2025-05-10, 05:05 AM - Word count:
The academy for the S20 draft class is now long over. However, the release of the new brilliant sticker album came with their own set of Academy TOTS cards. The awards committee does not look at or award academy performances, so the sticker department had to make picks of their own. Pressured by a tight deadline, the department picked the players as best as they could, and I’d say they did a good job in general. However, me being one of the top midfielders of the class and naturally hoping I would be in it, it left me wondering how close I was? How close was everyone else? Did they nail the picks, or have they missed someone?
Today I will be looking at the stats of several midfielders from said academy season and comparing their stats to find out. A few ground rules:
1. The player's main position must be either CM or DM, two positions which were often interchangeable due to the overflow of CAMs forcing formations to move their CMs to DM positions.
2. They must have played most games. I did not set an exact minimum initially, but this point will be relevant later.
Next up, we must choose what kind of stats we are looking at. Because I want to fit this neatly in one excel window, I had to make some cuts. I went with these stats:
Average rating – self-explanatory. It encompasses everything a player does.
Player of the match awards – POTMs usually mean you were the player most responsible for your team doing well and being a key point in a win or lucky draw.
Distance run – Midfielders are the workhorses in football. The more spots they find themselves in, the more it is hard for the opponents to find answers.
Goals – Goals win games.
Assists – Assists make goals that win games.
Successful passes – the bread-and-butter action of midfielders.
Pass completion rate – unsuccessful passes lead to dangerous counterattacks.
Key passes – While not assists, key passes mean your pass leads to a dangerous attack.
Chances created – Like key passes, but they lead to an actual dangerous shot.
Dribbles – Dribbling past someone creates valuable space and an opportunity for a play.
Tackles won – Being a midfielder is not all about playmaking, but also about taking the ball away from the opponents as well.
Tackle completion rate – a missed tackle means the opponent still has the ball and you are wildly out of position.
Key tackles – if it were not for these tackles, the opponents could have had a very dangerous attack on goal.
Interceptions – Intercepting passes, thus creating a counterattack.
Clearances – getting the ball away from your area.
Fouls against – Drawing fouls and giving your team an advantage by having a set piece.
Blocks – For blocking passes, crosses and shots.
Shots blocked – same as Blocks, but only for shots.
Open Play Key Passes – same thing as key passes, but in open play.
Progressive passes – progressive passes are passes intended to advance the team further towards the opposition's goal.
Team standing – Probably not all that useful. However, great stats in bad team means that the player is not very dependent on his team to perform well. However, a great performance in a good team could also mean they are the reason the team won a lot.
These are all the stats I will be looking at today. Some notable stats I am omitting:
- Crosses: we are playing in a very central position, very few roles find themselves in crossing positions.
- All heading related ones: While still important, it is least valuable for midfielders (more crucial for defenders and strikers), and a lot of the academy had non-existent jumping capabilities at the beginning, thus potentially making this stat fluctuate weirdly and not be very accurate at assessing someone’s true skill in the air.
- Negative stats: yellow cards, red cards, mistakes, offsides etc. have been ignored. I don't see much value in showing them. It doesn't tell us much info about the player.
With that said, here is the graph:
![[Image: ZiLnM6v.png]](https://i.imgur.com/ZiLnM6v.png)
Grey coloured names are players that are no longer active.
This is where we return to a previous point. Must have played most games. This point is especially relevant in Nahka’s case. We can already see at first glance the terrific offensive performances he has had. While his defensive parts are not impressive, they do not matter. It is not a duty he was asked to play, but the duty he was tasked for he succeeded in immensely. An incredible rating with a lot of goals and assists, backed up by his incredible number of key passes, chances created and progressive passes.
However, we run into an issue. Nahka has played 3 games less than the others. As I have been looking through the stats, I saw several people had very terrible first three or last three games of the season that brings down their percentage-based numbers a lot. To make it truly fair, I must exclude Nahka. With them being an inactive player since the very start, I don’t feel too guilty about it. However, if we were to allow Nahka, I think they would easily qualify to be one of the TOTS midfielders. And I will bring this up point later as well.
