This season has been an odd one with a global pandemic interfering, the world has missed football. 3 months without football and Project Restart was up and running in June. However, the final games were being played without spectators. As a media outlet, this was our team’s first season being public. The Editor had been planning on doing this award ceremony before the season started and we wanted to make it an annual thing however it was delayed with the uncertainty of football returning. We are happy to present to our readers, the Twelfth Man’s Voice Awards.
The first award is Europe’s Player of the Season. We have picked Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski. At 31, he has scored 34 goals and made 4 assists in 31 appearances in the Bundesliga. With 51 goals in 43 competitive appearances, he has been scoring for fun. He has had a wonderful season breaking two records. He became the 3rd highest scorer in Bundesliga History after scoring the opener against SC Frieburg in a 3-1 win. Additionally, he became the first player to score in each of the first 11 games of a Bundesliga season. His form has been unstoppable. In the Champions League, he’s managed 11 goals which makes him currently the highest scorer in the Champions League in 6 appearances. He’s a goal machine and he’s had the best season in his career to date.
The next award is Europe’s Young Player of the Season. This award has been given to 20 year old Jason Sancho. His season has been littered with victories and he’s come 3rd in the Golden Boot race. He’s had a season to remember. At the ripe age of 20, he has scored 17 goals and made 16 assists in the Bundesliga. He became the first English player to score at least 15 goals and assists in a single season in one of Europe’s top 5 leagues since Matt Le Tissier did it for Southampton in the 1994-1995 season. This record was broken in the game against SC Paderborn after Borussia Dortmund won 6-1 – of which Sancho scored a hat trick of goals. Sancho broke a Bundesliga record this season too. He has assisted more goals than any other Dortmund player since data gathering started for the Bundesliga in 2004. His game intelligence has improved since his debut in 2017 and he has helped Dortmund with his pace and forward thinking. His talent is undeniable and it’s likely he’ll continue to be a big name in football for years to come.
The next award is the Premier League Player of the Season. We decided to give this award to Kevin De Bruyne. In 34 appearances in the Premier League so far, he’s made 32 goal contributions. He’s scored 12 goals and made 20 assists. With 14 goals and 22 assists in 45 competitive appearances, the playmaker has had an amazing season. He’s broken his own personal record of 18 assists from 3 years ago and he has made the most assists this season in the Premier League. He has equalled Thierry Henry’s assist record of 20. He has scored some beautiful free kicks this season with one most notably against Chelsea. His free kick from about 25 yards creeped in to the top right corner with Kepa arguably not having a chance of saving it – despite the goal, Manchester City lost the game 2-1 to Chelsea to give Liverpool the title. His excellent playmaking abilities and vision are unmatched in the Premier League and this is why we gave him this award.
The next award is the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season. This one has been awarded to Marcus Rashford. The 22 year old has 17 goals and 8 assists in the Premier League. He has 22 goals and 10 assists in 42 competitive appearances. He has had an great season under Ole Gunner Solskjaer. The winger has star quality that will help Manchester United for years to come. He’s been successful not only on the pitch. He is being honoured by the University of Manchester with an Honorary Doctorate after putting pressure on the British Government to make a U-turn on their decision to not provide free school meals. He is the youngest person to be decorated with this honour, Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Alex Ferguson are among some names to be a recipient of this award. In addition, Rashford and his teammate Anthony Martial are the first pairing since Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez to record 10 or more Premier League goals at Old Trafford in a single season since the 2007-2008 season. He’s had the best goal scoring season of his career therefore he deserves this award.
The first of our Women’s awards is Europe’s Player of the Season. This has been awarded to Pernille Harder. She has had a great season with VFL Wolfsburg scoring 27 goals and she made 8 assists in the Bundesliga. At 27, she has scored 5 goals in the Champions League this season as well. In the UEFA Women’s Euros Qualifiers she scored a hat trick for Denmark against Georgia in a 14-0 win in November 2019. She also scored a hat trick against KFF Mitrovica in the Champions League when VFL Wolfsburg won 10-0. Harder scored two goals against 1899 Hoffenheim Women with one goal being a wonderful strike from about 25 yards out. Harder had an impressive record where she scored every team except Borussia Mönchengladbach. She has had a wonderful goal-scoring season and this is why we’ve given her the award.
The next of our Women’s award is Europe’s Young Player of the Season. We awarded this to Paris Saint Germain’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto. She’s had a great season scoring 16 goals and she made 6 assists in 16 appearances in Division 1 Féminine. Katoto is second in the rankings for most goal scored for Paris Saint Germain at just 21. In the Champions League, she has scored 4 goals in 2 appearances. She helped Paris Saint Germain finish 2nd in Division 1 Féminine. She scored a hat trick against relegated Marseille in a 11-0 win. Katoto also scored a hat trick against Braga in the Champions League Round of 32. Her goal scoring record is impressive and we think she will be a big name in the future for Paris Saint Germain and this is why we have given her the award.
The next award is the Barclay’s FA Women’s Super League Player of the Season. This one has been given to Vivianne Miedema. Her season has been incredible. She’s scored 16 goals in 14 appearances and has made 8 assists. Danielle Van De Donk and Miedema have been unstoppable for Arsenal Women. Miedema broke two records in one game. She scored 6 goals against Bristol City Women in a 11-1 win. She also had the most goal involvements with 10 of the goals, although she was subbed off when the last goal went in, breaking her previous record of 5 goal involvements against Liverpool Women in 2018. This season, she’s also scored 8 goals and she has 1 assist for the Netherlands in the UEFA Women’s Euros Qualifiers. She’s arguably up there with the best Women’s player in the world right now. Her goal scoring ability is deadly and her calm crosses have made her an ellent player to watch. She won the Golden Boot Race and she tied with League Winner Chelsea’s Guro Reiten for most assists with 8. She is already holds the All-Time goalscoring record with 69 goals in 88 Caps for her country at 24. She has an array of talent and it was a shame that the FA WSL ended prematurely.
Our final award is the Barclay’s FA Women’s Super League Young Player of the season. This has been awarded to Chloe Kelly. At 22, she’s already making headlines with her talent. This was her 3rd season in the FA WSL and this was her best goal scoring season so far. With 9 goals and 1 assist in 12 appearances, her season has been successful and she’s a player to look out for in the future. She has left Everton at the end of this season and she has signed with Manchester City which is a big move for her. She scored two beautiful goals for Everton against Bristol City Women in September 2019. Kelly’s first goal was the result of confidence, she dribbled past one player and shot from just outside the box. Her second goal was outstanding. Her strike from about 25 yards and Sophie Baggaley couldn’t get reach it. She has a lot of potential and her skills are adept. This is why we’ve given her this award.
This season has been one to remember and these players are the ones we’ve decided have stood out the most this season and that concludes our awards list. Let us know your thoughts about this on our social medias.
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