It’s that time of year again when the football world looks back to recognize the outstanding players of the past season and vote for the teams of the season. But what about those players who don’t play a major role in player of the season voting but have quietly contributed to the success of their clubs? Here we are bringing these players in front of the curtain, whose performances have unjustly been a little forgotten: Our eleven of the secret heroes of the 2021/22 Bundesliga season!
goalkeeper
Lukas Hradecky (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Although Yann Sommer made the most saves in the league, we chose number three for our team on this list, Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky. The Finn has made an impressive 119 saves in 32 league appearances – the most of any goalkeeper from the top six teams. He was also able to keep his box clean eight times. Not only does Hradecky have fantastic reflexes and a good release, at 1.92m he’s also the perfect height to go one on one.
Left full-back
David Raum (TSG Hoffenheim)
It’s not as if nobody noticed David Raum’s offensive creativity this season. However, the ease with which he made his debut season in the top division has actually been lost. Hoffenheim’s summer signing from Fürth has provided an impressive 11 assists and has been the Bundesliga’s most prolific sprinter – a testament to the incredible commitment he puts in in every game. We think this season was just a first taste of a very promising future for Raum, who has meanwhile made his way into the German national team.
centre-back
Evan N’Dicka (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Eintracht’s run to the European Cup is one of the stories of the season across the continent. A key player is a man who has been incredibly popular with Football Manager fans for years: Evan N’Dicka. The left foot is one of the strongest defenders in the Bundesliga and is also a force in the air. With his strength in the air, he not only defuses opposing crosses with ease, but also constantly causes danger in his own set pieces.
Philipp Lienhart (SC Freiburg)
Nico Schlotterbeck rightly gets a lot of praise for Freiburg putting up the third-best defense in the Bundesliga this season. However, his Austrian colleague Philipp Lienhart also played a large part in this success. Lienhart has been with Breisgau for five years but this season he has really matured, with five goals and the fourth most free-kicks per game. The Austrian convinces with consistent tackling, mental strength, speed and header power.
Right-back
Silvan Widmer (1. FSV Mainz 05)
Just like the left-back in our team, Silvan Widmer is a running prodigy and is high up in the Bundesliga statistics when it comes to crosses and sprints. Mainz have been able to repeat the improving form from the second half of last season this season and Widmer, who arrived from Switzerland last summer, played a crucial part in this. After all, the 29-year-old Swiss with the long throw-ins and the horse’s lungs has played nine direct goals for the 05ers this season.
– Football Manager
Left winger
Filip Kostic (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Another star of this Eintracht season is Filip Kostic, who seems to be a regular on lists of the most underrated Bundesliga players. The Serb can play everything from full-back to winger on the left and is effective in every position. In all, he has scored seven goals and made 12 assists in 42 appearances in all competitions this season. Nobody has hit more crosses this season in the Bundesliga than Kostic, who keeps putting himself in good positions with his running strength, balance and dribbling skills.
Central midfielders
Kerem Demirbay (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
While Patrik Schick has more goals and Moussa Diaby more assists, it’s hard to overstate just how important Kerem Demirbay has been to Leverkusen’s success this season. The 28-year-old acted a little lower, recaptured balls for his colleagues and, if necessary, did the dirty work to prevent opposing counterattacks. In addition, Demirbay not only hits fantastic long balls and shows a lot of overview on the pitch, but is also an expert for set pieces.
Anthony Losilla (VfL Bochum)
After a poor start to the season with just one win from the first seven games, VfL Bochum didn’t have much to do with the relegation battle when they returned to the Bundesliga. A key to this is the organization and calm that “Captain Fantastic” Anthony Losilla has consistently brought to his team. The 36-year-old Frenchman put in a tremendous workload week in and week out: he’s the second most sprinter in the league, the most headers won and the sixth most intercepts. Players like Losilla, who give their all for their team in every way, are a coach’s dream.
– Football Manager
Right winger
Sheraldo Becker (Union Berlin)
Becker, the Suriname international, is officially the second fastest player in the Bundesliga and has improved significantly on the pitch this season. In his third full season, he seems to have finally settled into the pace of the Bundesliga and has set new personal bests in appearances, goals and assists. The 27-year-old was directly involved in 10 of his team’s 50 league goals, fired the most shots at Union and with his constant goal threat helped the Berliners to qualify for the European Cup again.
striker
Branimir Hrgota (Greuther Furth)
Even if Fürth had to be relegated again, few players deserved a call-up to this team of secret heroes more than their captain Hrgota. With five assists and nine goals, including the fastest of the season, the Swedish striker was one of the few bright spots in a disappointing Fürth season that ended in last place. Hrgota was directly involved in half of his team’s 28 Bundesliga goals and a look at the other statistics shows just how much he has achieved: nobody in the Fürth team has fired more shots or created more chances than he. The 29-year-old, who won the DFB-Pokal with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018, has committed the fourth most fouls and the second most, which shows how much effort he put into it.
Mark Uth (1. FC Cologne)
After finishing 16th last year, nobody expected much from 1. FC Köln this season, but under Steffen Baumgart the team presented themselves as transformed and were rewarded with 7th place in the table. Anthony Modeste’s goals were obviously key to that success but the contribution of his strike partner Mark Uth is grossly underestimated. With five goals and eight assists, he played his most successful season in a long time, but another statistic says a lot more: Uth also put up 51 shots and thus created more scoring chances directly than any other Effzeh player.
– Football Manager
Of course, every team needs good substitutes who can turn a game around when it matters. Here is our substitute bench:
Mark Flekken (SC Freiburg)
Borna Sosa (VfB Stuttgart)
Moussa Niakhate (1. FSV Mainz 05)
Reece Oxford (FC Augsburg)
Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund)
Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin)
Lucas Höler (SC Freiburg)
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