’s all-time leader in games started (82), minutes played (7,201) and is tied for most MLS appearances (85). He is also one of three players in MLS to register double-digital goals in three consecutive seasons. In all, Rossi has tallied 42 goals and 20 assists in league matches, while adding one goal in the MLS Cup Playoffs and six goals in two editions of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Rossi finished the season with a career-high goals-per-game average of .737 on the year and fueled the top offense in the league. LAFC scored a league-leading 47 goals in the regular season this year, with their 2.14 goals-per-game average standing as the seventh-most in league history In its inaugural season, the AT&T Young Player of the Year award honors the top player in the league age 22 and under. For the 2020 season, any player born on or before Jan. 1, 1998 was eligible for the award. The AT&T Young Player of the Year award was voted on by MLS club technical staff, media and current MLS players. Below is a breakdown of the voting results: AT&T Young Player of the Year | Player % | Club % | Media % | Final % | Diego Rossi (LAFC) | 21.16% | 30.70% | 35.44% | 29.10% | Brenden Aaronson (PHI) | 29.00% | 37.72% | 19.89% | 28.87% | Daryl Dike (ORL) | 12.38% | 9.65% | 10.34% | 10.79% | Ayo Akinola (TOR) | 7.99% | 6.14% | 6.12% | 6.75% | Mark McKenzie (PHI) | 5.33% | 7.02% | 7.81% | 6.72% | Brian Rodríguez (LAFC) | 3.13% | 2.63% | 3.38% | 3.05% | Cole Bassett (COL) | 1.88% | 1.75% | 3.38% | 2.34% | All-Time AT&T MLS Young Player of the Year / Rookie of the Year Winner Young Player of the Year 2020: Diego Rossi – Los Angeles Football Club Rookie of the Year 2019: Andre Shinyashiki – Colorado Rapids 2018: Corey Baird – Real Salt Lake 2017: Julian Gressel – Atlanta United 2016: Jordan Morris – Seattle Sounders FC 2015: Cyle Larin – Orlando City SC 2014: Tesho Akindele – FC Dallas 2013: Dillon Powers – Colorado Rapids 2012: Austin Berry – Chicago Fire 2011: C.J. Sapong – Sporting Kansas City 2010: Andy Najar – D.C. United 2009: Omar Gonzalez – LA Galaxy 2008: Sean Franklin – LA Galaxy 2007: Maurice Edu – Toronto FC 2006: Jonathan Bornstein – Chivas USA 2005: Michael Parkhurst – New England Revolution 2004: Clint Dempsey – New England Revolution 2003: Damani Ralph – Chicago Fire 2002: Kyle Martino – Columbus Crew 2001: Rodrigo Faria – MetroStars 2000: Carlos Bocanegra – Chicago Fire 1999: Jay Heaps – Miami Fusion 1998: Ben Olsen – D.C. United 1997: Mike Duhaney – Tampa Bay Mutiny 1996: Steve Ralston – Tampa Bay Mutiny |