The Short List: No Respect

Landon Donovan has six Honda Player of the Year awards, but some of the U.S.A's all-time greats have none.

Oct 21, 2009 8:39:05 PM

Players

By Allen Ramsey

The Landon Donovan award.

That's probably what the Honda U.S. Player of the Year award will be called in a few years. The Galaxy striker collected his sixth award last night in L.A. and I just can't see it not being named after him when his playing days are done.

Only two other players have ever collected the award more than once, and no other player has ever won a third. It leaves Donovan head and heals above the rest when it comes to being named Player of the Year.

Now, to be honest, I don't think he's always been the most deserving winner. I certainly could have argued against him being tops in most years, but 2009 has been his best year, at least with the Nats, and there just isn't much of an argument against it this time.

But this bit of writing is not about Donovan. He's gotten his praise time and again. This is about the guys who never won the Honda POY. Those that got left out time and again. At least one name on the list will probably get the award before his playing days are done, but most of them never will despite being some of the best players the U.S. ever produced.

With no disrespect intended to Donovan, it's a shame that his name is on the trophy six times while some of the players who helped pave the way for players like him are left off.

Tim Howard

I have to think that Howard will win this eventually. I mean, it can't be given to Donovan every year, and the Everton 'keeper has finished second in the voting for the last three years. It's not a stretch of the imagination to see Howard lifting the award if the U.S. does well in 2010, but then again 'keepers only need one or two blunders to ruin a season.

Brad Friedel

How Friedel never won this award is beyond me. He was a beast at the 2002 World Cup, has been a stalwart in one of the best leagues in the world, and yet the closest he ever got was a second-place finish behind Donovan. Since he is no longer a part of the National Team setup, Friedel will never have a chance to win the award, but it's a shame that he doesn't have one already in his personal trophy case.

Tab Ramos

One of the greatest players to ever wear the Red, White and Blue, the closest Ramos ever got to winning the Honda award were back-to-back third place finishes in 1992 and 1993. He was awarded the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 1990, but that's little consolation for a man who ran the U.S. midfield for the better part of a decade. Prior to Claudio Reyna, who blossomed into a fantastic player in the late 90's, Ramos was widely considered the best player the U.S. ever produced and still is by many pundits and fans.

John O'Brien

It strikes me as odd that O'Brien never won the Honda award. At the 2002 World Cup he played every minute, scored the opener against Portugal and was a huge reason for the success of Bruce Arena's squad. What's even more shocking is that O'Brien never even made the top three in the voting. Though he was rarely at his best with the National Team, and injuries clearly killed off a large portion of his career, O'Brien surely deserved to be recognized as America's best at least once.

Brian McBride

Of all the players on this list McBride is the one that shocks me the most. With 96 caps and 30 goals, including goals in two World Cups, McBride is one of the best pure forwards the U.S. has ever had. Toss in the fact that he was the heart and soul of Fulham F.C. for the better part of five seasons and it's a wonder that the closest he ever got to winning the award was a second place finish in 2003.

Allen Ramsey is an associate editor for Goal.com USA. The Short List runs every Wednesday on Goal.com.

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