Bulinews Player of the Season Awards: SC Freiburg Player of the Season
Few would have blamed SC Freiburg for taking a big step back this season. After all, the club had to balance the Bundesliga with a deep run in the Europa League. Still, Freiburg managed to pick up 47 points and finish seventh in the Bundesliga to clinch a spot in Europe while also reaching the Europa League Final and the DFB Pokal semi-finals.
That would not have been possible without Noah Atubolu. The 24-year-old goalkeeper played every minute of Freiburg’s Bundesliga and Europa League campaigns, keeping six clean sheets in the league. In September, his save against Werder Bremen set a league record for consecutive penalty stops, with five.
Unsurprisingly, his strong performances have led to recognition, both at home and abroad. Atubolu received his first Germany call-up in October and only just missed out on Julian Nagelsmann’s World Cup squad. He’s become the subject of many transfer rumors, and Atubolu could be on the move this summer.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCE
Werder Bremen fans will certainly be hoping Atubolu exits this summer. After his record-setting performance against Die Grün-Weißen in September, Atubolu was at it again in February. With Freiburg down to ten men, the 24-year-old made six saves, including a diving stop on a Justin Njinmah bicycle kick, to give Freiburg a big 1-0 win.
In total, that makes eleven saves, one penalty stop, and zero goals conceded for Atubolu against Werder Bremen this season.
The then-Werder keeper Mio Backhaus had a very fine save of his own to limit the damage, which surely caught the eye of coach Julian Schuster, given Backhaus has since joined Freiburg as the potential Atubolu replacement.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Midfielder Johan Manzambi was just behind Atubolu, earning three of ten votes. The 20-year-old midfielder became a key player for Julian Schuster, scoring five goals and assisting four goals in the Bundesliga while starring in Freiburg’s Europa League run.
Igor Matanović and Matthias Ginter each earned one vote apiece. Matanović, who joined last summer from Eintracht Frankfurt, scored eleven goals and assisted two, and earned a spot in Croatia’s squad this summer. The experienced Ginter had a very strong season in defense, missing only two games as he helped Freiburg finish seventh.