CHICAGO, Ill. (Nov. 20, 2013) – The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced Wednesday that forward Mike Magee has been chosen as one of the three finalists for the 2013 MLS Volkswagen MVP award as determined by votes from national media members and MLS players, technical staffs and front offices. Additionally, defender Jalil Anibaba has been named an Xbox Individual Fair Play award finalist by MLS based on objective criteria such as fouls committed, cards received, games and minutes played, as well as subjective evaluation of sportsmanlike behavior.
Magee is joined by Montreal Impact forward Marco DiVaio and LA Galaxy forward Robbie Keane as finalists for the award. The 2013 Volkswagen MLS MVP award will be unveiled on Thursday, Dec. 5.
Magee came to the Fire in a trade on May 25 from the LA Galaxy. In 22 games with the Men in Red, Magee scored 15 goals and tallied four assists. Prior to joining the Fire, Magee scored six goals with the Galaxy, bringing his season total to 21 goals, just one shy of Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Camilo Sanvezzo, the 2013 MLS Golden Boot winner. Magee’s previous season high was seven goals scored in his 2003 rookie season with the MetroStars.
The eleven-year MLS veteran earned his first career MLS All-Star nomination when he was named to the 2013 MLS All-Star Fan XI and faced Italian Serie A side AS Roma in July.
Magee, who was voted MLS Player of the Month by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for the month of June, was also honored as the Fire’s 2013 MVP and Golden Boot winner, and had three game-winning goals and two game-winning assists for the Men in Red.
Defender Jalil Anibaba is joined by Real Salt Lake defender Nat Borchers and Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe as a finalist for the award, which was won in 2012 by Fire midfielder Logan Pause. The 2013 Xbox Individual Fair Play award will be announced on Monday, Nov. 25.
In his third season for the Men in Red, Anibaba and fellow Fire defender Austin Berry were two of only three field players in MLS to play every minute of the 2013 MLS regular season.
The Davis, Calif. native committed just 15 fouls and was shown three yellow cards in 34 matches, and scored one goal and added three assists for the Men in Red in 2013.
