Today we present the 1.MFL team of the half-season 2020/21. The team is a result of a cooperation between MacedonianFootball, Transfermarkt, Kajgana and Foobla.
photo by: FootBla Digital
After reviewing the performances of the players of the 1.MFL during the first half-season 2020/21, we introduce the best starting 11 together with 12 substitutes. Stats such as games played, goals, assists and clean sheets, along with tracking the actual games, determined which players deserved a place in the team. The formation that this time best suited is a 4-2-3-1. Keep in mind that players had to start in at least half of the possible games (meaning 9 of 18) to be considered. Furthermore, it was important to take into account a suitable position for each of the starters instead of playing some players totally out of position. This time an exception was made for Besart Ibraimi who was fielded at RW despite playing as a CF.
Kostadin Zahov (Shkendija) M17 GC11 CS7 Y0 R0 1.530′
Zahov is a regular for years in this categories as he is always between the best goalies of the league. This past half-season he conceded just eleven goals and had as usual a lot of spectacular saves. Moreover he is still the best goalkeeper of the league when we talk about the offensive skills as he knows precise to find his teammates.
Tome Kitanovski (Makedonija GjP) M17 G0 A5 Y6 R0 1.497′
Tome is one of the reasons for Makedonija GjP’s great half-season. Kitanovski is an offensive minded RB who is a permanent threat for the opponents defense. After that performances he lately also found a spot on Macedonia’s senior national team.
Marjan Ristovski (Borec) M18 G5 A0 Y5 R0 1.292′
Ristovski is one of the surprisings of the actual season. He signed in the summer for Borec and that was his first contract in the top tier, so not a lot was expected. Nevertheless, Marjan made a great impact and fast turned into one of Borec’s best players. Furthermore Marjan impressed as he played good on several positions like LWB, LW, attacking midfield and supporting striker.
Egzon Bejtulai (Shkendija) M15 G1 A0 Y6 R0 1.350′
Currently Egzon is the best central back in the league and he is one of the leaders of Shkendija’s team. That’s why he is also a part of the Macedonian senior national team where he helped to achieve a spot on the upcoming European Championship.
Klisman Cake (Struga) M17 G3 A0 Y6 R0 1.512′
Struga surprised so far as they collected more points than expected. One of the reasons is Young CB Cake from Albania. He helped his team in defense, but also netted three goals, one of them being a real beauty scored from the distance.
Denis Ristov (Sileks) M18 G6 A3 Y3 R0 1.301′
Serbian midfielder Denis Ristov was Sileks’ go to guy in the last months. He organized the offensive game of his team and was additionally able to collect impressive six goals and three assists.
Luka Stankovski (Rabotnichki) M15 G7 A2 Y2 R0 1.004′
Luka, son of former Macedonian international Goran Stankovski, was one of the hits of the current season. Despite playing just 1.004 minutes he netted seven goals and provided two assists. But when we talk about Luka we can’t talk just about the stats. He can play in central, attacking and defensive midfield and he has a great technique, passing skills and overview of the game.
Freddy Álvarez (Shkupi) M17 G1 A9 Y1 R0 1.322′
Freddy Álvarez is the first international from Costa Rica active in the Macedonian top flight and he immediately made a great impact. Freddy is a smart and technically gifted footballer who can play on various positions and knows how to shine with his left foot. Just a great signing by Shkupi who helps them in the fight for the title.
Besart Ibraimi (Shkendija) M18 G14 A7 Y3 R0 1.593′
Besart recently turned 34 and he has not the pace of the past and is not that agile anymore, still he knows how to play in the 1.MFL. One of the best players of the league who consistently scores goals and provides assists.
Ljupcho Doriev (Shkendija) M18 G5 A8 Y3 R0 1.346′
Doriev was Shkendija’s big summer transfer, they bought him from Akademija Pandev and it turned out to be a smart move. Ljupcho directly adopted to Shkendija’s game and shined with his individual class and also with team play by providing 8 assists.
Dembo Darboe (Shkupi) M18 G16 A1 Y2 R0 1.608′
Dembo moved to Shkupi in the summer 2019 and his first season wasn’t very impressive. He then played on several positions and wasn’t able to shine a lot despite having some solid games. This season he started to play constantly at CF and Darboe exploded with 16 goals and one assist. Not just the stats were impressive, but also his game as he was dominant through all the months creating a big number of goal opportunities. His combination of height, strength and speed made his opponents desperate and caused for them a lot of problems.
Legend: M – matches; GC – goals conceded; CS – clean sheets; G – goals; A – assists; Y – yellow cards; R – red cards.
As always, we also included 12 reserve players:
GK Risto Jankov (Rabotnichki)
GK Davor Taleski (Pelister)
RB Angelche Timovski (Sileks)
CB Ján Krivák (Shkendija)
CB Besart Krivanjeva (Shkupi)
LB Antonio Pavić (Shkendija)
DM Gjorgi Stoilov (Akademija Pandev)
DM Darko Micevski (Vardar)
AM Ennur Totre (Shkendija)
RW Jovan Popzlatanov (Vardar)
LW Matej Cvetanovski (Vardar)
CF Abdul Khalid Basit (Makedonija GjP)