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USA as a nation are not the biggest of soccer lovers. They are filled with people filled with Baseball, American Football and Basketball fans. We are surrounded by movies that portray the lives of Basketball, Baseball and American Football lovers. In the midst of all this indifference to football we can still find a chunk of people who are big fans of the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga as well as other big footballing events like the Fifa World Cup and the European Championships.
The Major League Soccer has added much more charm in the recent years as stars of other countries like David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Robby Keane have graced the league with their superb gameplay. America has also produced some world class players who have sharpened their game elsewhere in the world.
But who is the best American soccer player at the moment?
That has to be Jozy Altidore. He brought home the prestigious U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in the year of 2013 and has proved himself as the best when it comes to soccer in the States.
At 6’1″ and 174 pounds, Altidore is a player who demands a physical style of play and has scored some of the best free kicks America has ever seen. Altidore, is the best player in the American team as he provides a big, physical body to send passes forward, as well a bulky body to be a huge danger in set pieces. In a short period of time he has become an integral part of the American football team and deservedly a recipient of the prestigious award. Lets look back at the history of this award and its previous winners.
The U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year is the Ballon dO’r of American Football(Soccer) given each year by the United States Soccer Federation to the American soccer players judged best in the calendar year.
History
The U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award was instituted in 1984 followed by the female athlete of the year in 1985. This award is considered as the highest accolade for soccer players in the country. The Young Male and Young Female awards were added in 1998.
The award is decided on a voting basis with 50% of the votes coming from online voting, where registered users of usasoccer.com can vote for the best soccer player of the year. The other 50 percent is compiled from members of the national media and U.S. Soccer representatives, including National Team coaches and members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors.
Winners
| Year | Athlete |
| 1984 | Rick Davis |
| 1985 | Perry Van der Beck |
| 1986 | Paul Caligiuri |
| 1987 | Brent Goulet |
| 1988 | Peter Vermes |
| 1989 | Mike Windischmann |
| 1990 | Tab Ramos |
| 1991 | Hugo Perez |
| 1992 | Marcelo Balboa |
| 1993 | Thomas Dooley |
| 1994 | Marcelo Balboa |
| 1995 | Alexi Lalas |
| 1996 | Eric Wynalda |
| 1997 | Kasey Keller |
| 1998 | Cobi Jones |
| 1999 | Kasey Keller |
| 2000 | Chris Armas |
| 2001 | Earnie Stewart |
| 2002 | Brad Friedel |
| 2003 | Landon Donovan |
| 2004 | Landon Donovan |
| 2005 | Kasey Keller |
| 2006 | Oguchi Onyewu |
| 2007 | Clint Dempsey |
| 2008 | Tim Howard |
| 2009 | Landon Donovan |
| 2010 | Landon Donovan |
| 2011 | Clint Dempsey |
| 2012 | Clint Dempsey |
| 2013 | Jozy Altidore |
The first winner of this prestigious award was Rick Davis , considered by many as the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League era. In recent years, global stars such as Landon Donovan(2009,2010), Tim Howard(2008), Clint Dempsey(2011,2012) has walked away with this honour.
