ORLANDO, Fla –Dec. 4, 2015 – Orlando City SC midfielder Darwin Cerén has been named the 2015 FutbolMLS.com’s Latino del Año. After being ranked among the top 32 nominees by the staff of FutbolMLS.com, MLSsoccer.com, UnivisionDeportes.com and other national media outlets, Cerén reached the final and was voted by fans as the best Latino player in MLS.
“I’d like to thank God for giving me this opportunity of winning the Latino del Año award. I want to thank everyone that made this possible, the fans here in Orlando and around the world that supported me,” said Cerén. “Now, I am going to enjoy it with my family, I am going to enjoy it because it is an award that, as soccer players, gives us great satisfaction of our work.”
The Latino del Año honor caps off an impressive 2015 season for Cerén, who was named the 2015 Player’s Player of the Year earlier this year. In addition to registering two goals and two assists, City’s third MLS signing led the team in passes per game with 59.8 (5th best in MLS), ranked 11th in MLS on both passing completion percentage (86.5) and average tackles per game (3).
The Lions midfielder earned the sixth edition of the award after surpassing in the final his teammate and captain Kaká, Colombian international and FC Dallas’ winger Fabián Castillo, and Costa Rican international and Vancouver Whitecaps’ defender Kendall Waston. Orlando City SC was the only side with two players elected to the final.
The Salvadorian dominated each round of the voting. He led Group E with a 58.43 percent of the votes, defeating Juninho (LA Galaxy), Jesse González (FC Dallas) and Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers). In the Round of 16, Darwin Cerén crushed LA Galaxy and Mexican international Giovani dos Santos with 84.94 percent of the votes, the highest percentage of any player in the round. Lastly, Cerén qualified to the final round after outvoting NYCFC Spanish striker David Villa in the quarterfinals, receiving 72.76 percent of the votes.
Created in 2010, the Latino del Año is FutbolMLS.com’s annual contest to select the best Latino player in MLS, based on fan voting. All MLS players born in a Latin American country, Spain or those who were born in the United States and have Hispanic heritage are eligible.
