Our choice for the “Best Overall Player” during the 2014/15 season goes to Izair Emini of Renova, the top scorer in the First League with 20 goals.
On Monday night, we selected Marjan Radeski as the “Best Young Player” for the 2014/15 season, and today is the turn of the best overall player this past campaign.
It wasn’t an easy decision this season. Vardar, the league champions, saw contributions from many players, but no one player stood out. Several of their key performers signed in the winter, so they didn’t have enough appearances to be considered.
Rabotnichki found itself in the same situation. The club had good depth and utilized that to clinch a 2nd place finish. The team’s strength was its unity, chemistry and cohesion, not one particular player.
In the end, we felt that the most deserving choice was Izair Emini of Renova. He led an unheralded Renova side to a 4th place finish, leading to a spot in the Europa League qualifications.
To explain the selection of Emini, he was the leading goalscorer this season with a total of 22 goals. He netted 20 in league play and 2 more in the cup. Izair proved to be a consistent threat for Renova, despite being closely marked by opposing defenders. After all, he was the main focus of the opposition, but he could still not be contained, despite receiving little help from his teammates in attack.
From his 22 goals, Emini scored against every opponent in the First League except, surprisingly, bottom ranked Teteks. He featured in 31 league games, starting each time.
Below is a list of Izair’s 22 goals:
Round 2: Renova – Rabotnichki 2:1 (one goal) watch
Round 5: Shkendija – Renova 1:1 (one goal) watch
Round 6: Renova – Bregalnica 2:1 (one goal) watch
Round 7: Vardar – Renova 1:1 (one goal) watch
Round 12: Renova – Sileks 2:2 (one goal) watch
Round 16: Renova – Vardar 3:0 (two goals) watch & watch
Round 18: Renova – Metalurg 3:1 (two goals) watch & watch
Round 19: Renova – Bregalnica 2:1 (two goals) watch both
Round 22: Renova – Metalurg 2:0 (two goals) watch both
Round 24: Renova – Rabotnichki 2:0 (one goal) watch
Round 26: Renova – Turnovo 1:1 (one goal)
Round 27: Pelister – Renova 1:1 (one goal) watch
Round 29: Metalurg – Renova 1:2 (one goal) watch
Round 31: Vardar – Renova 4:1 (one goal) watch
Round 32: Renova – Rabotnichki 3:3 (two goals)
Cup 1/8: Gostivar – Renova 1:4 (one goal)
Cup 1/2: Rabotnichki – Renova 2:1 (one goal) watch
By opponent:
5 vs. Metalurg, Rabotnichki
4 vs. Vardar
3 vs. Bregalnica
1 vs. Gostivar, Pelister, Shkendija, Sileks, Turnovo
When we contacted Izair with the news, he was with his teammates preparing for the upcoming Europa League matchup against Moldovan side Dacia. Emini responded, “I want to thank MacedonianFootball.com. You are the first to recognize my efforts as you obviously praise the player’s quality first, unlike others. Thank you very much. I hope to continue my goalscoring form next season as well. Furthermore, I hope to also score against Dacia, which we will aim to eliminate with a bit of luck.”
The “Team of the season” will be unveiled tomorrow.