The end of the club season means individual awards are dominating the discourse right now in European football. Well, if you can't beat them, join them.
Rather than just run through the usual categories highlighting the best player and best coach – although we will do that, too – why not focus on some alternative prizes?
The NBA Awards provide a fine blueprint, rewarding superstars alongside breakout performers, recovering veterans and valuable bench players.
Relying heavily on Opta data, we'll steer clear of team honours – a blow to Wout Weghorst, whose eight blocks (leading all forwards in Europe's top five leagues) might have carved out a spot leading the All-Defensive First Team – but there remains plenty to go at...
Most Valuable Player
Only one player had more goal involvements than Karim Benzema (39) in the top five leagues this season, and Real Madrid would really rather not talk about the man top of the charts. That other leading France forward had a hand in 45 goals, yet the value of Benzema's contributions to a LaLiga title triumph separates him from the rest.
Benzema's goal involvements were worth 29 points across the season, the most of any player, with Kylian Mbappe, of course, second on 28. Just considering Benzema's 27 goals, he accounted for 20 points – trailing Dusan Vlahovic (22 points) alone.
Required to perform repeated rescue acts in the Champions League, too, Madrid's number nine played only 2,596 minutes in LaLiga – or 75.9 per cent of the full season. He was therefore involved in a goal every 67 minutes, narrowly second in this regard behind Erling Haaland (66 minutes) among those to play 1,000 minutes or more across Europe.
Coach of the Year
Were this the NBA, Carlo Ancelotti would surely also qualify for the Lifetime Achievement Award. In guiding Benzema and Madrid to the LaLiga title, the Italian became the first coach to win each of Europe's top five leagues, following successes in Serie A with Milan, the Premier League with Chelsea, Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain and the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.
Ancelotti, also the oldest LaLiga-winning coach at 62, earned only two more points than Zinedine Zidane had in finishing second in the prior season, but Madrid maintained this high standard despite losing both of their senior centre-backs heading into the campaign as they seemingly saved for the now failed pursuit of Mbappe.
Meanwhile, Everton, the team Ancelotti left for his second Madrid stint, finished 20 points short of their 2020-21 total, spending the season battling relegation rather than chasing Europe and perhaps putting his work at Goodison Park in context.
Rookie of the Year
Given the differences between the NBA and Europe's top five leagues, it is difficult to quantify exactly how many players might be considered 'rookies', let alone identify the best of them. Someone like Luis Diaz, for example, played his first minutes in the top five leagues this season, yet he had already scored goals in the Champions League and Copa America so surely doesn't fit the bill.
On the other hand, Hugo Ekitike definitely does.
Among the nine players who were teenagers at the start of the season and finished with 10 or more goal involvements, only Ekitike had never previously started a game in Europe's top five leagues. His 13 involvements in 2021-22 (10 goals, three assists) arrived every 98 minutes on average, the best rate of this group and the 18th-best overall – just behind Neymar (also 98 mins) and ahead of Son Heung-min (101 mins).
The 19-year-old Reims forward, who turned down a transfer to Newcastle United in January before sustaining a thigh injury, scored with an astonishing 32.3 per cent of his shots – second behind Wissam Ben Yedder (34.7 per cent) among players with 20 or more attempts – and has been linked with moves to PSG and Borussia Dortmund, as well as St James' Park.
Defensive Player of the Year
As elsewhere, many of these awards focus on offensive talents, so there is a dedicated category for the best defender – and there could really only be one winner this year.
Injury restricted Virgil van Dijk to 371 minutes in 2019-20, and he was badly missed by Liverpool in their title defence, as they conceded 42 Premier League goals – their most since shipping the same number in the season before the centre-back's 2018 arrival.
With Van Dijk fit again this term and missing only four matches, the Reds conceded the joint-fewest number of goals across the top five leagues (26, tied with Manchester City). No defender played a part in more clean sheets (21).
Those figures show the impact Van Dijk had on the team as a whole, but his performances in individual battles were equally impressive. The Liverpool man won 73.5 per cent of his duels and 77.5 per cent of his aerial duels – both the best marks of defenders to make 30 or more appearances in the top five leagues.
Comeback Player of the Year
Okay, so the NBA no longer highlights a Comeback Player of the Year, but the NFL continues to identify an individual who has overcome the adversity of the previous campaign, allowing us to recognise one of the stories of the season.
