A few players were awarded by the supporters, the chairman of the club, and the coaching staff on Saturday. The supporters’ awards have a history going back to 2002, always chosen by a vote announced on Sinikaarti’s discussion board. In a club owned by supporters, they are probably the most prestigious awards of them all.

The supporters choice for best player of the year is Youcef Chemlal. He did not only score 19 goals in 17 matches, but he is one of the most important creative players on the team. In addition to the 19 he scored, he also set up numerous goals for other players. There could hardly be any dispute about who should have earned this award. It is hard to imagine how we would have been able to have all that the success we had without him.

Youcef Chemlal and Ahmed Lakra with their awards.

The second supporters’ award is a bit more difficult to explain, as the Finnish word pelimies that is used as the title of the award is difficult to translate. It another word for player, but has positive connotations that are difficult to explain. This award is not necessarily given to the player that was the best on the team in the absolute sense, but to the player who won the supporters hearts by, for example, showing respect for supporters or improving from previous years. This year to me there was only one choice for this award, and that choice was Ahmed Lakra. I will never forget his dancing to the supporter’s songs or the fact that he played the season through pain in his knee, in need of surgery.

In addition, the Chairman’s Bowl was awarded to Mika Suonsyrjä and the coaching staff selected Lauri Heittola as their player of the year. These were both solid choices. Mika’s role in the success of the team cannot be overestimated. He is one of the veteran players on the team, and took a leadership role immediately after joining the team. He also played an important role in the club being able to acquire crucial reinforcements during the summer, which obviously had a huge impact on the team’s success in the fall season. It could even be argued that obtaining Mika set things in motion that eventually resulted in promotion to Vitonen.

Lauri Heittola could be described as an unsung hero. He is not the flashiest player on the team, but always works hard and makes very few mistakes. He does have a great shot though, and scored one of the more memorable goals of the season early on in the home match against NePa Talent. But most importantly, he is a player that the coaching staff as well as supporters can rely on to perform on a high level in every match, as it seems there’s no such thing as a bad day for him. This, obviously, is what coaches love in a player.