Led by Miguel Almirón, Atlanta United tabbed for 5 MLS award finalists
Atlanta United's successful inaugural season could be capped off with some hardware for the club's trophy case.
Atlanta United placed five finalists — the most of any MLS club — among the league's postseason award finalists, highlighted by star midfielder Miguel Almirón being named one of five challengers for the MLS MVP award alongside David Villa (New York City), Diego Valeri (Portland), Nemanja Nikolic (Chicago) and Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto).
Almirón, who was named an All-Star during his first MLS season, tallied nine goals and 14 assists for the expansion franchise, operating as the primary playmaker for one of the highest-scoring attacks in league history.
The 23-year-old midfielder was also named a finalist for MLS Newcomer of the Year alongside his teammate and Atlanta United's top scorer, Josef Martinez, who set an MLS record for a player on an expansion team with 19 goals in 17 starts.
On the sidelines, Tata Martino was named a Coach of the Year finalist — joining Chicago's Veljko Paunovic and Toronto's Greg Vanney — after steering the club to success in Year 1.
The team's top pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, Julian Gressel, is also up for Rookie of the Year after scoring five goals and leading all rookies with nine assists.
https://twitter.com/ATLUTD/status/925407815912558592
Here's the award announcement schedule for Atlanta United:
| November 8 | Rookie of the Year |
| November 20 | Newcomer of the Year |
| November 27 | Coach of the Year |
| December 4 | Most Valuable Player |