Of course, for the reasons outlined above, Van Dijk might have had a claim to this prize in any other year, yet he is beaten this time by a player who actually won Serie A in 2020-21.
Within weeks of that title triumph, Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020, prompting fears for his life and then, even after his recovery, his career.
But Eriksen was fitted with an ICD, left Inter, joined Brentford in January and promptly won each of the first five Premier League games he started for the relegation-threatened Bees. Finishing with seven victories from 10 starts, only nine players in the top five leagues created more chances over this period than Eriksen (29, including four assists).
Most Improved Player
There were no shortage of players showing signs of significant improvement in 2021-22. Five-goal Euro 2020 forward Patrik Schick starred on the club stage at last, Newcastle striker-turned-midfielder Joelinton enjoyed a resurgence and Vinicius Junior was outstanding as Benzema's foil, but Christopher Nkunku stood head and shoulders above the rest as he swiftly established himself among Europe's elite.
Nkunku had scored a mere six goals and assisted the same number for RB Leipzig in the 2020-21 Bundesliga, but those goal involvements increased dramatically from 12 to 33 this season, ranking fifth across Europe's top five leagues and joint-third when excluding penalties (32). With 20 total goals and 13 assists, the newly capped France international was one of just 12 players to reach double figures in both categories.
Of players to feature in at least 20 games in each of the past two campaigns, only Moussa Dembele (20) and Schick (15) improved their season-on-season goal tallies by a greater margin than Nkunku (14); Dembele alone (24) showed greater improvement in terms of goal involvements (21).
In a season in which Leipzig recovered from a slow start to make the top four by a single point, Nkunku's contributions were vital. He had a hand in 45.8 per cent of their Bundesliga goals and 50.8 per cent of those he was on the field for.
Twelfth Man of the Year
The NBA's Sixth Man of the Year is recognised as the season's most impactful bench player, which feels like a nice addition here.
Were this a long-standing European football award, it might have by now been renamed in honour of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who scored 17 goals in 84 Premier League substitute appearances – one every 88 minutes on average. Given Rodrygo Goes and Eduardo Camavinga largely reserved their heroics for the Champions League, the 2021-22 equivalent in the top five leagues could be Matheus Cunha.
Ben Yedder scored the most goals from the bench this season, but those seven counted towards 25 in total as he also started 29 matches. Cunha was restricted to only eight starts for Atletico Madrid, yet he scored three and assisted four in 21 outings as a substitute, matching Ben Yedder and Ignacio Pussetto with a Europe-high seven such goal involvements.
Atletico's man in times of need, Cunha contributed to vital goals, too. He was one of only two players to both score and assist in the same game as a substitute on more than one occasion (also Arnaud Nordin), with the second of those two performances seeing the Brazil forward introduced against Valencia with his side 2-0 down; Cunha scored seven minutes after his introduction and later teed up the winner in a 3-2 victory, justifying his season-long role as a super-sub.
Flick believes possession-based style makes him ideal Barcelona boss
Hansi Flick believes the philosophy and principles of Barcelona closely resemble his own and is excited to get started after succeeding Xavi at Camp Nou.
On Wednesday, Barca confirmed former Bayern Munich boss Flick had signed a two-year contract to take over as head coach following Xavi's surprise dismissal.
Xavi had initially announced his departure in January, only for president Joan Laporta to convince him to conduct a U-turn and commit his future to the club. Amid reports of unrest behind the scenes, Barca then decided to part ways with the former midfielder.
Flick, who won two Bundesliga titles and the Champions League during a two-year spell with Bayern, is committed to conforming to Barca's traditions.
"It's a big honour and a dream for me to sign my contract here in Barcelona, with this amazing club," he told the club's media channels.
"The club is unbelievable. In the hours I was here in Barcelona, it has been amazing. Everyone loves the club and wants to have success.
"The philosophy they have for the club, it's similar to mine, with more possession and really attacking football. These are the things I love.
"Barcelona has one of the best academies in the world, a mix between some of the best players in the world and young, talented players.
"I won some titles with Bayern Munich and my hunger for titles is really big. I would like to stay on this path with Barcelona and I think we can achieve a lot together."
Flick's Bayern side were known for their high-pressing, possession-based brand of football.
Between his appointment in November 2019 and his exit in June 2021, they averaged the highest possession share in the Bundesliga (62.55 per cent) and won the ball in the final third 489 times, 172 clear of Borussia Dortmund, who were second by that metric (317).
