S3 Awards Announcement

[omniscius]

S3 Season Awards Announcements
Late, but finally here are the S3 Awards. With the S4 season almost halfway done, I’d like to apologize for how late they’ve come out. The goal is to do a live award show moving forward if possible. For this season’s awards, we’ve decided to stick with the old format. Votes are compiled between some managers and BoD for the Manager of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Value Player of the Year, and Team of the Year. Sticking with the 4-4-2, the Team of the Season is compiled of the best Keeper, top 2 centrebacks, top 2 widebacks (DL/R WBL/R), top 2 central midfielders (DMC, MC, AMC), top 2 wingers (ML/R AML/R), and top 2 strikers. I am proud to announce the winners of these awards:

SSL Manager of the Season
Winner: Manager @pauadrian and Assman @Aneeqs (7 votes)
Runner-Ups: Manager TheVoicelessCreator (6)

For the first award of the night, this was a tightly contested award with a split of 1 vote. A big hand to @thevoicelesscreator for their hand in winning the league for Inter London FC in their first season. She definitely deserves a mention because it wasn’t an easy decision for the voters and it was a marginally close victory. As for Pau and Aneeq though, they left their clubs in the expansion draft to found Sydney City which in their inaugural season were SSL league runners-up and SSL Cup finalists. They managed to produce a really entertaining kill or be killed brand of football that ultimately put them on a Cinderella run that I think no one really expected.



SSL Rookie of the Year
Winner: Juha Jarvinen @Lemorse7 (6)
Runner-Ups: Hunter Havok(2), Skoomina Hulk A Vitto(1), Jay Jay Okocha(1), Yannick Visser(1)

Juha Jarvinen was the first pick of the second round, or 13th overall by CF Catalunya. He slotted right in as they had lost fellow wingback Xherdan Xhaka. Known for his speed, Juha Jarvinen was one of the top dribblers in the entire league on the left flank for Catalunya. Being used as a wingback he regularly beat his man using his lightning quick pace. He is so fast, the game mechanics had to put a physical limit on his speed so it wouldn’t crash, otherwise, he’d probably be even faster on the 3-D match engine. Moving forward, it’ll be interesting to see what direction they go since they can’t upgrade pace or acceleration anymore. Do they maximize another attribute or balance their build out.



SSL Most Valuable Player (MVP)
Winner: Tony Yeboah (6) @frazzle14
Runner-Ups: Owen Forty-Four (5), Liang Kuai (2)

Tony Yeboah proved last season that keepers really do make the difference in fm. Shoutout to Owen Forty-Four for their incredible season, as this too was only split by 1 vote. Tony Yeboah winning continues the tradition of the league winners always being represented by the MVP winner. Tony Yeboah played significantly better than any other goalie in the league last season and came up big in some of the most crucial matches, which ultimately led them to the league title. I remember someone asked what it would take to win for a goalkeeper and at the time I didn’t see it happening, but Yeboah proved that a shot stopper can in fact be the most important player on his team and in the entire league. I wonder if we’ll see another keeper win within the next 10 seasons or if this was a one off anomaly.



SSL Golden Boot
Winner: Owen Forty-Four @[Van] with 20 goals
Runner-Up: Connor Azpilicueta (19 goals)

Owen Forty-Four just squeezed past Connor Azpilicueta by a single goal in what was a tightly contested battle for both the golden boot and the SSL league title with Forty-Four’s club Sydney City being the runner-up and Azpilicueta’s respective club, Inter London FC, coming first to win it all on the second last matchday. Owen Forty-Four also scored the most in the SSL Cup and brought his club to the finals against Hollywood FC. Owen Forty-Four is an extremely pacey striker with a wicked shot. He’s known to frequently be caught offside, but nevertheless is equally known for his finishing. He was a huge expansion draft pick for Sydney City and is likely to be their frontman for the foreseeable future.



SSL Team of the Year (Best XI)

Goalkeeper: winner:Tony Yeboah (13)

Yeboah: was absolutely immense between the sticks for Inter London, as he sometimes single-handedly kept them in matches, making extraordinary save after extraordinary save. His 82.3% save percentage was over 5% better than any other starter, and he allowed the 2nd least goals amongst starters (26). He also had an average match rating of 7.29, which was easily tops among goalkeepers.

