Cyril Dessers Named In The UECL Team Of The Season With Feyenoord Dominating The Squad.

UEFA's Technical Observer panel has released its 2021/22 Europa Conference League Team of the Season following the completion of the tournament on Wednesday night.

The final XI all features players from teams who made it to the semifinals of the competition, with runners-up, Feyenoord boasting the highest representatives (five).

Nigerian star Cyril Dessers and four other Feyenoord players (Lutsharel Geertruida,  Gernot Trauner, Tyrell Malacia, and Luis Sinisterra) were selected in the Europa Conference League Team of the Season, as they had been unbeaten since the group phase.

Dessers played a vital role in Feyenoord’s progress into the final of the competition where his team narrowly lost 1-0 to Italian club AS Roma at the Arena Kombetare in Tirana.

READ MORE: ROMA WINS THEIR FIRST TROPHY IN 14 YEARS!  THE JOSE MOURINHO EFFECT!

 

The 27-year-old finished as the competition’s top scorer with 10 goals from 12 games, beating England's international Tammy Abraham to the individual award of the inaugural Uefa Europa Conference League.

Both players are placed upfront in the team of the season of a 4-4-2 formation.

Dessers who joined Feyenoord on loan from Belgian Pro League outfit KRC Genk last summer, began his goal scoring in the Dutch side’s 2-1 away win over German outfit Union Berlin in November 2021. He then followed it up with a brace against Slavia Prague.

The 27-year-old then found the net on three more occasions, before adding two more to his tally in the quarter-final tie against Peter Olayinka’s Slavia Prague.

In the first leg semi-final against Olympique Marseille, he scored twice as the Rotterdam based outfit claimed a 3-2 home win.

Dessers was unable to find the net in the reverse fixture and could not score past goalkeeper Rui Patricio in the final.

His inability to get a goal saw him fail to become the third Nigerian to score in the final of a European cup, as Alex Iwobi and Joe Aribo remains the only two players to do so.

Feyenoord are keen to sign him on a permanent deal.

He is in Nigeria's Super Eagles squad for the international friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador.

READ MORE: Tammy Abraham Ends Sensational Roma's Debut Season With UECL Crown.

Unsurprisingly, eventual Champions Roma have four players named in the Conference League’s Team of the Season, with captain Lorenzo Pellegrini selected as the Player of the Season.

The midfielder was joined by teammates Tammy Abraham, Chris Smalling who was named Man of the Match in the Final, is also present along with goalkeeper Rui Patricio in the best eleven of the tournament.

Pellegrini tallied 4 goals and 2 assists in 10 appearances in the competition. From the group stage onwards, he registered 22 shots, with only Tammy Abraham earning more for the Giallorossi.

🌟7️⃣🌟

Presenting the UEFA Europa Conference League Player of the Season!#ASRoma | @LorePelle7 | #UECL pic.twitter.com/7SYv3ojTTr

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) May 27, 2022

 Former Chelsea man Abraham finished the campaign as runner-up in the scoring chart following his nine goals in 14 appearances.

Nigeria's Yira Sor who represents Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt's Ola Solbakken and Feyenoord's Luis Sinisterra complete the top five with six goals each.

Here’s the full squad named to UEFA’s Conference League Team of the Season.

Goalkeeper:

Rui Patrício (Roma)

Defenders:

Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord), Chris Smalling (Roma), Gernot Trauner (Feyenoord), Tyrell Malacia (Feyenoord)

Midfielders:

Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Dimitri Payet (Marseille), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Leicester), Luis Sinisterra (Feyenoord)

Forwards:

Cyriel Dessers (Feyenoord), Tammy Abraham (Roma).