2011 CONCACAF Player of the Year Award – now suspense-free!
Posted on December 23, 2011 11:19 pm
For the men:
First place: Javier
Second place: Chicharito
Third place: Hernandez
For the people who aren’t men:
First place: Abby
Second place: Freaking
Third place: Wambach
These aren’t the best years or the best players ever – Hugo Sanchez and Dwight Yorke would look at Chicharito’s year, and kinda shrug. But the complete lack of plausible alternatives makes these races into bigger runaways than Lita Ford and Joan Jett. Argue in the comments, I dare you. You have better things to do, and you know it.
I realize by now, thanks to Bill, whose articles I shouldn’t really be pushing downwards, that the answer to “Why isn’t this a thing?” is “Because CONCACAF is French for incompetent.” Players of the Year awards are such cheap publicity, so easy to organize (or rig), and such fodder for fan blithery that I’m still amazed I’m the guy that does this. The first time I did this was 2002. No one in responsibility or power has stepped forward to make this plausible. Literally all they would have to do is make the effort to get a cheap trophy. In fact, if I put that much effort into it, and sent some kind of shiny geegaw by mule to the player or their representatives (or, CLAIMED I did), my CONCACAF award might actually be nearly legitimate.
Stole this image from cheapsoccertrophies.com. It’s a player emerging from what seemed to be a soccer ball, but instead turned out to be a Georgia O’Keefe painting.
So what, you might say. An entire confederation’s MVP is mythically handed out by a comedy blogger.
That doesn’t frighten you? That this potential cool thing has devolved down to this level? That the only qualification I have is a willingness to make the same joke for nine years?
No? All right then, I’ll frighten you.
Roberto Aballay ‘s Wikipedia entry.
Isidro Langara’s Wikipedia entry.
Tab Ramos’ Wikipedia entry. That’s right. TAB FREAKING RAMOS.
All list an award I gave out. Retroactively. As, for want of a better term, a joke.
Yeah, but that’s Wikipedia, any idiot can go on and enter stuff.
Except I’ve also started to infect real, official team sites. I’m pretty sure Jack Cowan’s award was handed out by me, and not CONCACAF, what with CONCACAF being something like -10 years old in 1951.
My God! What have I done?
So, do I spend however long it takes going around the Internet world apologizing? Should I at least write to Dundee FC? Or should I just hide under the bed?
I should hand this thing over to these guys. Hey, I’m on speaking terms with….some of them. A couple of them. The problem is whether they’d want to undo the damage I’ve done.
Hey, I just kept expecting someone to come along and take it away from me by force. But it’s nearly too late. CONCACAF may be a joke, but I’ve made it into an urban legend.
Anyway, congratulations to Chicharito Hernandez and Abby Wambach – your 2011 CONCACAF Players of the Year! Pass the egg nog, I need a drink.
I once went on Wikipedia and told the real story of Jonathan Kraft. I went on NE Rev fan sites to provide the link and encourage them to provide links and corroboration. Eventually, my entry was excised for being “unsourced” and “editorial.” I can correct the “unsourced” just as soon as I start getting paid for fighting for equal justice, or just as soon as I get paid for writing about soccer. Place your bet and hold your breath.
You had me at Lita Ford.
Should have picked Dempsey. He doesn’t get enough real awards as it is.
Exactly. Because they give out those kinds of awards to players whose teams are currently in 13th place in their league, and who play for a national side that hasn’t really won anything in the last year. Totally deserved.
Dan, you might as well send those trophies out – soccer has a long history of co-opting good ideas from third parties. See: Confederations Cup (formerly King Fahd’s invitational), European Cup/UEFA Champions League (brainchild of a French journalist), or even the current CONCACAF Champions League (forced into being by Superliga).
Right, because without the Little Pea, Manchester would be relegated.
It’s not like they can turn around and start another top striker. Oh… wait.
Rather than acknowledging the great success Chicharo had this year you chose to award him this meaningless trophy based on the fact that there are no other alternatives?? He might have had a luckluster second season at Man Utd. due to injuries but he was a crucial player for Man Utd getting the title, reaching Champions league final, and Mexico winning the gold cup. No other player from Concacaf has had anywhere near the same success as him within the last decade.
FYI Donovan isn’t the greatest player either yet you people herald him as if he was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Having followed the award all these many years, let me just say: Congrats on your Legacy, Dan.
Number of trophies won by Hernandez in 2011: 2
Number of trophies won by Dempsey in 2011: 0
It doesn’t get more basic than that. I’m not saying Clint doesn’t deserve to be in the conversation, but Hernandez simply had the better year overall.
You people… hey, all you Mexicans are ____________. Fill in the blank and learn a fun lesson about generalizing.
