OPINION: My clear Sundowns favourite for Footballer of the Season

With more than half of the Betway Premiership matches already played this season, I think we can start debating which player has stood head and shoulders above the rest. The PSL Footballer of the Season award is hotly contested, and it won’t be any different this season.

This is due to the fact that fans always view the award through the lens of their own teams and not necessarily from the perspective of the player who has performed admirably. Last season Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams beat teammate Teboho Mokoena and Iqraam Rayners, who was with Stellenbosch FC at the time, to the award.

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While many believed Williams deserved the accolade, Orlando Pirates fans still felt that Patrick Maswanganyi should’ve been a recipient of the coveted award or at least scored a nomination as one of the three players voted for by premier division coaches.

Sundowns’ Ribeiro a class above

As it stands, I think we can all agree that Lucas Ribeiro has shone the brightest in the current campaign, and there’s very little doubt that he is the front-runner or favourite to win the accolade. He has been the best player in South African top flight football by a mile, and there’s only one other player who is a distant second.

Ribeiro was unlucky not to get a look-in last season, but that hasn’t slowed him down in his second season in the PSL. The Brazilian midfielder currently leads the goal-scoring charts with 13 league goals from 20 games.

This is a marked improvement when you consider that he scored 12 goals in 18 games last season. This means that he has already surpassed his return from the previous season with eight games left to play in the league.

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An argument could be made that his goal contribution would be even higher if Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso had played him in the Nedbank Cup. After drawing lower division teams in the opening two rounds, Cardoso chose to rest his star player. He was not needed for games against Sibanye Golden Stars and Mpheni Home Defenders.

Such has been his impact that he has already been named PSL Player of the Month twice this season. Not only that, but the 26-year-old has also won two awards for Goal of the Month in both January and February.

Acrobatics

Ribeiro’s acrobatic strike against Magesi was his first in the Goal of the Month category. He followed that up with a piece of individual brilliance in the win over the Buccaneers when he dribbled his way from the halfway line before scoring what could turn out to be the goal of the season.

With nine premiership goals and four in the Carling Knockout, Sundowns striker Rayners is another player who will undoubtedly be in the conversation when nominees for top performers are revealed. 

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An honourable mention goes to TS Galaxy striker Dženan Zajmović, who has also set the PSL alight with 11 goals across all competitions. However, it will take something extraordinary between now and the end of the season to unseat Ribeiro and Rayners as my picks for individual awards.