Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy celebrates on Sunday. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) Los Angeles Galaxy forward Landon Donovan was named the 2009 most valuable player by Major League Soccer on Thursday.
Donovan, 27, was tops in the voting undertaken by MLS players, coaches, general managers and members of the media.
Donovan led the Galaxy with 12 goals and added six assists in 25 games. It is the first MVP honour for Donovan, who was nominated as a finalist for the second time in his career.
The American has helped lead Los Angeles to the MLS Cup, with the championship to take place Sunday in Seattle against Real Salt Lake.
Donovan has played 208 career MLS games, scoring 96 times to go along with 75 assists. He ranks sixth all-time in league goal-scoring, and is on pace to become the youngest league player to reach 100 goals.
The other finalists were New England Revolution midfielder Shalrie Joseph and FC Dallas forward Jeff Cunningham. Joseph had eight goals and eight assists while Cunningham led all MLS players with 17 goals to go along with eight assists.
