David Villaās teammates were out in force on Tuesday to toast the new MLS MVP.
Jack Harrison, Mikey Lopez, Ronald Matarrita, Tommy McNamara, Khiry Shelton and Ethan White were among those present in Tribeca to celebrate with the leagueās best player.
Matarrita told NYCFC.com: āDavid is an incredible player and our leader.
āIām so happy that heās won the MVP award. Every day he teaches us with so much humility considering everything he has won.ā
Harrison echoed those sentiments, expressing his delight for one of his mentors.
Harrison said: āItās an incredible honor and Iām so happy for him.
āHeās been amazing this season and heās been an inspiration to all of us ā heās such a great leader.ā
Shelton is another young player who is looking to one day emulate Davidās achievements in MLS.
Khiry believes that Davidās success in landing this title is a landmark moment in the young history of the club.
He reflected: āItās a very big moment for him and for the club because he represents us so well.
āIt was good to be here to see this. As a young player, youāre here and you want to be up there some day to collect such a prestigious award. Weāre all so happy for him.ā
Villa beat Bradley Wright-Phillips and Sacha Kljestan to the award, topping a vote of players, journalists and coaches.
McNamara feels as though the 35-year old was the only choice considering his conduct both on and off the field ā characteristics that inspire Tommy day in, day out.
McNamara declared: āItās well deserved ā congratulations to him.
āWeāre proud of him ā Iām lucky enough to get to see what he does every day on and off the field and my experience of that has tells me just how well deserved this award is.
āHeās done so much for this club and thereās more to come next year!ā
Ethan White was present in a dual role: celebrating with David, as well as documenting the day with his camera for NYCFC.com.
The defender added: āHis love for the sport is clear ā he wonāt play unless he can give it his all. Heās a happy go lucky guy but he takes the sport seriously which is huge and thatās why he wins awards like this.
āHis commitment to bringing the sport on here in this country is clear ā itās no vacation for him ā heās not here to collect checks, he wants to score goals, he wants to bring on the young players and he wants us to be successful.
āHeās absolutely the right person to win this award.ā