😤 The Eagles dominate: Icon League team of the season | OneFootball

The Icon League regular season has come to an end, and the eight teams that qualified for the play-ins have now been confirmed. From the very start, Fokus Eagles dominated the league and made history: they were the only team to win the first nine matches of a season and, as a result, were crowned champions early on Matchday 9.

Given that level of dominance, it comes as little surprise that no fewer than three Eagles players are included in the Team of the Season.

In goal, there is simply no way around Andrea Hoxha. Elias Nerlich repeatedly described him as the best player in the Icon League and the player with the biggest influence on his team. A look at the stats strongly backs up that claim. With 97 saves, Hoxha recorded the most of any goalkeeper in the Icon League. Even more impressive, however, is his quality on the ball. He is extremely press-resistant and is practically an extra outfield player in the Eagles’ build-up play. The 26-year-old played 640 passes — around 100 more than the player in second place — while also contributing ten assists and three goals of his own.

Hoxha was his team’s most important player in this Icon League season and is an essential inclusion in the Team of the Season.

The next candidate is Emincan Tekin, who was largely responsible for the Eagles’ attack. The Eagles scored more goals than any other team in the league, and Tekin played a huge part in that. With 23 direct goal contributions, he set the league’s best mark. With his dribbling and, above all, his ball rolls, he regularly drove opposing defenses to despair.

His performances also earned Tekin a call-up to the Germany small-sided national team, and he will battle for the title with Germany at the Socca European Championship.

The third player in the Team of the Season is also an Eagle: Ali Wazneh. That means three of the five players in the Team of the Season come from a single team — but there is simply no way around Wazneh. Leaving him out would have been wrong. The 25-year-old reached double figures both in goals (10) and assists (10), making Wazneh the only player to pull off that feat this season. Particularly remarkable: in full-size football, he is not actually known for being a goal threat. There, he plays as a full-back for Delay Sports Berlin.

In the Icon League, Wazneh shows week after week the kind of attacking output he is capable of.

The next player is best known for his nose for goal: Johann von Knebel. With 16 goals, he scored the most in the Icon League and secured the regular season Golden Boot. After the Wontorriors were still far from the finals last year, von Knebel’s goals helped them finish seventh and gave them the chance to book a finals ticket through the play-ins.

Von Knebel plays full-size football for TuS Dassendorf, where he has also already scored 12 goals this season. But he does not only impress going forward — he also brings toughness and defensive stability. In that role, he was hugely important for the Wontorriors and recorded the third-most ball recoveries in the league. A true all-rounder who can score at will and absolutely earned his place in the Team of the Season.

Rounding out the team is Vendim Sinani, who is not necessarily known for scoring goals. He is the conductor of Two Stripes United’s game and a key reason behind their run to the finals. Sinani dictates the play like no one else and is the outfield player with the most passes in the league. In total, he played 313 passes, with only 13 failing to find their target.

Sinani is the picture of calm, sets the tempo, and organizes his team’s play. Under his leadership, Two Stripes United conceded the second-fewest goals in the league. His teammate Kaies Alaisame told us: “You can hear him all across the hall. A lot of the time, he talks more than our coach.”

Sinani is the man behind Two Stripes United’s success and therefore clearly belongs in the Team of the Season.

In the Icon League, however, the season does not end with the regular season — what matters is the Final 6. So despite everything achieved so far, neither any team nor any player can afford to feel too safe. Now more than ever, it is time to give absolutely everything one more time.

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