MIAMI – Panama and Houston Dynamo FC MF Adalberto Carrasquilla is the winner of the 2023/24 Concacaf Men’s Player of the Year Award.
Carrasquilla is the first Panamanian to win Concacaf Men’s Player of the Year honors.
The 25-year-old midfielder began a superb year in 2023/24 season by helping Panama reach the final of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup. He made six starts and scored the decisive penalty in the shootout against the United States in the semifinals. Carrasquilla was awarded the Golden Ball and named to the competition’s Best XI.
The Panama City native continued his stellar year by guiding his nation over Costa Rica in the quarterfinals of the 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League to advance to the CNL Finals for a second consecutive edition.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup in sight, Carrasquilla suited up to help Panama earn back-to-back wins in its qualification campaign in June 2024. “Coco” went full-time in the 2-1 victory against Guyana and came off the bench to complete a 3-1 win with Montserrat, furthering his aspirations to play in his first World Cup.
At the 2024 Copa América, Panama faced a difficult group that included Uruguay, the United States, and Bolivia. Los Canaleros advanced to the quarterfinals, moving out of the group stage to post their best performance ever in the tournament, with Carrasquilla helping the team to an important 2-1 win against the USA.
The Panamanian star also enjoyed success at the club level with MLS side Houston Dynamo FC.
During the 2023/24 season, Carrasquilla scored three goals and provided eight assists in 25 regular season appearances to help the team qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in six seasons. He started in five postseason matches, providing one assist, to help the team reach the Western Conference Final.
Carrasquilla also played in four domestic cup matches to help his club win the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. In the 3-1 semifinal victory, he scored in extra time against Real Salt Lake. He was also a key player in the final, a 2-1 victory against Inter Miami CF, to win the club’s second USOC title and qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup.
With Carrasquilla on the field, the Dynamo advanced over Saint Louis City SC in Round One of the Concacaf Champions Cup to start its 2024 campaign. The club bowed out 2-1 on aggregate against eventual runners-up Columbus Crew in the Round of 16.
Carrasquilla has three goals and seven assists in the 2024 MLS regular season, posting his third consecutive season with over 2,000 league minutes. The Panamanian has helped the Dynamo to another MLS Cup Playoffs qualification, marking the first time since 2013 that the club has qualified for consecutive playoff appearances.
