The regular season in the Eredivisie is over. Feyenoord are champions, PSV has secured a place in the preliminary round of the Champions League and it was a disappointing year for Ajax in particular. Football zone has always put together a Team of the Week in recent weeks and is now looking for the Team of the Year. Vote for the player you thought was the best this season in today’s search for the best right-back.
Football zone is looking for eleven players and a trainer for the Team of the Year. Your help is needed for this, because the vote of the community largely determines the outcome. There are five nominations for each position, which can be voted on. To be eligible for nomination, a player must have played at least nineteen full games (1710 playing minutes). You can vote in the poll at the bottom of this article and under our post on Instagram. The percentage of votes is the number of points the player gets from the audience. The editors also vote, and the percentage that rolls out is the number of points that are added to the public points. This then yields a total score. So your vote counts for fifty percent!
Joshua Brenet (FC Twente)
How many right-backs are there in the world who score seven times for their club in a season? There aren’t many, but Joshua Brenet is one of them. The wing defender of FC Twente is often involved in the offensive game of his team and that has already resulted in seven goals. In addition, the former back of PSV also prepared four goals from teammates. Brenet is undisputed in the team of trainer Ron Jans, made an appearance in 32 matches in the Eredivisie and is a serious candidate for a place in the Team of the Year.
Milan van Ewijk (sc Heerenveen)
The list of right backs with seven goals is not large, but defenders who score six times are also scarce. Milan van Ewijk of sc Heerenveen belongs to that category. With his speed, the 22-year-old from Amsterdam creates a lot of danger on the right flank of Heerenveen and also delivered his first assist of the season against PSV in round 33. Van Ewijk also leads the list with number of sprints (617) and longest sprint distance (more than 82 meters) in the Eredivisie and has already run 362 kilometers across the Frisian flank this season.
Vote here for the VZ Team of the Year: the keeper
Vote here for your favorite keeper!
Marcus Pedersen (Feyenoord)
Marcus Pedersen was Feyenoord’s right back in thirty games this season. The Norwegian became champion with his team, but could not contribute much to the number of goals scored by the team from Rotterdam. With a goal and two assists, Pedersen’s productivity isn’t too high, but that might not be something you should judge too much on a right-back. What does speak in favor of Pedersen is the commitment he displays every game. With 503 sprints, the back is the Feyenoord player who starts most often.
Shurandy Sambo (Sparta Rotterdam)
At 21 years old and with a one-year contract with PSV, Shurandy Sambo is a man for the future. He was rented out to Sparta Rotterdam this year to gain experience and that is exactly what he did, as Sambo played 29 matches in coach Maurice Steijn’s successful team and scored two goals. However, it was the reliability of the back from Geldrop that made him an indispensable force at Sparta this season. The team from Rotterdam has an option to buy, but PSV will certainly want Sambo back?
Yukinari Sugawara (AZ)
Yukinari Sugawara has been playing at AZ since July 2019, but it was only this season that the Japanese experienced his real breakthrough. As an undisputed right back, he experienced the entire season and they knew that in Alkmaar. Sugawara provided no less than eight assists, a very high number for a defender, and also scored three goals. It is not for nothing that the market value of the 22-year-old right foot has already doubled in less than a year and there may be clubs that are interested in a Japanese international.
Cast your vote in the poll below. You can also vote under our post on Instagram!