The Bundesliga player of the season is Jakob Jantscher for the second time in his career. The Sturm Graz veteran prevailed over Karim Adeyemi from champions Red Bull Salzburg in the voting carried out among the presidents, managers and coaches of the league. Jantscher had already received an award in 2011/12 when he himself still wore the “Bullen” outfit. Austria’s Patrick Pentz was voted best goalie for the second time in a row.
Jantscher left his mark on the season with 13 goals and 15 assists going into the last round. The ex-national player’s move from the wing to the top seems to have paid off, helping Sturm to become runners-up and qualify for the Champions League. The personal award would be even more important than it was ten years ago, especially since he earned it with the club where he grew up.
Jantscher: “I was surprised myself”
“But I honestly have to admit that I was a bit surprised myself to have won,” said Jantscher in an interview on the Bundesliga website. The 33-year-old led the many Salzburg players who had also “performed very well”. The new, more intense football means that as an experienced player you shouldn’t stand still. Jantscher: “For me, age is not a criterion, it’s regarding the individual player and the attitude in each training session.”
For Adeyemi, who is moving to Dortmund, it was only enough for second place in the election ahead of his teammate Rasmus Kristensen, despite a very likely crown for the top scorer. The first award as “Newcomer of the Year” goes to Matthias Braunöder from Wiener Austria, who is 20 like Adeyemi. Like Pentz and Braunöder, Jantscher will also be honored before Sturm’s last game of the season on Saturday (5 p.m. / live Sky) in Wien-Favoriten.
Matthias Jaissle is coach of the season
While the player of the year does not come from Salzburg for the first time in three years, the “bulls” series continued with the coaches. Matthias Jaissle is following in the footsteps of Marco Rose and Jesse Marsch as coach of the year in the Bundesliga. The 34-year-old German will be honored as part of the Salzburg championship celebrations on Saturday evening. In the ninth year of its existence, Harald Lechner received the award for “Referee of the Season” in the Bundesliga.
