Germany’s Bundesliga came to a close two weeks ago with Borussia Dortmund crowned champions but who were the individual stars of the season and who deserves the ultimate individual honour.
5. Arturo Vidal
Appearances: 33, Goals: 10, Assists: 11
The Chilean midfielder was an irreplaceable part of the Leverkusen side which stormed to second place in the 2010/11 campaign. Vidal was a livewire for Leverkusen, making the step-up as a key player for a side desperately searching for someone to take them to the top. Vidal’s return of 11 assists showed his influence in feeding the club’s strikers Stefan Kiessling, Eren Derdiyok and Sidney Sam, yet he still managed to finish the team’s topscorer.
4. Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund)
Appearances: 33, Goals: 6, Assists: 15
Gotze faced plenty of challenges as a young player in a team gunning for the title during the 2010/11 campaign but he rose to them in a sign he’ll be a star for years to come. The German youngster had shown a fair dose of his brilliance before teammate Shinji Kagawa went down injured, plumping the burden on Gotze. But the 18-year-old stepped up brilliantly with his outstanding tally of 15 assists showing how much of an influence he had on the team. Creative and versatile.
3. Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich)
Appearances: 32, Goals: 28, Assists: 5
Bayern may have finished down in third this term, but they finished top the goalscoring charts and Gomez played a major role there. The German international scored an impressive 28 league goals to be the topscorer himself in the Bundesliga. He may look lazy at times, but he clearly is effective in a team full of attacking talent. The next question to ask, is where would Bayern have finished without his 28 goals, midtable?
2. Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
Appearances: 32, Goals: 5, Assists: 1
Dortmund conceded just 22 goals throughout the 34-game Bundesliga season, which was one short of the German record. Hummels played a major part in Dortmund’s defensive record as his partnership up back along with Neven Subotic developed into the best in Germany. The German defender is brilliant at positioning himself in defence, with man-marking a natural strong point. He is also strong aerially and can pass the ball around.
1. Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund)
Appearances: 30, Goals: 6, Assists: 8
Sahin had a simply stunning 2010/11 campaign as title-winning Dortmund’s defensive midfielder. In fact, Sahin has since won a dream move to Real Madrid. The 22-year-old Turkish international played a key role for Dortmund in that defensive midfield position but he possessed the necessary discipline and leadership to guide his side. Sahin was purely outstanding during the first-half of the season as a box-to-box midfielder but did drop off towards the end of the campaign. Nevertheless, he will be sorely missed at Signal Iduna Park next season.
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