MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact announced on Friday that Argentine midfielder Ignacio Piatti has been named the recipient of the Giuseppe Saputo Trophy as Impact MVP in 2015, while Belgian defender Laurent Ciman was named Impact Defensive player of the year.
In his second season with the Impact, Piatti was a key member of the squad in its CONCACAF Champions League run, throughout the regular season and then also during the MLS playoffs, collecting a total of 12 goals and 12 assists, in all competitions.
Piatti led the Impact to the final of the CONCACAF Champions League with his two goals and four assists in eight starts and 697 minutes played, including a game-winner in the first leg of the semifinal series against Alajuelense, while also scoring a goal at Estadio Azteca in the first leg of the finals against Club America.
In MLS, the Argentine Designated Player ranked first in the league and established a new team record with six game-winning assists, in addition to finishing tied for sixth in the league with four goals from the penalty spot. He concluded the season ranked first on the club with eight assists and ranked second with nine goals, including three game-winners, in 26 starts and 2,213 minutes played. He won the AT&T Goal of the Week for week 33 against New England and was selected seven times as the Videotron Mobile player of the game by the fans.
He also tallied a goal and an assist in three starts during the MLS playoffs.
Defender Laurent Ciman was chosen defensive player of the year, two days after he was named as MLS Defender of the Year.
In his first season in the League, Ciman cemented himself on the Montreal backline, helping the team to its best defensive performance in its young MLS history with 44 goals against, five less than in 2013 and 14 less than last year.
The Belgian international also tallied two goals and two assists, finishing second on the Impact with 2,405 minutes of play and third with 27 starts. He started in all six games of the CONCACAF Champions League, all four games of the Amway Canadian Championship and all three MLS playoff games, accumulating a total of 3,605 minutes of play in 2015.
Ciman took part in the 2015 MLS All-Star game, wearing the captain's armband in the second half against English club Tottenham Hotspur F.C. He was also chosen three times to the MLSSoccer.com and six times as the Videotron Mobile player of the game.
The MVP and defensive player of the year were selected by the club’s technical staff.
Giuseppe Saputo Trophy recipients (MLS):
2015 : Ignacio Piatti
2014 : Andrés Romero
2013: Marco Di Vaio
2012: Patrice Bernier
