Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney finish third and fourth; Atlanta United vs Portland Timbers MLS Cup final live on Sky Sports on Sunday
Wednesday 5 December 2018 19:53, UK
Atlanta United striker Josef Martinez has been named the MLS' Most Valuable Player.
The 25-year-old Venezuela international saw off competition on the shortlist from his team-mate Miguel Almiron (runner-up), LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (third), DC United's Wayne Rooney (fourth) and Los Angeles FC's Carlos Vela (fifth).
Martinez has already won the Golden Boot for scoring 31 goals in 34 games this season, breaking the mark of 27 shared by Roy Lassiter, Chris Wondolowski and Bradley Wright-Phillips, and added three goals in the play-offs as Atlanta won the Eastern Conference title.
His side will be looking to win their maiden MLS Cup title when they take on Portland Timbers at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the early hours of Sunday morning, live on Sky Sports.
Martinez, who joined Atlanta from Torino in 2017, received his Landon Donovan trophy during a ceremony on Wednesday at the headquarters of United owner Arthur Blank.
"I'm very happy because this is an award we all wanted," Martinez said. "It is due to a lot of work by myself, my team-mates, my coaching staff and my family. I just want to thank all those people."
He credits his team-mates for giving him plenty of scoring chances, and has his sights set on another trophy in Sunday's final.
"If it wasn't for all those guys, all the passes they assisted me on this season, the spectacular year that all of them had, we wouldn't be talking about this award or talking about Atlanta United playing in the final," Martinez said.
"We want to be champions. We've been working two seasons for this opportunity. We don't want to let it slip away."
