CONCACAF has announced the nominees for its annual awards and a very healthy contingent of New York Red Bulls have made the cut across a number of categories.
Kemar Lawrence may be seemingly underrated and misunderstood in MLS, but CONCACAF clearly knows an elite defender when it sees one. RBNY’s starting left-back is nominated for the all-region Male Player of the Year award, and he’s on the list of defenders nominated for the all-CONCACAF Male Best XI.
Jesse Marsch left RBNY for Leipzig this summer, but he guided the Red Bulls to the semi-finals of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League before he moved to Germany and that - plus his contribution to the all-time best regular-season points record in MLS history - has won him a nomination for Male Coach of the Year. Former RBNY head coach Juan Carlos Osorio, who steered Mexico through the 2018 World Cup, is also on the list.
RBNY captain Luis Robles is up for Male Goalkeeper of the Year. Bradley Wright-Phillips is among the forwards nominated for selection to the Male Best XI.
The 2018 CONCACAF awards are intended to recognize performances in regional soccer from January 1, 2018 to December 10, 2018. Voting for the award winners will remain open until January 8, 2019.
Fans can vote via the CONCACAF website.
There are four voting groups that will contribute to the determination of the winners of each award: CONCACAF national team head coaches; CONCACAF national team captains; regional media; the general public. Each group’s votes will be weighted to count for 25% of the final tally of votes calculated for every nominee.