Mexican international and Los Angeles Galaxy forward Giovani Dos Santos was named the Major League Soccer Player of the Week for week seven following his performance in Los Angeles' 4-1 win over the Houston Dynamo on April 15th by the North American Soccer Reporters, a collection of members of print, television, radio, and media.
Dos Santos was acquired by the Los Angeles Galaxy back in July of last season as a mid season Designated Player acquisition from Villarreal in the midst of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup where he won the trophy with Mexico.
Life before LA
He spent two seasons with Villarreal following spells with Barcelona, Tottenham, and Real Mallorca, as well as loans with Ipswich Town, Galatasaray, and Racing Santander. The former Barcelona man helped LA to a fifth place finish in the Western Conference before LA fell to the Seattle Sounders 3-2 in the knockout round of the 2015 MLS Playoffs. He appeared in 10 of 13 regular season MLS matches after his arrival, scoring three goals and accumulating five assists.
Image Courtesy of Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images North America
Form starting to pick up
The Monterrey born forward, son of Brazilian midfielder Zizinho, was without a goal or an assist in his first two matches this season before missing three matches through injury.
But he exploded into form this past week with two goals and an assist in a comprehensive victory versus Houston.
The award is Dos Santos' first ever in Major League Soccer. He's the second Los Angeles player to win the award this season following Mike Magee's week one heroics, having scored two goals, assisted one, and earned a penalty in a 4-1 victory versus DC United. Dos Santos will have the chance to defend his title on Saturday when Los Angeles take on Real Salt Lake at the StubHub Center.