So, with Nahka removed, the new table looks like this:
![[Image: elgzN5N.png]](https://i.imgur.com/elgzN5N.png)
That is a lot of stats and a lot of colours. So let us go through each player individually:
Marcel Voda
Some stats immediately jump out as we look at Voda. Highest number of goals, second highest distance ran and assists. Also, a high rate of chances created, tackles won (with a good tackle% to boot and a lot of progressive passes. Stats wise, a player who is not flashy, but he gets the job done when needed, and he did it a lot. Big weaknesses in the game included pass%, perhaps indicating he went for too many risky passes that he did not pull off in the end, which also contributes to his below average key passes count. Dribbling was also not a big part of his game, seemingly used more to pass the ball towards more flashy players. Lowest interceptions is also a very curious stat for a player that seemed to be defensively very good.
Tonto Tut
One of the TOTS players, Tut had an uphill battle to prove himself, with a Jakarta team that ended up finishing only 7th. It also partially explains why he has one of the worst average ratings, as there is a limit to how much a midfielder can do. They are an extension of defence and offense. If both don’t work, a midfielder has a rough time getting to shine. However, he still managed to impress with some of his stats. 2 goals, a lot of chances created with a lot of dribbles. His defensive output also helped a lot, with the most key tackles and a staggeringly high 32 clearances and 5 shots blocked. Curiously enough, his tackle% is very low and his passing game is just alright.
Andre Caetano
The mythical 7th draft pick had a rough start in the academy season which then ended on a high note. While only scoring 1 goal and 1 assist, his distance run and pass% made him a reliable player. A good tackling game and a high number of key passes meant he was a pillar of the team.
Thomas Bello
Don’t think I will spend too much time on inactive players. Bello was solid. Average in a lot of stats (except a very horrible tackling stats). Second most assists and a lot of blocks and fouls against is a good highlight.
Ronflex
Ronflex at first glance might have had a rough season, and it’s true his average rating does not help. He did have a good number of chances created and was fine in the key passes department. I must also note that his heading stats were good as well, which did give his team an edge often.
Santiago Mitidiero
Mitidiero is a player that has really flown under the radar despite a great academy season. Stats show a gifted passer. Most assists, most dribbles, most key passes in open play and most progressive passes. And plenty of chances as well.
Diego Budo
Naturally a more defensive minded player, he leads in blocks and shots blocked. Also, a talented tackler and very reliable on the ball with the highest pass completion rate. 35 tackles won is also an incredible stat.
Milan Krznarić
While Krznarić might not have any goals and only 1 assist, he has been a reliable jack of all trades. He has the least distance run and the worst tackling, but he has still made a lot of key tackles funnily enough. A lot of interceptions, clearances and a few blocks show him to be defensively capable. A good number of progressive passes, dribbles, fouls against and most of all, the most chances created shows his talent.
Bread Lasso
Lasso has been one of the more consistent players in their academy season. Ending the season with the second highest average rating, he has a lot of stats of note to his name. One of the highest pass completion rates combined with a lot of key passes. A good number of dribbles and a huge amount fouls against. 2 goals and 2 assists round out his goal contributions.
Beckett Sinclair
Sinclair has a lot of great stats in some areas, and non-existent numbers in others. Highest number of key passes, tackle%, key tackles, fouls against, shots blocked, open play key passes. It is an incredible number of stats that they are the best at. However, they also have one of the lowest number of chances created, interceptions, and one of the few with no assists to their name (but they did score 2 goals). Very unusual stats but they are still incredible.
Norberts Slakteris
Slakteris has a good average rating but does not have many remarkable stats to speak about. He is a gigantic workhorse, having the most distance run. He also a good collection of assists, with 3. Other than that, he also has a huge number of interceptions. However, that is the last stat that really pops out. Closer match analysis would be needed to truly judge his performances, but a player that is everywhere on the pitch is incredibly valuable, especially if he provides such a gigantic interception stat as well.
