His contribution on the field is there for all the world to see -- the 16 goals in 26 games, the pure class that is on display every time he touches the ball.
But Juan Pablo Angel is more than just a goal scorer. Behind the bright stadium lights, the 33-year-od Colombian has led on the training field and inside the New York Red Bulls locker room.
"Off the field I think he's a great professional, he lives for his football and his family," Juan Carlos Osorio said. "He has led this team by giving a very good example to all the players, especially those young players in the locker room who benefit from not only competing and playing with him on a daily basis, but also seeing what a good professional has to do in terms of eating properly, resting properly, doing extra work and concentrating on their football."
Angel, who signed with the Red Bulls on April 17, 2007 on a free transfer from English Premier League side Aston Villa, was a finalist for MLS MVP honors a year ago after scoring 19 goals in 23 matches.
"He scores always and everywhere. That's hard to stop," Dave van den Bergh said. "I know if I get three crosses in, he'll get on the end of two of them."
Angel's second season in MLS, though, wasn't without its share of adversity. He scored just one goal in the first two months of the season, missing six games because of an arthritic nerve-related injury in his lower back that caused him to have pain in his hamstring.
Angel, though, never complained and fought through the pain to score the lone goal in a 1-0 win against Chivas USA on June 6 at Giants Stadium.
Despite scoring just three goals in the first three months of the regular season, Angel was selected to the MLS All-Star Game by New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol and set up the game-winning penalty kick by Dwayne De Rosario.
That was the beginning of what was a second-half tear as Angel nearly single-handedly put the Red Bulls on his shoulders and carried them into the playoffs. He was named MLS Player of the Week after scoring a brace in a 4-1 victory against rival D.C. United at Giants Stadium on Aug. 10.
Angel also earned MLS Player of the Month honors in October, scoring three goals and setting up another in four games to help his squad to its sixth consecutive MLS playoff berth.
"He's just in a different class than anyone in the league," Kevin Goldthwaite said. "He's fantastic, works his butt off all the time and he's just a fantastic player. You can't say enough about how good he is. We're just we're just lucky to have him on our side."
After a concussion cut short his first MLS Cup Playoffs experience in 2007, as the Red Bulls fell to the New England Revolution in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, a healthy Angel made the most of his second trip to the postseason.
He scored what should have been the game-winner three minutes into the second half, heading a quick cross by John Wolyniec past Pat Onstad in the opening leg of the Western Conference Semifinal Series.
"He's one of the best forwards in this league, he's had a great year," Carlos Mendes said. "But every day in and out of practice people don't see his work ethic and how good a professional he is. He's rubbed off on the rest of this team."
Angel also scored a critical goal in the second leg, perfectly placing a penalty kick into the side netting to give the Red Bulls a two-goal cushion heading into halftime. New York went on to stun the two-time defending MLS Cup champions to advance to the Western Conference Final.
But Angel didn't come to play in Major League Soccer to soak up any individual accolades. He said from Day One in a conference call from Birmingham, England that he wants to bring New York a championship, to finally put some hardware in the club's empty trophy case.
"We would like to make history here," Angel said. "This is an opportunity for us as a team to write history for this team."
And Angel is 90 minutes away from delivering just that to long suffering Red Bulls fans.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
