LA Galaxy are back in the MLS play-offs for the first time in three years and the goals of former Manchester United star Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez have been pivotal in their resurgence.
The Mexican striker scored 18 league goals in the regular season, with 11 coming in the final 12 games to secure the Galaxy's place in the postseason, and a 1-0 win over Nashville on Saturday has booked a Western Conference semi-final clash with cross-city rivals LAFC at Banc of California Stadium on Thursday.
Hernandez's predatory finishing made him an instant fan-favourite at Old Trafford after a bargain move from Guadalajara in 2010, going on to win a pair of Premier League titles and score 59 goals in 157 games. He later had spells with Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham and Sevilla before his move to the MLS.
And he could add another accolade to his resume in the coming weeks after being nominated for the Landon Donovan MLS MVP Award alongside LAFC forward Chicho Arango, goalkeeper Andre Blake of Philadelphia Union, Austin FC frontman Sebastián Driussi and Nashville star Hany Mukhtar who won the golden boot.
New England Revolution playmaker Carles Gil, formerly of Aston Villa, is the reigning MVP, with Alejandro Pozuelo, Carlos Vela and Josef Martinez also winning the prize in recent seasons. Barcelona legend David Villa was the MVP in 2016 when he was with New York City and Republic of Ireland hero Robbie Keane won it with LA Galaxy two years earlier.
AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was twice nominated for the award in his time with the Galaxy and Thierry Henry got one nomination from his stint with New York Red Bulls.
Legendary English quartet Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard all played in the MLS, but none of them received a nomination for the player of the year accolade in their stints across the pond.
Hernandez has enjoyed a fine season at club level, but he will not be representing his country at the World Cup in Qatar next month. Despite his superb scoring form, Mexico manager Tata Martino says Chicharito will not be included in the travelling party.
"In the case of Chicharito, we are simply going with other forwards," Martino said last month. "We will try to choose the 26 players who are closest to our game.
"We have two [forwards] who can play and two who can't," the former Barcelona boss added. "What I like is that we don't have not enough players.
"Four forwards are not going to go [to Qatar], but as long as they make it difficult for me to choose, I'm very happy about that. Surely there will be talk of who is left out, but the problem will be abundance and not scarcity."