Dunkler Sowerwine
And last, we have Sowerwine. The low average rating might pop out at first, and it’s true that they did not have the best academy season. However, that does not mean they had a bad one. He was extremely valuable in defence, having the highest number of tackles won and interceptions out of everyone on this list. The second highest dribble count also means he was able to get into good positions often. He has a good number of clearances and fouls against as well.
Esa Nahka
I said earlier that it is fair to exclude Nahka due to having less games played. However, the truth is also that the non-percentage-based stats are so astronomically high compared to everyone else, those stats would only be higher if he played three more games. And at that point, we can honestly ignore if his percentage stats fell in those 3 missing games.
So, with all of them analyses a bit more closely, who deserves one of the two midfielder spots in an S20 academy TOTS?
The two players that ended up being picked were Tut and Caetano. I think they are solid picks. Tut managed to get good stats, despite being in the worst team standings wise on this list. His defensive work combined with his playmaking helped them win the very acclaimed El Trashico. Caetano had a slow start to the season, but picked up form in the end that helped Sydney do a massive jump to 3rd place.
If you put a lot of value into goal contributions, Voda wins in this category. Plus, he was a great all-rounder as well.
Mitidiero was an assist and passing machine. He deserves a mention for being valued as the most impactful player by the rating system. Only person (aside from Nahka) to get a POTM award as well.
Lasso and Sinclair were part of the winning team, and they both put in good performances that made that happen. Perhaps they were not the star players, but midfielders are rarely star players. What matters is that their team wins at the end of the day.
However, we can also remind ourselves that Nahka could potentially also be counted. And if we do, his raw stats are just incredible. He only has 356 TPE and he has been a monster in midfield.
Realistically, I think you can make an argument for any of these 4 players. In my view, they were the ones that performed the best. If you count Nahka, he is the clear best by far. If not, that is also valid. In that case: On my list, I’d put Mitidiero as the clear best and then one of the other three. As this article’s humble writer, I am of course going to choose myself though. 8 goal contributions wooooo.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Support the sticker department, they are awesome and spend a lot of hours for their hard work and it deserves to be seen by many. Make sure to go over to the SSL discord and participate in the sticker game. Have a nice day!
Today I will be looking at the stats of several midfielders from said academy season and comparing their stats to find out. A few ground rules:
1. The player's main position must be either CM or DM, two positions which were often interchangeable due to the overflow of CAMs forcing formations to move their CMs to DM positions.
2. They must have played most games. I did not set an exact minimum initially, but this point will be relevant later.
Next up, we must choose what kind of stats we are looking at. Because I want to fit this neatly in one excel window, I had to make some cuts. I went with these stats:
Average rating – self-explanatory. It encompasses everything a player does.
Player of the match awards – POTMs usually mean you were the player most responsible for your team doing well and being a key point in a win or lucky draw.
Distance run – Midfielders are the workhorses in football. The more spots they find themselves in, the more it is hard for the opponents to find answers.
Goals – Goals win games.
Assists – Assists make goals that win games.
Successful passes – the bread-and-butter action of midfielders.
Pass completion rate – unsuccessful passes lead to dangerous counterattacks.
Key passes – While not assists, key passes mean your pass leads to a dangerous attack.
Chances created – Like key passes, but they lead to an actual dangerous shot.
Dribbles – Dribbling past someone creates valuable space and an opportunity for a play.
Tackles won – Being a midfielder is not all about playmaking, but also about taking the ball away from the opponents as well.
Tackle completion rate – a missed tackle means the opponent still has the ball and you are wildly out of position.
Key tackles – if it were not for these tackles, the opponents could have had a very dangerous attack on goal.
Interceptions – Intercepting passes, thus creating a counterattack.
Clearances – getting the ball away from your area.
Fouls against – Drawing fouls and giving your team an advantage by having a set piece.
