These are the winners of the Pro League Awards
The Pro League ended the football season on Monday evening with the presentation of the Pro League Awards. An overview of the winners in the various categories:
The most important award of the evening was given to Deniz Undav. The 25-year-old German striker of R. Union Saint-Gilloise was voted 'Player of the Year' in the Jupiler Pro League by his colleagues. The top scorer left Tarik Tissoudali (KAA Gent) and Casper Nielsen (R. Union Saint-Gilloise) behind.
Deniz Undav is experiencing a dream season with R. Union Saint-Gilloise and is the exponent of the Brussels success story. Last season in the 1B Pro League, he helped l'USG to promotion with 17 goals. This season the pocket striker confirmed his nose for goals at the highest level. Besides 26 goals, Undav also recorded 12 assists.
The German's peak year did not go unnoticed, as Undav cashed in on his great season with a transfer to Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Premier League.
In the 1B Pro League, Lukas Van Eenoo was named best player of the year. The captain of KVC Westerlo played an important role in the title victory and the corresponding promotion.
The best woman on the Belgian football fields this year was Tessa Wullaert. She scored 35 goals (!!), helping RSC Anderlecht to win both the championship and the cup.
The following also received prestigious awards:
- Charles De Ketelaere (Youngster of the Year)
- Felice Mazzu (Coach of the Year)
- Erik Lambrechts (Referee of the Year)
- Junya Ito (Goal of the Year)
- Pierre Denier (Lifetime Achievement Award)
- KAA Gent & Waasland-Beveren (Football & Community Award)
Watch the Goal of the Year in the video below:
OH Leuven was rewarded the Groundsmen Award for having the best pitch in the Belgian Pro League. After all matches in the regular competition phase, the Match Delegate, the head coach and captain of the opponent, and a representative of the TV rights holder assess the home team's pitch.
On the basis of these scores, which are given for quality and playability, among other things, an overall ranking was drawn up at the end of the season. OHL came out as the winner. "We are extremely proud of this award, as it is recognition of the hard work we put in throughout the season," said Oli Makin, who was a turf manager at Scunthorpe United before coming to Leuven.
Watch the video of Oli and his team below:
On top of all these awards, the Pro League had a few surprises up its sleeve. The Pro League Hall of Fame was introduced, with Aline Zeler as the first 'Legend', and Club Brugge's Assubel shirt from the 1988-89 season was officially declared the most iconic of the past 50 years.
