Lost in the shuffle of the Fire's thrilling Eastern Conference Semifinals victory was the fact
that the team announced the 2009 awards on Friday night.
Wilman Conde, Brian McBride and Logan Pause were the recipients of the honors, which included
Team MVP, Team Golden Boot Winner, Team Defender of the Year and U.
MLS announced it's 2009 Best XI today and one Fire player, defender Wilman Conde, made the list.
It's the first time on the Best XI for the 27-year-old Conde, who made the list despite missing 11
regular season games due to injury.
The honor caps a solid season for Conde, who was a rock in the back for the Fire and even
contributed two goals and two assists on the year.
MLS announced this afternoon that L.A. Galaxy forward Landon Donovan has been named league MVP.
The honor, which is the first MVP trophy in the 29-year-old's 9-year career, comes as a precursor
to Sunday night's MLS Cup Final -- when Donovan and L.A. will take on Real Salt Lake.
Donovan, who had 12 goals and 6 assists in 25 games this year, beat out finalists Shalrie Joseph
(New England Revolution) and Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas) for the award.