Blocks – For blocking passes, crosses and shots.
Shots blocked – same as Blocks, but only for shots.
Open Play Key Passes – same thing as key passes, but in open play.
Progressive passes – progressive passes are passes intended to advance the team further towards the opposition's goal.
Team standing – Probably not all that useful. However, great stats in bad team means that the player is not very dependent on his team to perform well. However, a great performance in a good team could also mean they are the reason the team won a lot.
These are all the stats I will be looking at today. Some notable stats I am omitting:
- Crosses: we are playing in a very central position, very few roles find themselves in crossing positions.
- All heading related ones: While still important, it is least valuable for midfielders (more crucial for defenders and strikers), and a lot of the academy had non-existent jumping capabilities at the beginning, thus potentially making this stat fluctuate weirdly and not be very accurate at assessing someone’s true skill in the air.
- Negative stats: yellow cards, red cards, mistakes, offsides etc. have been ignored. I don't see much value in showing them. It doesn't tell us much info about the player.
With that said, here is the graph:
Grey coloured names are players that are no longer active.
This is where we return to a previous point. Must have played most games. This point is especially relevant in Nahka’s case. We can already see at first glance the terrific offensive performances he has had. While his defensive parts are not impressive, they do not matter. It is not a duty he was asked to play, but the duty he was tasked for he succeeded in immensely. An incredible rating with a lot of goals and assists, backed up by his incredible number of key passes, chances created and progressive passes.
However, we run into an issue. Nahka has played 3 games less than the others. As I have been looking through the stats, I saw several people had very terrible first three or last three games of the season that brings down their percentage-based numbers a lot. To make it truly fair, I must exclude Nahka. With them being an inactive player since the very start, I don’t feel too guilty about it. However, if we were to allow Nahka, I think they would easily qualify to be one of the TOTS midfielders. And I will bring this up point later as well.
So, with Nahka removed, the new table looks like this:
That is a lot of stats and a lot of colours. So let us go through each player individually:
Marcel Voda
Some stats immediately jump out as we look at Voda. Highest number of goals, second highest distance ran and assists. Also, a high rate of chances created, tackles won (with a good tackle% to boot and a lot of progressive passes. Stats wise, a player who is not flashy, but he gets the job done when needed, and he did it a lot. Big weaknesses in the game included pass%, perhaps indicating he went for too many risky passes that he did not pull off in the end, which also contributes to his below average key passes count. Dribbling was also not a big part of his game, seemingly used more to pass the ball towards more flashy players. Lowest interceptions is also a very curious stat for a player that seemed to be defensively very good.
Tonto Tut
One of the TOTS players, Tut had an uphill battle to prove himself, with a Jakarta team that ended up finishing only 7th. It also partially explains why he has one of the worst average ratings, as there is a limit to how much a midfielder can do. They are an extension of defence and offense. If both don’t work, a midfielder has a rough time getting to shine. However, he still managed to impress with some of his stats. 2 goals, a lot of chances created with a lot of dribbles. His defensive output also helped a lot, with the most key tackles and a staggeringly high 32 clearances and 5 shots blocked. Curiously enough, his tackle% is very low and his passing game is just alright.
Andre Caetano
The mythical 7th draft pick had a rough start in the academy season which then ended on a high note. While only scoring 1 goal and 1 assist, his distance run and pass% made him a reliable player. A good tackling game and a high number of key passes meant he was a pillar of the team.
Thomas Bello
Don’t think I will spend too much time on inactive players. Bello was solid. Average in a lot of stats (except a very horrible tackling stats). Second most assists and a lot of blocks and fouls against is a good highlight.
Ronflex
Ronflex at first glance might have had a rough season, and it’s true his average rating does not help. He did have a good number of chances created and was fine in the key passes department. I must also note that his heading stats were good as well, which did give his team an edge often.
Santiago Mitidiero
Mitidiero is a player that has really flown under the radar despite a great academy season. Stats show a gifted passer. Most assists, most dribbles, most key passes in open play and most progressive passes. And plenty of chances as well.
