Bulinews Player of the Season Awards: SC Freiburg's Player of the Season | OneFootball

When club legend and veteran head coach Christian Streich passed the keys of SC Freiburg onto a young, up-and-coming Julian Schuster, nobody would have expected much. A first season in charge of a German topflight club is a daunting task. However, the 40-year-old and his squad of players spent the majority of the season in the European places to achieve the club’s join-highest Bundesliga finish of fifth to secure Europa League football.

Although goals were hard to come by for the Breisgauers, Ritsu Dōan put in a highly commendable shift on the right wing with consistently good performances. His slightly unorthodox style of being a left-footer on the right made him a handful for defenders as he frequently cut infield to unleash a shot. His technical ability when running with the ball is also a sight to behind as is the Japanese international’s creative play.

Set to turn 27-years-old next month, Dōan is only hitting his prime and demonstrated that once again as he bagged 10 goals and 7 assists in 34 games. Equally as impressive is his work rate as he clocked up the 15th-most sprints (802) and 24th-highest distance covered (336.7km) across all Bundesliga players. A level of intensity you can’t quite teach.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCE:

The shining moment in Dōan’s season arrived on Matchday 23 as SC Freiburg galloped to a 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen. A delightful Killian Sildillia bicycle-kick goal and a Vincenzo Grifo brace gave the hosts a three-goal lead inside an hour. Dōan added his name to the scoresheet when he fizzed a first-time shot into the right corner from the edge of the box after receiving Eren Dinkçi’s pass.

The 26-year-old came inches from a second on 87 minutes, but he made amends in stoppage time as Freiburg countered quickly. Despite playing 93 minutes, Dōan made a lung-busting run through the heart of the Bremen defence to get on the end of Jan-Niklas Beste’s delivery. A deft flick squeezed the ball past the onrushing Zetterer.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Noah Atubolu appears to be destined for the goalkeeping summit as the 23-year-old achieved 10 clean sheets while saving 2 penalties from as many faced in 26 games. Meanwhile, Vincenzo Grifo picked up a pair of votes for his contribution of 8 goals and 11 assists across 34 outings. The Italian may be 32 now, but he continues to show he is an integral part of the Breisgauers’ setup.