With his first season in the MLS now a memory, DC United star striker Luciano Emilio has added the icing on the cake by receiving the distinction of the 2007 MLS Honda Most Valuable Player award.

The Brazilian native made the move to the nation's capital following a stint with Uruguayan club CD Olimpia, and has since carved out a name for himself by bagging a league high of 20 goals in his first season stateside - the first player to hit that benchmark since Carlos Ruiz and Taylor Twellman jointly surpassed it in 2002.

On the back of that goal scoring success came recognition, for which Emilio beat out fellow league newcomers in Red Bulls hit man Juan Pablo Angel and Chicago Fire possession-artisan Cuauhtémoc Blanco to the MVP crown. The competition from such icons had the Brazilian humbled, as he told MLSNet: "I am surprised because Blanco and Pablo Angel are very good international players."

For DC United, the award is further vindication of a successful scouting and transfer policy. For years, the club had kept tabs on Emilio, and his immediate success has come at no surprise to the United management.

"We knew what he was about," general manager Dave Kasper remarked to the Washington Post. "Once we saw him at those first training sessions, we got a good feeling about what he was going to do."