Bulinews Player of the Season Awards: FC St. Pauli's Player of the Season
| Photo: Selim Sudheimer/Getty Images. |
FC St. Pauli's season started with a bang back in late August, looking like some savvy signings in the summer transfer window may have unearthed their full potential. Alexander Blessin's side claimed a point against Borussia Dortmund, defeated city rivals HSV and won at home to Augsburg. However, it wasn't long before the wind seemed to fade in the pirate ship's sails.
The Kiezkickers would only pick up another four wins and seven draws, with a whopping 20 defeats becoming their ultimate undoing. One such player who couldn't be faulted for his unwavering effort was that of Nikola Vasilj. The goalkeeper – picking up this accolade for a second year running – once again emerged top of the pile in our voting.
Relegation may be a short-lived experience for the Bosnian, especially if he can further impress at the upcoming 2026 World Cup. Over the course of the Bundesliga campaign, the 30-year-old produced the league's second-best tally of 123 saves. Furthermore, that towering 6' 4" frame enabled him to make a pair of penalty stops to give himself a 40% success rate.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCE:
Nikola Vasilj's crowning moment of the season came on Matchday 24 when he took the form of an impenetrable wall in Sinsheim. In the 8th minute he raced from his line to deny Kramarić and Prömel in quick succession, before performing another double parry to keep out Kabak on the goal-line.
After Mathias Pereira-Lage gave the visitors a slender lead, St. Pauli relied on their Bosnian goalkeeper to hang on. His point-blank stops to repel headed efforts from Kabak once again and Asllani late on proved telling. Vasilj not only delivered 11 saves in total, but also prevented a remarkable 3.59 expected goals.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
Recieving a pair of votes from our team of writers, summer signing Joel Chima Fujita offered glimpses of his energy and ended the season with a goal and three assists. Manolis Saliakas and Danel Sinani also received a nomination each - the Greek wing-back also delivered a goal and a trio of assists, while Sinani finished as St. Pauli's top scorer with five and three assists.
