2000 Pitchside Player of the Year

Fans do not vote on The Pitchside Player of the Year No coaches are consulted, and the league office has no power over use. We selected the player who we feel to have contributed most to the Revolution cause in 200. The definition of most valuable player is the player, which the team could not survive without. For the year 2000, that player is Wolde Harris.

The leading Revolution striker not named Wolde Harris had 3 goals on the season, or approximately one-third the scoring total of Imad Baba. It's plain to see that the Revolution wouldn't have been a playoff team without the services of Harris. After the departure of our beloved Joe-Max Moore to Everton, the offense was left without an identity. Maurcio Ramos couldn't fill the void, William Sunsing was too raw, and Jamar Beasley was not ready to step into the limelight. Harris stamped the offensive third as his turf.

His time in Colorado was rocky. Harris was Mr. Supersub, playing second fiddle to players like Waldir Saenz and Jorge Dely Valdes. Despite his lack of a regular starting position, Harris put the ball in the net, scoring 26 goals in his three years in Denver. His big break came when Manager Fernando Clavijo and GM Sunil Gulati dealt the #10 pick and other assorted sundries to the Rapids for Harris. In retrospect, the trade showed Gulati at his finest.

Wolde Harris brought a different look to the Revolution attack in 2000. In fairness to Joe-Max, he wasn't much of an aerial player. Harris uses his strong body well in the air. While he's effective in the air, he does most of his damage with his right foot. Powerful yet crafty, Harris was the go to man for free kicks this year. He can hit both grass cutters under the wall and curling balls around it. In addition to his striking capabilities, Wolde possesses great ball skills and vision. He plays mind games with defenders with his silky moves around the box, and his vision above average for a player of his caliber.

The most remarkable part of Wolde Harris' season is the fact that he played without an established striking partner. He had very little help from partners Johnny Torres and William Sunsing. Torres and Sunsing combined for two goals on the season. Not much help to a player who had 15 goals by himself. While Sunsing came on late in the season, Torres was about as useful as a bathing suit in Alaska or a good player in San Jose.

2001 will represent a new challenge for Wolde. He will have to juggle a full 28 game MLS schedule with Jamaica's attempt to qualify for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Harris does not figure into the starting equation for the Reggae Boyz; Onandi Lowe and Deon Burton will start at the striker positions with Harris likely to be the first striker off the bench. It will be interesting to see the effects of the constant travel from Boston to Kingston on Harris.

The playoffs simply were not an option without Wolde Harris. He helped to propel the Revolution to their best season ever. While he wasn't a direct replacement for Joe-Max, he did soften the blow of his departure. While Pitchside valued the contributions of Mauricio Wright, Joey Franchino, and Rusty Pierce, we thought that Harris brought a little extra to the effort. Good strikers are hard to find, and we are lucky to have Wolde in our side. In our unrecountable opinion, Wolde Harris was the Revolution's player of the year in 2000.