FC Cincinnati's Luciano Acosta named 2023 MLS Landon Donovan MVP

Luciano Acosta has been leaving a mark on Major League Soccer since he came to the league and now his place in MLS history is solidified after being voted the 2023 Landon Donovan Most Valuable Player.

Acosta was revealed as the 2023 season's MVP during a Monday ceremony inside TQL Stadium's Pitch View Club attended by high-ranking league officials, FC Cincinnati's top brass including co-CEO and controlling owner Carl Lindner III, the FCC coaching staff, and many of his teammates.

Acosta was presented with the trophy, produced by Tiffany & Co., by MLS Executive Vice President Todd Durbin to honor his 2023 campaign, which stood apart from all of Acosta's peers.

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Acosta, a native of Buenos Aires, then gave a bilingual address in the club space where Monday's event was staged. It started with a detailed "thank you" to his parents, and Acosta paused several times as his visibly emotional. He then went on to thank Lindner, Co-Chief Executive Officer Jeff Berding, General Manager Chris Albright and the coaching staff.

His parting message was for FC Cincinnati fans. “You know I play for this city… this is my home," Acosta said. "This is my house. When I go out to the field, I give 100% for you guys.

"Nothing is done yet," he added. "We go for more.”

Afterward the formal award ceremony, media members engaged in a press conference with Acosta, who brought his trophy with him to the usual post-match lectern near the team's locker room.

The MVP honor, as well as seeing how much it meant to Acosta, could add spice and incentive for FC Cincinnati this coming weekend. The backdrop for the MVP award was that Cincinnati would host arch-rival Columbus Crew at TQL Stadium in the MLS Cup Eastern Conference final on Saturday.

Acosta agreed with the sentiment that the award could lift the entire team, which is still dealing with key injuries and a still-unsettled disciplinary matter for center back and Defender of the Year, Matt Miazga.

"A trophy like this, an award like this is a motivation for us," Acosta said via a team interpreter. "Like I said, we have bigger things that we're striving to achieve. We're in the conference final and we're against a big rival, an in-state rival, so a trophy like this is motivation for us to keep going... This trophy is not just an individual one but it's a group award as well."

In the voting process to determine MVP, Acosta received an overwhelming 60.37% of ballots cast.

More than 82% of participating media members supported Acosta's candidacy and more than half of the league's players (50.96%) supported him as well. Club officials from across MLS gave him 47.5% of their collective votes, too.

Los Angeles FC's Denis Bouanga finished runner-up in the voting with 14.97% of the overall vote. Atlanta United's Thiago Almada was a distant third place with 6.46%.

Acosta's unforgettable 2023 season

It wasn't just an unforgettable 2023 season for Acosta. It was an unforgettable year in all facets. On and off the field, Acosta enjoyed a calendar year unlike any other in his life.

As far as as the award goes, only on-field matters were relevant, and his statistics and achievements were second to none. From early in the season to the regular-season finale on Decision Day Oct. 21, Acosta's resume had all the makings of a should-be MVP award winner.

That resume included:

• 17 goals, tied for second-most in the regular season.

• 14 assists, the fourth-most in the regular season.

• A league-leading 31 goal contributions (goals and assists combined).

• A league-leading 10 games with multiple goal contributions.

• 15 in-season awards, including 11 Team of the Week honors, two Player of the Match Day awards, and was twice recognized as the Player of the Month (July and August).

• Captained FC Cincinnati to winning the Supporters' Shield.

• An MLS All-Star and captain for the league's midsummer showcase against the English Premier League's Arsenal FC in Washington, D.C.

Off the field, Acosta's life changed. FCC and Acosta committed their medium-term futures to one another with a high-profile contract extension to keep him at the club until at least 2026. Acosta teased to the announcement of the contract by taking out a full-page advertisement in The Enquirer's print edition for Sept. 21.

"This city is my family," Acosta wrote in a message on the ad, which ran on page A7 that day.

Away from the game, Acosta started the process of gaining U.S. citizenship. That news became public shortly before the MLS All-Star Game festivities in Washington, D.C., where Acosta on July 17 was one of few to shake hands with President Joe Biden during a community event at the White House.

“I’m one of the very few people even there that got to shake hands with him and exchange words with him,” Acosta told The Enquirer on July 18. “How many people can say that they’ve shaken hands with the president? I don’t think I’ve washed my hand still. But, you know, I had the chance to walk up to him. Maybe I said, ‘Hey, I’m Luciano. Can you give me some citizenship?' But no, I truly am very lucky and very fortunate to have had that experience.”

Acosta's citizenship pursuit caused a buzz in soccer circles as it could eventually open a pathway for him to represent America in the international game via the U.S. men's national team. That was after saying earlier in the year that he would make himself available to Argentina's national team if called upon, although it was and had been clear that pathway was blocked by higher-profile Argentine players at his position.

All told, it was a year of monumental accomplishments and major life events individually and for Acosta's entire family.

Acosta's place in MLS history

Acosta was a known commodity in MLS since debuting in the league in 2016. At D.C. United, Acosta memorably scored late in a match against Orlando off a pass by former Manchester United FC star, Wayne Rooney. The moment is one of the iconic plays in MLS history.

While at D.C. United, Acosta garnered significant attention from clubs in Europe, nearing making the leap to Paris St. Germain, the French Ligue 1 powerhouse. That move eventually fell through.

Then, after a short stint playing with Atlas in Mexico's Liga MX, Acosta arrived to FC Cincinnati in winter 2021 under then-general manager, Gerard Nijkamp, and then-manager, Jaap Stam. Acosta still speaks highly of those individuals, but it was under current head coach Pat Noonan and general manager Chris Albright that Acosta became one the best players in MLS.

Acosta's profile in the league was reflected in a dominant vote tally in the MVP voting. His 60.37% was the highest percentage in the overall vote since LAFC's Carlos Vela in 2019 (69.61%).

A win by any margin is a singular moment in the life of a player and his club, though, and Acosta now takes his place among the league's all-time greats − international stars, FIFA World Cup participants, and even a few icons of the world's game.

Impressive awards season for FC Cincinnati

So far in 2023, FC Cincinnati's claimed almost everything it desired.

Following its Supporters' Shield-winning regular-season campaign, the club has been on the receiving end of a number of individual, end-of-season awards. Acosta's MVP is only the latest addition to the trophy case.

Acosta was voted to have scored the MLS Goal of the Year. Goalkeeper Roman Celentano was awarded the Save of the Year, too. Both of those honors were decided in fan votes.

In the major end-of-year awards voting conducted among players, club officials and select media members, Acosta's MVP honor was the third award from its class to be hauled in by Cincinnati.

Matt Miazga was named MLS Defender of the Year and Noonan was named Coach of the Year, too.

FC Cincinnati's playoff run is ongoing. On Saturday, the club hosts Columbus Crew at TQL Stadium in the Eastern Conference final to decide which Ohio franchise will host MLS Cup on Dec. 9.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati's Luciano Acosta named 2023 MLS Landon Donovan MVP