Aaron Mooy, Gui Finkler, Marcelo Carrusca and Nathan Burns, all have been stand out stars of the 2015 A-League season.
Each player offers their team something different, that little bit of spark which ignites to make the team play well.
Each player you would think is in contention to win the A-League player of the year award, the Johnny Warren Medal.
Neither one of these men has won it in the past but nor has any past winner come to the fore this season to claim it.
So lets take a look at each of the players in question to see why each one is deserving of wearing the A-League’s highest individual honour.
Aaron Mooy
What a season it has been personally for Aaron Mooy, after spending two unhappy seasons at Western Sydney we are now seeing at Melbourne City what talent he is.
Mooy’s performances this season have been a joy to watch, in a team which at times has not been.
It may have taken Melbourne City a while to find a formation that works for them but they found something that worked with Mooy at the heart of it.
Mooy this season has played a total of 24 games for City averaging a total of 90 minutes per game, not a bad effort!
If we delve deeper into Mooy’s performances we can see that he has made 228 crosses, the highest in the league. He sent 216 balls into the box, also the leagues highest, and he has the league-high in ‘crosses regained’ with 59.
These stats show that Mooy is the man that brings City’s whole attack together. His work is industrious too Mooy leads his team and is fourth in the competition for possessions and fifth in the league for number of passes. He also scored six goals for City this season while also putting on seven assists.
Mooy also capped of memorable season personally by receiving his first Socceroos cap in the friendlies against Germany and FYR Macedonia.
Mooy has had a great season, but with his team looking far from the finished article, it is a wonder if City can make it far into the finals series. Mooy will be crucial to anything City do from here on, with or without potential marquee recruits coming in, City must realise Mooy is their future and base their playing style around him.
Gui Finkler
This has been the season of ‘The Fink’. His team have won the Premiers Plate and he has been instrumental in helping them do so.
He plays as the advanced playmaker in the Victory’s 4-2-3-1 formation and he’s been a key source for goals for his fellow forwards.
His performances have been top class, his two goals to beat Central Coast in Round 23 a standout as was his two assist performance against Adelaide United in Round 22. These games were crucial games to win for Victory if they were going to win the Premiers Plate; Finkler stepped up in them and is a big reason why Victory took top spot.
In terms of his contributions on the pitch Finkler has had a total of 12 assists, the league high, with a total of seven goals for good measure.
He ranks second in the league for balls into the box and second in the league for crosses into the box, for both he is the highest ranked in his team. This shows that Finkler is the key for Victory in the way they attack; his knack of finding space while also evading his marker, with his distribution of the ball and his ability to shoot from range makes him one of the most exciting players in the league.
Marcelo Carrusca
Adelaide’s marquee player has another great season in the ‘City of Churches’. The Reds have their own doctrine of ball retention and pass recycling which always finds them at the top of A-League pass statistics. If Joesp Gombau is the preacher of this doctrine, then it’s Carrusca who is its most fevered disciple.
Carrusca always finds himself at the heart of what Adelaide do in terms of possession and ball recirculation. He usually occupies the space between Isaias and Bruce Djite sitting in the hole waiting to receive the ball from defence to orchestrate an attack.
If we look at Carusca’s statistics they show how important he is to the way Adelaide play. His value to the side is shown when you see that Adelaide’s points per game ratio without him is 1.13 compared to 1.95 when he is in the team.
Adelaide’s total shots on target per game ratio also falls by 18per cent when Carrusca is absent showing his true worth to the way they play.
Nathan Burns
Nathan Burns is a player who has been reborn under Ernie Merrick at Wellington Phoenix. Burns has found himself scoring more than ever before and also assisting his team when in attack.
This form has put him and his team in contention for a potential Grand Final berth, something most would not have guessed at the start of the season.
His worth to the Phoenix is that he is able to score and create chances for his team. This season Burns has a total of 13 goals, the most of his career in a single season, and seven assists.
Burns also ranks second in the A-League for tackles beaten which shows why he is a potent attacking threat. He also ranks first in the A-League for shots on target, which is impressive for a striker who has had the third most shot at goal all together.
This is where Burns shows his true worth to Wellington. He has had a total of 69 shots at goal this season with a total of 34 shots on target, giving him a ratio of one shot in every two being on target.
This form has earned Burns a recall to the Socceroos team for the Asian Cup and the March friendlies in Europe.
His ability to adapt to either side of an attacking three has made him a potent threat to defences in the A-League and internationally.
Burns is quite clearly the standout player of a standout season at Wellington, with perhaps more stellar achievements yet to come.
Honourable mentions
These players have been the standout over the course of the season, however there have been others who have made an impact on the league and could be dark horses for the award.
Marc Janko’s 16 goals in the season and his record breaking seven goals consecutively has caught the eye, his build up play for Sydney has gotten better as the team has got used to his strengths. He has contributed to this part of the game by providing five assists.
Fahid Ben Khalfallah has been among the best players for Melbourne Victory this season. His output down the left for his team has been joyous to watch. He ranks third in the league for assists with nine and also tops the leagues statistics for fouls won with 95. He also ranks third in the league for tackles beaten.
Isaias has been the metronome which has kept Adelaide ticking all season. If Carrusca is brings everything together for Adelaide, then Isaias builds it all for Adelaide. Isaias is top of the leagues statistics for possessions of the ball with 1,673 touches. He is also ranks first for number of passes with 1,602 and second in the league for successful passes with 1,280.
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