LOS ANGELES — The Columbus Crew's Guillermo Barros Schelotto, a midfield wizard who was a longtime star in his native Argentina, won MLS' Most Valuable Player award today.

The 35-year-old Schelotto had 19 assists and seven goals for Columbus as the Crew bounced back from a 9-11-10 record the previous year to finish with an MLS-best 17-7-6 mark.

He and his teammates face the New York Red Bulls on Sunday afternoon in Carson for the MLS Cup.

Schelotto, from Buenos Aires, outpolled runner-up Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Cuauhtemoc Blanco of the Chicago Fire in the voting by the league's coaches and general managers, players and media.

He had five game-winning assists during the regular season and has three assists in three playoff games, helping set up all but two of the Crew's postseason scores.

A former standout for Argentine club Boca Juniors, he signed with Columbus on April 19, 2007. Schelotto becomes the second MLS player from his country to become the MVP; Christian Gomez of D.C. United received the honor in 2006.

Schelotto's 19 assists this season tied for second-most in league history, topped only by Carlos Valderrama's 26 in 2000.

Donovan led the league in scoring this year with 20 goals, and Blanco keyed the Fire's drive to the Eastern Conference final, where they lost 2-1 to Columbus.