Photo: Marjorie Elzey
Philadelphia Union start their run in the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs tomorrow night, but two members of the squad have already won full-season hardware.
MLS announced on Wednesday afternoon that Andre Blake had been named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year for the third time, while Jakob Glesnes earned MLS Defender of the Year honors.
Blake ran away with the voting, finishing first among the player, club, and media voting to claim 64.17% of the vote, ahead of runner-up Djordje Petrovic of New England’s 4.97%.
Glesnes, meanwhile, topped his own teammate, Kai Wagner, by 26.10% to 14.57%. Glesnes won the player and club vote, though Wagner came in first in the media vote.
Both men played every minute at the heart of a Union defense that set a new MLS record for fewest goals allowed in a single season, en route to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
Blake, the longest-tenured Union player, won this award in 2016 and 2020. He led the league in clean sheets in 2022, posting 15 on the season.
As for Glesnes, the Norwegian center back wins the award for the first time in his third full season with Philadelphia. Along with Wagner, Blake, and fellow center back Jack Elliott, Glesnes was at the heart of the Union’s suffocating defense.
More individual accolades are still on the table for Union players and staff. Blake is a finalist for league MVP, while manager Jim Curtin is a Coach of the Year finalist and captain Alejandro Bedoya is up for Humanitarian of the Year.
One snub is midfielder Daniel Gazdag, who told a Hungarian outlet that he couldn’t believe he wasn’t one of the five finalists for league MVP.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that I wasn’t in the top 5” – Dániel Gazdag (#DOOP ) told Jenkifoci after he was not selected as a finalist for the @MLS MVP award. “I was incredibly disappointed. Obviously, individual awards are not the most important in soccer, but… pic.twitter.com/OM3Azpadfp
— Tamás Kun #Jenkifoci (@jenkifoci) October 19, 2022
The Union begin their playoff run tomorrow evening at Subaru Park, when they host FC Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. Eastern.
May Dániel‘s fire light up the opposition tomorrow!
I’ll take Daniel G on “Nobody believes in us” mode, please.
Good for Glesnes and all, but I think he’s actually the 3rd best defender on the team after Wagner and Elliott
The team chose to nominate Glesnes ahead of Elliott. Personally, I think Wagner should have won.
MLS.com never recognized Gazdag as a serious MVP or Golden Boot candidate… ignoring his enormous 2nd half completely, right up to the last week of the season when article after article mentioned Muktar and Drussi incessantly, only.
Either the Union need to upgrade their PR and marketing (look at the Union section of the MLS.com and sometimes there is no articles even after matches for weeks) or as I have been saying “Head Clown” Garber at it again.
NOT stopping us this year…. ‘Head Clown’.
Hosting MLS Cup in Chester!
Go L-A-G!
Doop!
Gazdag also only had 2 multi-goal games too. So he produced all season long and not just in a handful of games.