Darwin Cerén was crowned MLS Latino del Año (Latin Player of the Year) tonight after a long and highly anticipated elimination process through voting. Cerén had a lot of people to thank, “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. Now, I am going to enjoy it with my family, I am going to enjoy it because it is an award that as a soccer player gives us great satisfaction of our work.”
The Orlando City star and El Salvador captain had a consistently impressive year as the Lions’ record-breaking inaugural MLS season commenced. With a team that was new to the league—and partially new to each other—Cerén was an instrumental team-leader in the heart of the Orlando midfield.
Joining Orlando City’s USL reign in 2014, from Juventud Independiente, Cerén was seen as a signing for the future. His presence in the midfield has been an integral part of Orlando City’s success from the start. When Orlando City made the transition from USL to MLS Cerén made sure that he would retain his place in the starting 11. This ambition pushed Cerén to the heights that he has reached in 2015.
Looking back at each of Darwin Cerén’s performances this season it is easy to identify why he is the MLS Latino del Año. As a defensive midfielder, his duties contained a laundry list of tasks: he was dangerous with the ball when going forward, he was an impenetrable wall when coming back on defense and his passing was a steady metronome to keep the game’s momentum.
With 26 appearances, two goals and an assist, Cerén’s dynamic style of play has pushed him to the forefront in the eyes of both the fans and the players. Along with being named the MLS Latino del Año Cerén was crowned Orlando City’s Players’ Player of the Year at the 2015 Orlando City Foundation Awards Gala back in October.
On the offensive front Darwin Cerén’s most impressive statistic lies in his passing. His passing completion percentage was a staggering 86.5, placing him 11th in the whole of the MLS for the 2015 season. His average passes per game stacked up to 59.8 which was Orlando City’s best and the fifth best in the whole MLS.
Man of the Match on multiple occasions, the El Salvadorian balanced his offensive record with an equally impressive defensive record in his second Orlando City season. The physical aspect of Cerén’s game placed him 11th in the MLS in average tackles per game with three—placing him second on Orlando City’s table of tackles per game.
Darwin Cerén had a lot of tough competition in competing for Latino del Año including international stars David Villa, Giovani dos Santos and Orlando City’s own World Player of the Year Kaká. Cerén looks forward to his future at Orlando City with a very keen eye, “I hope to see you all next year in a new season where we’ll look to attain new goals, and I have no doubt we will. Many thanks again for everything.”
