NEW YORK - Major League Soccer forwards Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy) and Eddie Johnson (FC Dallas) have been nominated for the 2005 ESPY Award for Best Soccer Player. The winners of each of the awards will be announced at the 13th annual ESPY Awards which will be televised by ESPN and ESPN Deportes from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on Sunday, July 17 2005 at 9:00 p.m. ET. For the first time this year, nominations for The ESPY Awards were announced on "Nomination Friday" - Friday, June 24.
The other three finalists for the award are FC Barcelona midfielder Ronaldinho, Mia Hamm and Birgit Prinz. The nominees are selected by ESPN producers and industry-wide experts. For the second year in the event's 13-year history, fans will determine the winners in all categories with voting beginning on Friday, June 24 at 8:10 a.m. ET on ESPN.com through July 7.
Both players were nominated for the award based on their performance during the 2004 calendar year. Over the course the 12 months on which the award is judged, Donovan played in and started 14 games with the U.S. National Team and scored five goals and five assists. He helped to lead the stars and stripes to a 7-1-6 record in all competitions, including several FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches. With his former club, the San Jose Earthquakes, the native of Redlands, California appeared in 23 matches in the 2004 regular season and registered six goals and 10 assists.
In 2004 Johnson became the youngest player in MLS history to either hold or share the League lead in goals scored (12). He also appeared in three matches with the U.S. National Team in 2004 (all World Cup Qualifiers) and registered five goals, including a hat trick as a substitute on October 13 vs. Panama, becoming the first substitute in U.S. National Team history to register a hat trick.
Donovan has been nominated on two previous occasions for the ESPY and brought home the hardware in 2002. He will lead the Galaxy on Saturday, June 25 in the RadioShack Soccer Saturday Game of the Week as he makes his highly anticipated first appearance in San Jose since joining the Los Angeles Galaxy (10:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
The 2005 ESPY Awards, taped four days earlier on July 13, will be hosted for the first time by Matthew Perry. Among the celebrities scheduled to attend the event are Oprah Winfrey, who will present the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, and Destiny's Child, making one of its last national television performances.
BEST SOCCER PLAYER: 2005 NOMINEES
LANDON DONOVAN
Credentials: U.S. Soccer Player of the Year. Scored five goals and added five assists for the U.S. national team in 2004; Past ESPYs: 2002 Best Men's Soccer Player.
MIA HAMM
Credentials: Led U.S. Women to Olympic Gold Medal; Past ESPYs: 2000 and 2001 Best Soccer Player; 2004 Best Female Soccer Player; 1998 and 2000 Best Female Athlete
EDDIE JOHNSON
Credentials: Dallas forward led Major League Soccer in game-winning goals (7) and tied for league lead in scoring. He has six goals in four World Cup qualifying games for the U.S. National Team.
BIRGIT PRINZ
Credentials: Selected FIFA Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.
RONALDINHO
Credentials: Selected 2004 FIFA Player of the Year.
PAST WINNERS - BEST SOCCER PLAYER:
2004: Male - David Beckham; Female - Mia Hamm
2003: Male - Ronaldo; Female - Katia
2002: Male - Landon Donovan; Female - Tiffeny Milbrett
2001: Mia Hamm
2000: Mia Hamm
THE ESPY AWARDS
The ESPY Awards gather top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements, reliving unforgettable moments and saluting the leading performers and performances. And for the second year in the event's 13-year history, fans will determine the winners in all categories. The 2005 ESPY Awards will include both sport-specific awards and distinguishing "Best in Sport" awards, categories that pit different sports against each other, such as Best Team or Best Female Athlete. The ESPY Awards are committed to the advancement of The V Foundation for Cancer Research, established by ESPN with the late Jim Valvano and announced at the inaugural ESPY Awards in 1993.