Runner-Ups: N/A won unanimously


Centrebacks: Winners: Henrik Lind @Canadice (9) , Jökull Júlíusson @MN_Moosey (5)

Having a solid centreback pairing is important for any club that wants to win. You need that backline to be there for you when your players are pushing for goals. Our two winners here play quite different roles for their team though and thus are different types of centrebacks.

Henrik Lind: This is a pure defender right here. He was top 3 in headers completed with 91% success rate and key headers. The towering centreback also scored 4 goals on the season. He’s been one of the main defensive leaders for Athenai since season 1, so it’s no surprise to see him topping the list here. Athenai have been known as the most defensive team most seasons or relative to their position in the table and Henrik Lind is the main reason why. I expect him to be a mainstay in this league and if Jasep Anderson and Deedee Yoker remain at Athenai, I don’t see any reason for Athenai not to remain the defensive juggernauts they are.

Jökull Júlíusson On the other side, we have more of a ball-playing centreback. Júlíusson came second only to teammate Budget Busquets in passes completed in the entire league. His main duty for Catalunya was to help transition the ball from offence to defence. He’s also an aerial threat chipping in with 3 goals and an assist.. Also, a leader for Catalunya in helping cover for speedy rookie Juha Jarvinen allowing him the creativity to attack. Júlíusson is finally showing the league what a modern centreback looks like and it can only get scary from here.

Runner-Ups: Mike Rup (3), Aleksandar Stojakovic (2), Darren Lockyer (2), Sator Freddy (1), Spack Jarrow (1), Superior Athlete (1)


Wide Backs: Winners: Linnea Nesse @mer (6) , Xherdan Xhaka (6)

The modern wingback is seen bombarding down the wings providing width and an overlapping option or even increasingly the use of inverted wingbacks providing support in the middle and providing an underlapping option. Essentially, these two players embody the modern day wingback that can both defend like a traditional one, but also be one of their club’s main creative outlets.

Linnea Nesse: We’ve seen throughout the short span of this league just how dangerous attacking wing backs can be, and Nesse definitely fits that mould. The Norwegian finished the season with an impressive 7 assists, an 88% pass completion rate, 65 key passes, and 15 chances created. She was no slouch defensively either, with 54 interceptions and 0 mistakes leading to goals.

Xherdan Xhaka: The Swiss wingback who was taken by Sydney City in the expansion draft really helped carry the team to a second place finish and cup finals appearance in Sydney’s inaugural season. Xhaka was also an explosive threat down the wing putting up 3 goals and 6 assists as well as an 88% pass completion, 47 key passes, 18 chances created, and 65 successful dribble takes. With 79 interceptions and 40 tackles, Xhaka was also solid at the back.

Runner-Ups: Gerald Gerald (4), Gfuel (3), Juha Jarvinen (3), Jonas Thessenvitz (1), Yannick Visser (1), Deedee Yoker (1), Jaume Vila (1)


Central Midfielder:
Winners: Budget Busquets (10) , Malakai Black @HouseOfBlack(5)

The heart of the midfield, these players tend to be the ones to receive passes from their defenders and create chances for their attackers. These two recipients show a spectrum of different skills and styles.

Budget Busquets: Our second returning player on this list, Budget Busquets forms the backbone of Catalunya’s midfield trio allowing his partners ahead of him the space and creativity to play their game. With the most passes completed (2779 at 95%) in the league Budget Busquets really dictated the tempo of his matches last season. With an assist, 20 key passes, and 2 chances created, it’s clear Busquets helps build up from the back more than creating from the front, but really Busquets really is the heart and soul of Catalunya’s tiki taka style. Not only can he distribute the ball to players higher up the pitch, but is productive when trying to win the ball back. With 101 successful headers with 20 being key, 12 tackles, and 22 interceptions, his aerial presence was much welcomed. It’s just a question now if he can ever help them translate that style with some success.

