World Soccer - UK (2022-07)

Serbia

Superliga

Slovakia

firStfootballleague

Slovenia

prvaliga

Switzerland

Superleague

Zurichended their

13 -yearwaitfor a league

titleinemphaticfashion,

finishing 14 pointsclear

ofBaselatthetopofthe

table.Successcameat a

pricethough,with coach

Andre Breitenreiter

poachedbyHoffenheim.

USAinternationalJordan

Pefokscored 22 goals

forBSCYoungBoys,

three more thanZurich’s

AssanCeesay.Creditalso

goestoServettewinger

MiroslavStevanovic,who

bagged 20 assistsduring

thecampaign.

Luganowon theirfirst

trophy in 29 yearsby

beatingSt.Gallen4- 1

inthe SwissCupfinal,

completinga remarkable

comebackfor a clubthat

wentbankruptin 2003

andonlyreturnedtothe

topflightin 2015.

Turkey

Superlig

Forthesecondtimein

three yearsthetitlewent

outsidethe“BigThree” of

Fenerbahce, Galatasaray

andBesiktas, as it was

Trabzonsporwhowon

theirfirst leaguesince

1984 , hintingthatTurkish

footballischanging.

Fivegoalsonthe finalday

ofthe season- including

a sumptuousRabona

finish- wasnotenough

forAdanaDemirspor’s

MarioBalotellito beat

KasimpasastrikerUmut

Bozoktothe Golden

Boot,whoscored 2 0.

WhileFenerbahcecan

besatisfiedwith second

placeand a shotat

ChampionsLeague

qualification, 2021

championsBesiktas

finishedsixth,while

Galatasarayslumpedall

thewaydownto 13 th.

Ukraine

premierleague

Theleaguewas,ofcourse,

interruptedbytheRussian

invasion,yetthe 18 games

thatwereplayedwere

enoughfor Shakhtar

DonetskandDynamoKiev

tobeestablishedatthe

topof thetable,losing

justonceeach.

24-year-oldUkraine

internationalArtem

Dovbvykstruck 14 goalsin

just 1 7 matchesfor

Dnipro,with Dynamo’s

ViktorTsygankovnottoo

farbehindhimon 11.

Theseason wascancelled

withno titleawarded,

butthe topfivesides-

Shakhtar, Dynamo,

Dnipro,ZoryaLuhansk

andVosrklaPoltava -

willplayin Europeifthey

areareabletoresume

playingintime.

Wales

premierleague

league

champions

top

scorer

bestof

therest

RedStarBelgradewon

theirfifth titleina row

with 100 points,butthey

werepushedalltheway

byarch-rivalsPartizan,

whorackedup 98 points.

The0-0drawbetween

thetwosidesinApril

provedtobedecisive.

Partizan’s titlechasewas

poweredby CapeVerde

strikerRicardoGomes,

whostruck 29 goalson

hisreturn to theclub.Red

StarwingerAleksandar

Katai wasnextonthe list

with 24 goals,including

three hat-tricks.

AsiflosingouttoRed

Starinthe titlerace

wasn’thardenoughfor

Partizan,theyalsolostto

theminthe Cupfinal,with

Katai nettinga bracein

a 2-1winforhisside.

MariborpippedKoperto

thetitleinthefinaltwo

weeksofthe season,

winningbothofthefinal

twogameswhile their

rivalscouldonlypickup

onesolitary point.

Maribor’s 30-year-old

forwardOgnjen

Mudrinskitoppedthe

goalchartswith 17

strikes,alsoearningthe

PlayeroftheYearaward.

Four-time champions

Goricawillbebackinthe

topflightnextseason.

Legendary managerMiran

Srebrnic,whoguided

themtotheirlasttitlein

2006 andtosecondin

2017 , returnedlastyear

towinthesecondtier.

TheNewSaints

returnedto winning

ways, afterfinishing

secondtoConnah’s

Quayin 20 20-21.TNS

havenowwonnineof

thelasttenleague

championships.

FormerScotland

Under-21 international

DeclanMcManusstruck

24 goalsin 28 games

after joiningTheNew

Saints from Dunfermline

Athleticlastsummer.

Connah’sQuay’s title

defencewasdealta huge

blowwhentheywere

deducted 18 pointsfor

fieldinganineligibleplayer.

Withoutthesanction,

they’dhavefinishedthird

andenteredConference

Leaguequalifying.

SlovanBratislavawon

theirfourthleaguetitle

ina row,as manager

VladimirWeisscompleted

a successfulreturntothe

clubafter leavingin 2012.

Onlythree playersin

thewholeleaguestruck

doublefigures,with

Ruzomberokforward

MartinRegaliand

Trencin’s PhilipArango

nettingten,whilethe

latter’s team-mate

Jakub Kadakhit 1 3.

Despitefinishingfifthlast

season,SKFSered have

beenrelegatedafter

failingtosecure a license

fornextseason dueto

thelackofanadequate

stadium.

WORLDSOCCER 55

euroseasonreVieW

2021 - 2022