Julian Araujo voted LAG Confidential LA Galaxy Defender of the Year

The votes are in, and the winner of LAG Confidential’s LA Galaxy 2020 Defender of the Year is...Julian Araujo.

The 19-year-old may have been the youngest member of the defensive corps, but in making 17 appearances, all starts, for the Galaxy in 2020, he garnered 44 percent of the overall vote. Newcomer and fellow fullback Emiliano Insua came in second with 20 percent of the votes, just edging out Daniel Steres in third, who had 19 percent.

And while Insua settled in eventually and became pretty automatic at left back over the course of the season, I think Araujo’s honor reflects his career being on an upward trajectory, with the rest of the defense likely to either be shipped out or to decline moving forward. And the defense, as a group, wasn’t stellar anyway.

Still, having said all that, Araujo looks like a keeper and someone who could really take off in the coming years. It was a solid breakthrough season in 2020, and hopefully he continues to push on and become a real star moving forward. Congrats, Julian!

What do you think? Leave a comment below.