Female FC Bayern player of the year 2016: Vivianne Miedema

Miasanrot do not have a totally objective view on FC Bayern. We are emotional supporters. And thus biased beyond all hope. We want to watch football. Attractive football. Successful football. We have many first world problems. We are able to hate every bit about a game, which our team won. The victory being undeserved and lucky. Our team unable to force their game onto the opponent. Repeatedly using futile means instead of changing the approach. Thus we are very rarely simply celebrating the goals scored. Goals can mean anything, to us they often mean next to nothing.

Thus Gina Lewandowski was another promising contender for this year’s Miasanrot award. The left-back is always holding her ground defensively, is able to generate immense pressure going forward, utilizing diagonal runs, which puts her opponents under direct pressure. She also helps out on the right side, when coach Wörle is calling. Nora Holstad, Sara Däbritz, Tinja-Riikka Korpela and Melanie Beringer, last year’s winner, also shouldered a lot of responsibility this year. Nevertheless, we couldn’t ignore the following facts.

That’s why we are proud to call Vivianne Miedema our female FC Bayern player of the year 2016. She is the undisputed scoring machine for the FC Bayern women’s team. Putting the ball over the line is her job. Her scoring more goals than their teammates is not really surprising, but when put into perspective the number of goals she scored can really make your eyes pop out.

🇩🇪 @VivianneMiedema all touches vs Rossiyanka. Brace! #UWCL 👀👌
👉https://t.co/ILUNDYs5Mm pic.twitter.com/zWurfiKIcY

— WoSo Comps (@WoSoComps) 16. November 2016

In 2016 she scored 27 goals: 13 in 1.514 league minutes, 5 in 226 cup minutes and 7 in 236 Champions League minutes. Captain Melanie Behringer comes in second with…

… 8 goals.

Miedema scored 1.23 goals per 90 minutes. Compared to Lionel Messi’s 1.05 and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 0.96 in La Liga, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 1.07 in the Bundesliga and Olivier Giroud’s 1.34 in the Premier League.

In other words, Vivianne Miedema scores at least one goal per game on average. Yes, outside of the Bundesliga Bayern played against some easier opponents, but Miedema’s numbers are sensational. She scored the 1-0 twelve times this year.

🇩🇪 @VivianneMiedema had a fantastic brace today. #UWCL pic.twitter.com/iT3AvnMDFJ

— WoSo Comps (@WoSoComps) 9. November 2016

🇩🇪 @VivianneMiedema with a great goal this weekend. #AFBL #Bayern pic.twitter.com/qb2lyVR8V2

— WoSo Comps (@WoSoComps) 6. November 2016

🇩🇪 @VivianneMiedema hat-trick today. 👀 #AFBL pic.twitter.com/mPpPazL1Z1

— WoSo Comps (@WoSoComps) 19. März 2016

Obviously the Dutchwoman depends on the strength and the service her team is providing – as well as goalkeepers can hardly claim clean sheets for themselves without depending on the defensive line. Miedema would starve without her teammates feeding her with balls, but she also has that instinct in front of the goal, that others would kill for. And with “others” I don’t mean “other people”, but “other strikers”.

In front of the goal she is calm and collected. Furthermore, Viv doesn’t only do tap-ins, but impossible angles, curler from the distance. She also likes to not only go past the goalkeeper, but to slalom through one or two defenders beforehand. Even in a crowded box she keeps her calm and overview. Due to her height that often doesn’t look exceptionally fast, but her opponents are outmanouvered nonetheless. Some of her chances she even creates by herself.

🇩🇪 @VivianneMiedema game winner. #AFBL #dieBayern pic.twitter.com/alUfIcW8k8

— WoSo Comps (@WoSoComps) 15. Februar 2016

🇩🇪 @VivianneMiedema goal against Turbine Potsdam. #AFBL pic.twitter.com/n1JIIr9fnX

— WoSo Comps (@WoSoComps) 21. Dezember 2015

🇳🇱 @VivianneMiedema goal. Lovely! pic.twitter.com/wGLV5L7u1w

— WoSo Comps (@WoSoComps) 7. Juni 2016

🇩🇪 @VivianneMiedema match winner yesterday. #AFBL 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/NAsdZouzcf

— WoSo Comps (@WoSoComps) 11. September 2016

Our number 10 is at FC Bayern for two and a half years now. While in the beginning her youthfull inconsistency was often pointed at, she was already an integral part of the back-to-back Bundesliga titles. By now she often generates the first wave of pressure in pressing against the opponents, wins lose balls and also has the vision in the transitional phase to start the counter-attack, which she will finish off just a couple of seconds later herself.

Positional play and dominating duels

Even though the defenders know what to expect, Miedema gives them a hard time with her excellent timing and feeling for the right areas. Furthermore she brings perseverance to the pitch, which simply annoys every opponent. She doesn’t do dirty tricks or injury risking tackles, she just doesn’t move out of the way. When I would be on the same escalator with her, I would take care of standing on the right side. In the air she is also very hard to beat.

Images: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

All in all, Miedema is already one of the most complete players in the league, with 20. And still, the glass ceiling of her potential seems to be far away from her pony tail.

We congratulate us to such a player and Vivianne Miedema to her award as the female FC Bayern player of the year 2016. We don’t expect any reaction, except maybe a little smirk, because we love her even more for sparing us the crest kissing and “hearting” after she put the ball in the back of the net.

All numbers refer to the FC Bayern women’s competitive games in 2016. 20xLeague, 4xCL, 3xCup.

Tags:

fc bayern

msr awards

vivianne miedema

Image: Adam Pretty/Bongarts/Getty Images

Translator: Dennis

Jolle