Diego Budo
Naturally a more defensive minded player, he leads in blocks and shots blocked. Also, a talented tackler and very reliable on the ball with the highest pass completion rate. 35 tackles won is also an incredible stat.
Milan Krznarić
While Krznarić might not have any goals and only 1 assist, he has been a reliable jack of all trades. He has the least distance run and the worst tackling, but he has still made a lot of key tackles funnily enough. A lot of interceptions, clearances and a few blocks show him to be defensively capable. A good number of progressive passes, dribbles, fouls against and most of all, the most chances created shows his talent.
Bread Lasso
Lasso has been one of the more consistent players in their academy season. Ending the season with the second highest average rating, he has a lot of stats of note to his name. One of the highest pass completion rates combined with a lot of key passes. A good number of dribbles and a huge amount fouls against. 2 goals and 2 assists round out his goal contributions.
Beckett Sinclair
Sinclair has a lot of great stats in some areas, and non-existent numbers in others. Highest number of key passes, tackle%, key tackles, fouls against, shots blocked, open play key passes. It is an incredible number of stats that they are the best at. However, they also have one of the lowest number of chances created, interceptions, and one of the few with no assists to their name (but they did score 2 goals). Very unusual stats but they are still incredible.
Norberts Slakteris
Slakteris has a good average rating but does not have many remarkable stats to speak about. He is a gigantic workhorse, having the most distance run. He also a good collection of assists, with 3. Other than that, he also has a huge number of interceptions. However, that is the last stat that really pops out. Closer match analysis would be needed to truly judge his performances, but a player that is everywhere on the pitch is incredibly valuable, especially if he provides such a gigantic interception stat as well.
Dunkler Sowerwine
And last, we have Sowerwine. The low average rating might pop out at first, and it’s true that they did not have the best academy season. However, that does not mean they had a bad one. He was extremely valuable in defence, having the highest number of tackles won and interceptions out of everyone on this list. The second highest dribble count also means he was able to get into good positions often. He has a good number of clearances and fouls against as well.
Esa Nahka
I said earlier that it is fair to exclude Nahka due to having less games played. However, the truth is also that the non-percentage-based stats are so astronomically high compared to everyone else, those stats would only be higher if he played three more games. And at that point, we can honestly ignore if his percentage stats fell in those 3 missing games.
So, with all of them analyses a bit more closely, who deserves one of the two midfielder spots in an S20 academy TOTS?
The two players that ended up being picked were Tut and Caetano. I think they are solid picks. Tut managed to get good stats, despite being in the worst team standings wise on this list. His defensive work combined with his playmaking helped them win the very acclaimed El Trashico. Caetano had a slow start to the season, but picked up form in the end that helped Sydney do a massive jump to 3rd place.
If you put a lot of value into goal contributions, Voda wins in this category. Plus, he was a great all-rounder as well.
Mitidiero was an assist and passing machine. He deserves a mention for being valued as the most impactful player by the rating system. Only person (aside from Nahka) to get a POTM award as well.
Lasso and Sinclair were part of the winning team, and they both put in good performances that made that happen. Perhaps they were not the star players, but midfielders are rarely star players. What matters is that their team wins at the end of the day.
However, we can also remind ourselves that Nahka could potentially also be counted. And if we do, his raw stats are just incredible. He only has 356 TPE and he has been a monster in midfield.
Realistically, I think you can make an argument for any of these 4 players. In my view, they were the ones that performed the best. If you count Nahka, he is the clear best by far. If not, that is also valid. In that case: On my list, I’d put Mitidiero as the clear best and then one of the other three. As this article’s humble writer, I am of course going to choose myself though. 8 goal contributions wooooo.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Support the sticker department, they are awesome and spend a lot of hours for their hard work and it deserves to be seen by many. Make sure to go over to the SSL discord and participate in the sticker game. Have a nice day!
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