Premier league goals
Clint Dempsey 38
Chicharito 19
I went to a party on a Saturday night, didn’t get laid but I got in a fight. Uh huh… it ain’t no big thing.
Clint Dempsey got 38 PL goals in 2011? Orly? Last time I checked the award counts best of ’11 not career totals.
So with two seasons Hernandez is half way to dempsey’s tally… waiting for the “well one plays x position and the other doesn’t”
btw funny blog dan
Every other fed does PotY awards. Why shouldn’t CONCACAF? Because its run by a bunch of degenerate crooks and the sport is thriving here in spite of them rather than because of them?
I don’t agree with dempsey, nor hernandez,forgetting that award merely because they dont play in CONCACAF,
the awards for them are given out at the gold cup.
If you want to talk about PotY award for CONCACAF 2010-11 season, then SURELY its should be a man named Humberto Suazo.
1. Humberto Suazo
2. Álvaro Saborío
3. Ald De nigris
So, you know Suazo is Chilean, right?
He plays in concacaf, but he is not from the region, so I don’t think he can be considered for the award.
CAF, AFC, and the OFC award it to the best player from the region, regardless of where they play (Although the AFC requires you to attend the ceremony in order to win-reason why Park Ji Sung never wins).
CONMEBOL gives it to the best player from the region playing in the region (although mexican clubs are considered to be from the region).
Dempsey doesn’t win awards, and Chicha does, so Dempsey should win this one?
Hernandez had a ginormous impact on one of the biggest clubs in the world, he benched the premier league’s top scorer Berbatov, and reinvigorated Wazza.
If that isn’t enough to win you CONCACAF player of the year than I don’t know what is.
Clint Dempsey 38 goals in 163 games.
Javier Hernandez 19 goals in 41 games.
In 2011 Dempsey scored 5 goals for the U.S in 14 games.
In 2011 Hernandez scored 12 goals for Mexico in 13 games.
Hernandez is the fifth best scorer in all international competitions in 2011 (Champions league, national team, etc.)
If we’re going by goals Hernandez is unquestionably ahead of Dempsey.
I second this.
I can deal with the corruption and feuds among the organizing bodies of each CONCACAF nation, but I cannot deal with no real PotY award being given out.
Seriously, though, the day they fix their corruption is the day they start giving out the award…oh man…that dream of a future without a corrupt CONCACAF is my Christmas gift you every single one of you.
Before it was merged with the FIFA Player of the Year, the Ballon d’Or (European Footballer of the Year) had been opened up to any player in the UEFA club scene. There really isn’t a consistent pattern (AFC, CAF, CONEMBOL, UEFA all do it differently).
As so far as a fictional award goes, I’m fine with making it CONCACAF nation or clubs which is the same way TropiGol claims they will do it (I mention them as pretty much the only other entity “awarding” this).
Its reasonable to judge Player of the Year Awards based on three criteria:
1) Results with Club
2) Results with NT
3) Star Power / Shining Spotlight / Representing CONCACAF to the World / Charlie Sheen’s Winning
Club Results… both Chicharito & Dempsey had very good years for their respective clubs… an argument can be made either way.
NT Results… big edge for the Pea.. Dempsey was atrocious for much of the Gold Cup, he is not the U.S. most consistent difference maker.
In contrast, Chicharito has been good for Mexico throughout the year, played an important role in winning the Gold Cup… and simply put he is THE most important player on the undisputed best NT in CONCACAF over the last 12 months.
Star Power… big edge for the Chich.. he has a shining star, is the region’s most recognized & most respected player… wheras Dempsey is only known by the Fulham fan base (outside of the States).. even in the region he has no sway with Donovan being the only U.S. player recognized at the CONCACAF level… & simply put if he retired tomorrow no one (internationally) would really know.
It was a joke at first, but now, I prefer to quarrel.
When I see two Lita Ford references in the same weekend, I figure the universe is trying to tell me something.
Clint would win if only he had a cool nickname like Hernandez does. I suggest “bug-eyed guy from Nachodoches,” although I suspect that may not fit on the back of his jersey.
If anyone cares – I used the playing in the CONCACAF region OR representing a CONCACAF nation. Hence, Chicharito this year, and Guillermo Barros Schelotto’s 2008 win. Yes, Beckham’s been eligible since 2007.
Actually, talk about dodging a bullet. The soccertainment press would have been pushing as hard for this award as for the MLS MVP award, had they but known. Tally Hall didn’t just save a goal, he saved us a lot of irritation.
EDIT: I used to give priority to accomplishments in the Gold Cup, but I was giving the award to McBride instead of Friedel in 2002, and to Carlos Corrazin in 2000 instead of Rafa Marquez. For my own sanity – in retrospect, a lost cause – I gave more weight to club and World Cup play.
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