Malakai Black: Malakai Black is a much more offensive minded player banging in 7 goals from the midfield position as well as 3 assists, 65 key passes, 12 chances created, 88% pass completion rate, and 23 successful dribbles. On the defensive end, Black had 47 successful headers with 6 being key, 23 tackles, and 29 interceptions. Overall, they played a key role in Sydney City’s push for second and deservedly on this list amongst a bunch of world-class talents. Having bounced around the league a bit, it seems like Malakai Black has found his home in Sydney.

Runner-Ups: Awesome McPossum (4), Skoomina Hulk De Vitto (3), Bud McGurik (1), Miko Rashford (1)


Wingers:

Winners: Liang Kuai @OrbitingDeath (12) , Tim Possible (7)

The Winger position is one of the most exciting positions in football. These are usually your extremely fast but creative players. These two players were just that for their respective squads adding a creative attacking threat on the flank.

Liang Kuai: I think it’s safe to say Liang Kuai became a household name in Season 3. The crafty winger showed us Chelsea Hazard-esque play frequently, seemingly creating (and often finishing) chances that sprung from nothing at all. Kuai was a threat every time he touched the ball, as evidenced by his 24 goal contributions (11 goals and 13 assists). His creativity really showed through in his statistics; he completed 62 dribbles and created 17 chances. Overall, Kuai proved time and again to be the most dangerous player on the pitch week in and week out.

Tim Possible: Tim Possible is yet another great expansion pick up for Sydney City (and one of two of their managers on this list). Possible, like Kuai was able to finish and create with his 12 goals and 10 assists. As well, he produced 73 key passes, 35 chances created, and 46 successful dribble takes. Possible was one of the keys to Sydney’s success and will be relied on with their partnership with Owen Forty-Four up top to produce when it matters.


Runner-Ups: K Clamence (3), Hunter Jones (3), Tiki Taka (1)


Strikers:
Winners: Owen Forty-Four (13) , Connor Azpilicueta (11)

Easily one of the most popular positions on the pitch, this is the player who bangs in goals. Early on in the SSL pacey and clinical strikers have been heavily favoured, so it’s no surprise that both of these players are just that. These two strikers were banging them in at 1 goal per match or more. These 2 strikers scream goals and were the two most prolific strikers, so not a surprise to see an overwhelming amount of votes in their favour with just 2 out of 26 votes in favour of those outside these 2.

Owen Forty-Four: We already talked about Forty-Four a bit in the golden boot, so like enough said, am I right? 20 goals and 3 assists in 18 league appearances and a mouth-watering 11 goals and an assist in 7 cup appearances paints the picture of season 3’s most feared striker. It’s no wonder then everyone agreed he deserved a spot in the team of the year as well as Yeboah’s only real competition for mvp. Snubbed in his rookie season for the rookie of the year, Owen Forty-Four came out with a chip on his shoulder. With yet another snub, will Owen Forty-Four retire even more goalies this season? Will he show us next season that he’s here to stay?

Connor Azpilicueta: Formerly a centreback up until S3, Connor Azpilicueta wanted to score goals and felt like he had the skills to do it. And seeing another former defender in Ricky Bobby succeed in doing the same the season before probably gave Connor further encouragement. So the question is: is defence the best base for offence? In all seriousness though, Connor scored a ridiculous 19 goals in 18 league appearances to put him behind Forty-Four by a mere goal in the golden boot race. In the end though, Connor Azpilicueta helped his club win their first league title and left them on a high. Seeking a new adventure at bottom club Cairo City where expectations are low, he’ll help lift the club to new heights. It would be impressive if his project in Cairo sees him lifting another league trophy and potentially even winning the golden boot. It’ll be hard though, having to share the field with Franco Torres who is another top goal scorer. Or perhaps, they could become a deadly duo.


Runner-Ups: Sky Ryze (1), Ricky Bobby (1)



Written by @omniscius and @G2019
Massive thanks to @solas for help in producing these beautiful graphics.

[OrbitingDeath]

Toty ♡♡♡♡

[C9Van]

I appreciate the write up Omni.

[Lemorse7]

[High Stick King]

Great write-up. Hollywood FC robbed. I demand a recount!

Congrats to all the winners.

[Kasterborous]

Congrats to all the award winners !