Columbus Crew midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 17 of the 2008 season. Schelotto scored Columbus' first goal in the 26th minute en route to a 3-3 tie at home against the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday, July 19. The tie improved the Crew's record to 8-5-4 (28 points). They remain second in the Eastern Conference standings, five points behind first place New England.
Entering the game at opposite ends of the Eastern Conference standings, the visiting Wizards stunned the Crew in the first 24 minutes by going up 2-0. Schelotto and the Crew quickly responded in the 26th minute with a free kick from 25 yards out to cut the lead in half. Schelotto quickly took his free kick while the Wizards organized the wall and slotted the ball in the lower left-hand corner of the net. A minute later, the Crew almost equalized as Schelotto whipped a ball across the box to Alejandro Moreno, who narrowly missed to the left.
The frantic action of the first half continued into the 33rd minute. Schelotto received the ball on the left wing from Robbie Rogers and made a darting run into the box. Evading two defenders, Schelotto slotted the ball into the path of Moreno's near post run. After a slight deflection by Kevin Hartman, Moreno followed his first shot attempt and buried the rebound to grab the equalizer.
With the score tied 2-2 in the 38th minute, Schelotto once again proved to be the catalyst of the Crew's attack. From the right corner, the Argentinean playmaker delivered another dangerous pass into the penalty area for Chad Marshall, who connected with a diving header to give the Crew a 3-2 lead at the half.
The Wizards responded with a goal in the 75th minute to tie the score 3-3. Schelotto almost broke the deadlock in the 83rd minute but his volley was wide to the left.
A legend in his native Argentina, Schelotto won 15 championships with Boca Juniors and holds the Argentinean record for most titles won with 17. He joined the Crew in April 2007 and immediately made an impact, scoring five goals and recording a team high 11 assists. Schelotto was named to the League's Best XI squad and he was honored as the Crew's Most Valuable Player. Now in his second season with Columbus, Schelotto has almost matched his statistics from 2007, leading the League in assists (10) in addition to scoring four goals.
This is Schelotto's second Player of the Week award this season, and the fourth of his career. He previously won the award in week 3, when he notched two assists and scored a goal in the Crew's 4-3 victory over Chivas USA. Columbus (8-5-4) returns to action after the All-Star break on July 27 when they travel to Dick's Sporting Goods Park to play the Colorado Rapids at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. More information and membership information can be found at http://www.soccerreporters.com/.
2008 Player of the Week Winners
Week 1:
Terry Cooke (Colorado Rapids)
Week 2:
David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 3:
Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew)
Week 4:
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 5:
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 6:
David Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 7:
Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
Week 8:
Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 9:
Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Chicago Fire)
Week 10:
Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)
Week 11:
Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo)
Week 12:
Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 13:
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Week 14:
Steve Ralston (New England Revolution)
Week 15:
Adam Cristman (New England Revolution)
Week 16:
John Thorrington (Chicago Fire)
Week 17:
Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew)
