U.S. International Clint Dempsey was named as Fútbol de Primera's 2012 Player of the Year on Wednesday.
The 29-year-old Tottenham Hotspur midfielder defeated Roma midfielder Michael Bradley and Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard who finished second and third respectively. Dempsey also took home the honors in 2011.
The award is voted on by 183 journalists from the United States and presented by the Spanish-language radio station which is affiliated with legendary broadcaster Andres Cantor. The award has recognized the best U.S. men's national team player every year for the past 22 years. To be eligible for the honor a player must have played in a minimum of three games for the U.S. team during a calendar year. No player has won the honor -- which was formerly known as the Honda Player of the Year award -- more than Galaxy captain Landon Donovan, who has taken the award a record seven times.
In other news....
Chivas USA announced on Wednesday that Mexican head coach Jose Luis Sanchez Sola also known as "El Chelis" will manage the club for the 2013 season. Chivas will be the fourth stop in the well-traveled career of the eccentric 53-year-old head coach. Chivas also swapped allocation spots with the Portland Timbers, trading their second spot in MLS' Allocation order for the third spot and a potential International spot or a second round selection the 2013 MLS SuperDraft should Portland acquire one.
Portland didn't stop there as the Timbers acquired forward Ryan Johnson and goalkeeper Milos Kocic from Toronto FC in exchange for the third overall pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, goalkeeper Joe Bednik and an undisclosed sum of allocation money.
Sporting KC continued their offseason overhaul by acquiring defender Ike Opara from the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for the club's natural second round draft pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.
The Houston Dynamo locked up four pieces of their back-to-back Eastern Conference Champion side by announcing contract extensions for midfielders Brad Davis and Adam Moffat as well as goalkeepers Tally Hall and Tyler Deric,
The Montreal Impact re-signed veteran midfielder Justin Mapp.
Lastly, below is a video of the Mayor of Houston Annise Parker wearing her Galaxy uniform after losing a bet with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaragosa.
