Two days after all but sweeping’s D.C. United team awards (MVP, fans’ choice, Golden Boot, goal of the yaer), 17-year-old midfielder Andy Najar has been named Major League Soccer’s rookie of the year, becoming the youngest player ever to earn the honor as well as the first to come from the league’s homegrown ranks. He’s also the first D.C. player to win the MLS award since Ben Olsen did in 1998 – of course, Najar wears the same No. 14 jersey as Olsen did.
Of course, it wasn’t long ago that Najar was playing pickup soccer in front of Edison High, but D.C.’s academy and then first team quickly transformed him into one of the league’s most dynamic wingers, and he finished the year tied for a team-best 5 goals over 26 matches (22 starts).
To win the award, Najar beat out forward Danny Mwanga, who had 7 goals and 4 assists for Philadelphia, and New York defender Tim Ream, who has played every minute of every match for the Eastern Conference champion Red Bulls. The numbers alone may not reflect that Najar had a better season, but his influence on any match in which he played was far greater than either Mwanga or Ream, whose supporting casts were much better. Najar is a better player than either of the other two right now, and although it shouldn’t necessarily be used to determine the winner of the award, his upside is far higher. Both Ream and Mwanga had outstanding seasons. Was either the best rookie in MLS this season. No, it was clearly Najar.
So, what’s next besides endless speculation over his international future both here and in his native Honduras? Europe, where Najar will likely spend part of his offseason training. At which club remains to be seen. Off the field, Najar’s working hard on finishing his high school equivalency.