They also led the way for wins (45), total shots (1,023) and goals (174) in that span, averaging exactly three goals per Bundesliga outing.
Barca will hope Flick's arrival gets more out of Robert Lewandowski, who set the Bundesliga's single-season goal record under him in 2020-21, netting 41 times in 29 matches.
Flick takes over at Barcelona following Xavi's U-turn sacking
Hansi Flick has been appointed the new head coach of Barcelona following the club's shock decision to sack Xavi.
A club announcement on Wednesday revealed Flick will take over ahead of next season after penning a two-year deal at Camp Nou.
Xavi initially announced in January he would leave Barca at the end of the season, but club president Joan Laporta managed to convince him to prolong his tenure.
However, just 30 days after that U-turn was announced, the club reversed its decision again, stating Xavi would be dismissed come the end of the campaign.
On Wednesday, the club formally announced Xavi's backroom staff would join him in departing, thanking the former midfielder for his "commitment, dedication and generosity" as well as his willingness to work towards a mutual termination of his contract.
With Xavi out the door, former Bayern Munich boss Flick will take over ahead of next season, looking to improve on the Catalan giants' runners-up finish in LaLiga behind rivals Real Madrid and their quarter-final Champions League exit this term.
Flick's last role was with the national team of Germany, though he lasted just over two years in that job as they crashed out at the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The German football federation initially stuck with Flick after that tournament, only to dismiss him after three successive friendly defeats last year.
Flick enjoyed more success in his most recent club role, leading Bayern to two Bundesliga titles, as well as a treble that included the club's sixth Champions League crown during his maiden campaign in charge in 2019-2020.
Flick would retain the Bundesliga title the next season, as well as adding the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup trophies before taking over the Germany role from Joachim Low.
Flick finished his time at Bayern with a win percentage of 80 per cent over his 145 matches in charge.
After then winning just 12 of his 25 games at the helm of Germany, Flick will be hoping for a stark improvement during his new role in Spain.
Seattle Sounders v Real Salt Lake: Mastroeni lauds visitors' 'magic' mentality
Pablo Mastroeni believes Real Salt Lake's "magic" mentality has helped them earn a reputation as comeback kings, though he is hoping for a more routine outing against the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday.
RSL fought back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with FC Dallas last Saturday, having recovered from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to beat the Colorado Rapids 5-3 one week earlier.
Mastroeni's men are now unbeaten in 11 league games and sit four points clear at the top of the Western Conference standings ahead of their midweek visit to the improving Sounders.
"It's not a surprise to me that the guys, given the scoreline, stay in there and fight," said Mastroeni. "It's a testament to the group.
"Everyone that's a part of this club has the same mindset, and I think when you're aligned in that way, magic like that happens.
"Obviously, we don't want it to happen too often, but I think it just shows the mental fortitude of the group."
Seattle have recorded back-to-back 2-1 wins over Phoenix Rising in the U.S. Open Cup and St. Louis City in MLS, moving within reach of the playoff places after a tough start to the year.
Boss Brian Schmetzer knows they will have to be at their very best to get anything against RSL, though.
Speaking after Saturday's win in St. Louis, Schmetzer said: "They were a little unlucky not to get a goal at the end. Our luck is changing.
"There is some momentum building but Real Salt Lake are a good team. We have to back up a good performance with another good performance against Real Salt Lake."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Seattle Sounders – Jordan Morris
Morris has scored in consecutive regular-season games for the first time since early last season.
He only has one streak of more than two straight games with a goal in MLS, finding the net in four appearances in a row between April and May 2016.
Real Salt Lake – Cristian Arango
Arango's 13 goals in MLS this season put him out on his own at the top of the goalscoring charts, two clear of Christian Benteke and Luis Suarez.
Four of those goals have come in RSL's last four games, with the team netting 12 times in that span.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Real Salt Lake extended their league-best unbeaten run to 11 regular-season games (seven wins, four draws) with their 3-3 draw at Dallas last Saturday.
This is their longest single-season unbeaten run since a 12-match streak to begin the 2014 campaign, though that streak ended with a loss in Seattle in late May.
The Sounders have improved of late, winning consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time this year. An entertaining draw could be on the cards.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Seattle Sounders – 35.6%
Real Salt Lake – 36.6%
Draw – 27.8%
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