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Canadian Tesho Akindele voted Major League Soccer’s Rookie of the Year
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Dallas forward and Calgary native Tesho Akindele has been voted Major League Soccer’s rookie of the year.
He scored seven goals during the regular season and had one in the playoffs, against Vancouver.
The league said Monday that the 22-year-old player received 86 per cent of combined team, media and player votes. Chicago midfielder Harry Shipp was second at 73 per cent and D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum third at 63 per cent.
Akindele was born in Calgary to a Canadian mother and Nigerian father and lived in Canada — with stops in Toronto and Winnipeg — until he was eight. His father, a financial analyst who also has Canadian citizenship, moved the family to Colorado for work.
Akindele turned down an invitation to attend a camp with Canada’s senior men’s team earlier this month before a friendly against Panama.
Canada coach Benito Floro said Akindele, who is also eligible to play for the United States, has “a very tough decision to make right now.”
Philadelphia won the team Fair Play Award, and Columbus defender Michael Parkhurst won the individual Fair Play Award.
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