🏆 Who will win the Icon League title? Our favourites before the final | OneFootball

The regular season is over, and now the decisive phase of the Icon League begins in Zurich. Six teams are fighting for the title in the final tournament, and today it’s all on the line. League position? It only matters to a limited extent now. Much more important is the question: Who comes in with momentum, who is stumbling, and who might even be better than many think?

Fittingly for the final tournament, we have placed the six teams into a pyramid. Not only based on quality, but above all on how strong they currently look and how big their chances seem of achieving the ultimate success.

Top of the pyramid: FC Berlin City

At the very top for us right now is FC Berlin City. Anything else would be hard to justify.

This team not only has quality, but above all experience. Aytürk Gecim, Suad Ak, Noah Jones and Serhat Kot have already won the title together, Maximilian Grünberg claimed the ring with DNA Athletics last season, and Fouad Aghnima also knows what winning a championship feels like.

There is also a factor that is often underestimated: Berlin City is a tournament team. When the pressure rises, the Berlin side often delivers. Their focused preparation ahead of the final tournament also shows that this team knows exactly what matters now.

With the league’s top scorer Jones and an extremely strong squad, Berlin City goes to Zurich as the clear favorite in our view.

Right behind them: Two Stripes United and Plyrs United

One level below are Two Stripes United and Plyrs United.

Two Stripes United is certainly not one of the most spectacular teams in the league. They have scored the fewest goals of all Icon League teams, but at the same time they have also conceded the fewest among the Final 6 participants. They do not play attractive football, but they do play successful football. 

Their cohesion in particular could become a major advantage. The team is almost identical to last season and looks enormously solid defensively. On top of that, Two Stripes is already in the semifinals and most recently beat the Fokus Eagles twice.

Plyrs United, on the other hand, follows an approach that no one else in the league uses. The team relies consistently on futsal players, and that style has worked perfectly so far. 

Particularly striking: the goalkeeper is hardly involved in the build-up play. While many teams use their keeper as an extra outfield player, Plyrs consistently follows a different plan. Players like Josip Sesar, Muhammet Sözer and Davud Vehab shape the game and make Plyrs an extremely uncomfortable opponent.

Bottom tier: Fokus Eagles, Wontorriors FC and SC Bürgeramt

At the very bottom of the pyramid are three teams that may be surprising at first glance — though for different reasons.

Despite everything, the Fokus Eagles are probably still the team in the league with the most potential. Andrea Hoxha is regarded as the best goalkeeper, Emincan Tekin had an outstanding season, and Friede, Küc, Baca and Wazneh are also among the very best individually.

Even so, the last few weeks speak against the Eagles. After opening the season with nine straight wins, they have clearly lost momentum recently. They lost each of their last three games, and there have also been minor frictions within the team. The big question now is: can the Eagles rediscover their dominance in time?

Wontorriors FC also continues to be underestimated. Hardly anyone would have expected this team to reach the Final Six, but by now they fully deserve to be there. Ian Prescott and Johann von Knebel in particular lead the attack, while Mattia Maggio is having a remarkable season after two meniscus tears.

They now face their biggest challenge right away against the Fokus Eagles, although it is also an opponent that has looked anything but invulnerable recently.

And then there is SC Bürgeramt, perhaps the most underrated team in the entire tournament.

No team relies as consistently on experienced former pros. Marcel Halstenberg is already on eleven goals, Niko Gießelmann even has twelve, and Daniel Brosinski is also one of the most active outfield players in the league when it comes to touches.

But even more impressive is their form: six wins from their last seven games currently make Bürgeramt the in-form team in the Icon League. That includes a clear 9–5 win over upcoming opponents Plyrs United. Even so, Bürgeramt still does not quite look like a genuine favorite.

The situation ahead of Zurich is therefore clear: Berlin City travels in as the top favorite, with Two Stripes United and Plyrs United sitting close behind. And below them are three teams that could cause surprises at any moment.

The big question remains: who will take the ring in the end?

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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