Before the announcement of the Fan-Voted Team of the Season for the NPL Victoria 2014, The Corner Flag staff wanted to weigh in on the debate themselves. So we’ve taken the liberty of posting our own personal XI’s from the season gone-by. Let us know who you’d have in your perfect XI in the comments below!
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Mark Gojszyk (@hahahamark)
My side comprises of players I’ve been impressed by after seeing in the flesh. One issue was choosing players with individual brilliance compared to those that benefit from a good team system. There was so much depth to choose from that I was drowning in my pool of candidates. I’ve also taken a look at the way my XI would play on the park together, as if it were a real side.
GK: Alastair Bray (Bentleigh Greens) A young, up-and-coming ‘keeper with quality. Looks strong and confident beyond his years.
LB: Kris Kioussis (Dandenong Thunder) Silky smooth skills with his feet, and loves to get forward. Adds an attacking dimension from left-back.
CB: Michael Eagar (South Melbourne) I’m ‘Eagar’ to have this guy in my team, not just for the pun opportunity. A vital cog in the league’s second most miserly defence.
CB: Adrian Chiappetta (Northcote City) – Mr. Reliable, just the man I want. Rarely beaten, good communicator. Captain.
RB: Adrian Talarico (Pascoe Vale) Have seen him play in more advanced roles, so I’m happy to have another fullback that likes to get forward.
DM: Dominic D’Angelo (Oakleigh Cannons) With my fullbacks marauding forward, D’angelo is just the man I’d want protecting the team from the counter-attack, or launching attacks with his reading of the game.
DM: Wayne Wallace (Bentleigh Greens) A menace in the middle of the park, his presence is enough to keep teams on my toes. Will pull the strings in my midfield.
CAM: Daniel Visevic (Melbourne Knights) I think Visevic would do well just behind Lujic, just as he’s been playing behind the Knights’ forwards. Was a toss-up between him and Cvitkovic, though Visevic pips it for set-piece duties.
LW: Nelson Salvatore (Ballarat Red Devils) Was a shining light in a difficult season for Ballarat, but his directness and ability to draw defenders to open up other players is appealing.
ST: Milos Lujic (South Melbourne) I really don’t need to say anything more about Lujic.
RW: Nate Foster (Oakleigh Cannons) I get that that is Goran Zoric’s primary position, so maybe I’ll take a hybrid of the two. Either way, his flair and goal sense is top quality, feeding Lujic or scoring himself.
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Jordan Lim (@JordanLim24)
For me, it was a tough task to pick a best eleven, but the fairest way I decided to do it was based on the performances I have seen, rather than letting reputations or outside opinions influence it. As expected, a fair few Oakleigh and South Melbourne players feature, and that has unfortunately meant a few miss out from other clubs. The likes of Shane Rexhepi, Kaine Sheppard, Paul Harvey and Liam Wooding all fall into this category – who’ve all been good in my opinion – but they’d find home on my imaginary bench.
GK: John Honos (Oakleigh Cannons) A unique figure in goals, Honos may not be the tallest but he’s always on his toes, and has fantastic reflexes.
LB: Kris Kioussis (Dandenong Thunder) Thunder shifted to a five at the back in the latter stages of the season, and it allowed Kioussis space to roam. He did it to perfection, revelling in the more attacking role.
CB: James Musa (South Melbourne) Just shafted him for a nomination in the Team of the Season defenders – opting to put the South captain in instead – but the burly Kiwi sits pretty in the middle of my defence.
CB: Aron Wilford (Oakleigh Cannons) Another that impresses me every time I see him, he’s uncompromising, strong and a good user of the ball. Great signing for Oakleigh.
RB: Tim Mala (South Melbourne) The self appointed deputy vice-captain has been strong for South Melbourne. Good in defence, and pushing forward, he’s the complete full-back.
LM: Nelson Salvatore (Ballarat Red Devils) Mark’s gone ahead and stolen my left field pick, but yes, Nelson Salvatore squeezes in on the flank for me. Unselfish, composed on the ball and has electric pace, he’s brought that X-factor to Ballarat.
CM: Wayne Wallace (Bentleigh Greens) In my opinion, he’s the best central midfielder in the competition. As close as this league will get to a Yaya Toure, he’s strong, composed and his strength makes it seem like he has all the time in the world when on the ball. Breaks the play up superbly and starts counter attacks with ease for Bentleigh.
CM: Iqi Jawadi (South Melbourne) Has great core strength and balance for a smaller player and this allows him superb composure on the ball. The silky midfielder rarely loses the ball and I believe would complement the graft of Wallace well.
RM: Ryan De Vries (Bentleigh Greens) It’s a shame to see De Vries depart almost as quickly as he arrived but he truly is a class above this league. One of my favourite NPL players to watch, he has strength, pace, a beautiful touch and links up seamlessly with those around him. His versatility across the front three is also to his credit.
ST: Nate Foster (Oakleigh Cannons) He’s an exciting striker to watch, has mounds of pace to match his trickery and can finish off both boots. To top it off, he has the best goal celebration by a country mile.
ST: Milos Lujic (South Melbourne) The golden boot winner for a good reason. He’s a deadly finisher in the air and at feet, but most importantly, he’s a smart footballer. Always makes good runs and is often rewarded by fantastic service from the talented group around him.
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Sean Ellicott (@SeanEllicott)
This was just all about throwing together the best players that I’ve actually seen in the flesh and through highlights rather than resounding reputations. A few quality players missed out and would have loved to have an extended Premier League style bench, but these guys definitely deserves all the plaudits.
GK: Chris May (Melbourne Knights) Had the pleasure of witnessing this man piece together one of the best displays I’ve ever seen from a keeper against Heidelberg midway through the season. Aside from that game, May was always a standout in a relatively underwhelming season for the Knights.
LB: Les Doumbalis (Heidelberg United) Had him in my TOTW every time I saw him play this year. Just a quality all round full-back, with a handy ball on him too.
CB: Steven Pace (Heidelberg United) There’s a reason why this man once had an A-League contract and showed his class at the back this season. We couldn’t keep him out of the TOTW for a large part of the year.
CB: Michael Eager (South Melbourne) A premiership winning captain has to make it in right? But this guy is actually unbelievably good. A hallmark at the back for South this year.
RB: Tim Mala (South Melbourne) A handy right-back as any. South’s man on the right side of the back four is just as good with his defensive duties as he is going forward.
CDM: Dominic D’Angelo (Oakleigh Cannons) My favourite player and clearly Miron Bleiberg’s too – he even called Dom his best. A massive pick up for Oakleigh this season, and to think he was on his way to Pascoe Vale…
CDM: Wayne Wallace (Bentleigh Greens) Three times he’s been picked. This man is genuinely a class above the Victorian NPL. The talisman out of Kingston Heath does everything right and everything to effect.
CAM: Dusan Bosnjak (Oakleigh Cannons) An immense presence behind the strikers. The former Melbourne Heart youth captain oozes class in the final third and is one of the most technically astute players around.
LW: Dean Piemonte (Oakleigh Cannons) Just couldn’t fit him in up front but who says I can’t put him alongside Lujic on the wing. Definitely one of the most entertaining players in the league.
ST: Milos Lujic (South Melbourne) Good player.
RW: Shayan Alinejad (Melbourne Knights) Bit of a dark horse in this whole set-up but from definitely impressive from what I’ve seen. Rate him very, very highly.
Special thanks to Aaron Vanston (http://aaronvanston.com/) for our Team of the Season graphic!