Reporters participating in Don Garber's "state of the league" teleconference on Tuesday afternoon got more news than they were expecting, when the MLS commissioner let slip something that sounded a lot like an indication that FC Dallas midfielder David Ferreira will be named league MVP on Friday.Ferreira, who engineered FCD's run to the MLS Cup Final, was listed as an MVP finalist along with forwards Chris Wondolowski of the San Jose Earthquakes and Edson Buddle of the Los Angeles Galaxy. It appears they split the striker vote and that Ferreira came out on top.
The slip occured following a question about Sunday's final and the fact that Dallas and the Colorado Rapids aren't the sort of high-profile teams with marquee players that might drive attendance at a neutral site (Toronto) or ratings on ESPN.
Garber responded by saying that the "golden boot" winner would be on the field, before cutting himself off and laughing nervously. The golden boot is given to the league's leading goal scorer (Wondolowski), whose San Jose Earthquakes were eliminated by Colorado in the semifinals.
Had Garber stopped there, it would have could have been explained as a typical slip of the tongue (for which Garber is well known). He just forgot for a second that San Jose was out. There's a lot on his mind.
But he continued, saying that the game would feature a player about whom "an announcement will be made in three days."
It just so happens that the league MVP will be unveiled in Toronto on Friday -- three days following the conference call. And there's only MVP finalist playing in the final: David Ferreira.
Ferreira, 31, had eight goals and 13 assists as Dallas finished fourth overall in MLS at 12-4-14 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2007. He joined FCD before the 2009 season from Brazilian club Atlético Paranaense.
If Ferreira wins the award, he'll be the seventh Latin American playmaker (he's Colombian) to claim the league's top honor in its 15-year existence.
The others:
1996: Carlos Valderrama (Tampa Bay/Colombia)
1998: Marco Etcheverry (D.C. United/Bolivia)
2001: Alex Pineda Chacón (Miami/Honduras)
2004: Amado Guevara (New York/Honduras)
2006: Christian Gómez (D.C. United/Argentina)
2008: Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus/Argentina)
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