Diving into my voting process for Canada Soccer's 2021 players of the year
With the end of 2021 rapidly approaching, Canada Soccer is getting set to announce their 2021 CanWNT/CanXNT and CanMNT players of the year. In this, I figure out my ballot for that process.
With the end of the year just around the corner, it’s a good time to reflect.
And after big years for both the CanWNT/CanXNT and the CanMNT, there’s no better time to look back than now, as when it came to Canadian National Team soccer, there’s not too much to frown upon at the moment.
On one hand, you’ve got the women’s team, who despite entering the year with a new coach and what many felt like was an ageing roster, managed to find some new life to finally get over the hump and win a major tournament, taking home Olympic gold this summer in Tokyo.
Then, you’ve got the men’s team, who after some lean years, have put together arguably their most talented group ever, which helped them navigate through World Cup qualifiers, in which they sit 1st in the final round just past the halfway mark, as well as a decent run in this summer’s Gold Cup, where they narrowly lost in the semi-finals.
So overall, it’s been a pretty fun year to follow both teams. Other than a few blips here and there, they’ve both pretty much done everything that anyone could’ve expected from them heading into this year, and then some.
And that’s just at the National Team level. If you factor in the club level, too, Canadians are shining everywhere you look, not only winning major trophies, but playing big roles in those triumphs, as well.
Because of that, it feels like not a week goes by without a Canadian player doing something special, be it with their various clubs, or any time they put on the Canadian shirt.
So as 2021 winds down, and we get set to turn the calendar over to 2022, it feels right to look back at what some of these players have accomplished over the course of this memorable year.
And thankfully, to help do that, Canada Soccer is currently conducting the voting process for their year-end awards, which are for CanWNT/CanXNT and CanMNT player of the year. Plus, for the first time ever, I’ve been given a vote in that process, which gives me the opportunity to look back and reflect on those outstanding performances, all while figuring out how to pick my ballot for both of those awards.
But instead of just figuring out who to vote for on my own(I have to give 3 names for each award), I thought why not document the process, too, figuring out how to best pick 3 names (in order) that deserve a shout for each player of the year award.
So with that in mind, here’s how things went down for me in that process.
The voting process:
And to start, it’s important to note how this whole process works, first. As per Canada Soccer, the player of the year award is done by both coaches and media, who have to submit a list of 3 names, ranked from 1-3.
To help that process, however, we are also given 15 nominees to select from for each team, so no write-in votes are accepted. Usually, that could be controversial, but considering that an average National Team squad consists of just 23 players, and most National Team pools might use no more than 30 players, 15 luckily is the perfect number (and arguably too big of a list).
From there, everything becomes quite simple, as the task is to pick 3 CanWNT/CanXNT and 3 CanMNT players from each pool, order them, and that’s it, as Canada Soccer will tally all of everyone’s votes (and the order that they were in) to find out the winner.
As for the voting criteria, however, that’s where things get tough, because the official definition of the selection process is that “The award celebrates Canada Soccer’s top footballers in recognition of their 2021 achievements with both the National Team and their respective club teams”, which means that both club and country performances are to be taken into account, even despite it being a National Team award.
Otherwise, though, it’s a pretty straightforward process, albeit a difficult one, so without further ado, let’s dive right into it.
CanWNT/CanXNT:
So first, let’s dive into the CanWNT/CanXNT, given that they brought home the silverware (goldware?) this year.
To start, let’s take a look at the nominees, and go from there.
Pretty solid list, as expected. A lot of deserving shouts for the top 3.
But how does one even whittle it down to a top 3? It’s a good question, so what I decided to do was to take the 15 names, and start with National Team performances (it is a national team award, after all), to see who might separate themselves from the rest of the pack, potentially creating a top 5.
And when doing that, here’s how each player’s resume looked:
Janine Beckie: Beckie felt like a good shout here, especially given that she scored 2 goals and added 3 assists for Canada in 2021, which along with countless other goal contributions, as well as her overall role in the team, gives her a claim to be in that top 5. Because of that, she has to be a lock. (Top 5 status: lock)
Kadeisha Buchanan: Much like Beckie, Buchanan is a very big part of this Canadian team, and while she might not show up much on the scoresheet offensively, given how dominant Canada’s defence was, and how much of a role she played in that, she should be in that top 5, and I marked her as such. (Top 5 status: lock)
Allysha Chapman: This is where things get tough, because while Chapman played a big role in helping Canada keep that defensive solidity, it just feels like among the defenders, she might not have as much of a case, especially compared to Buchanan. Because of that, she’s on the outside looking in here, unfortunately. (Top 5 status: bubble).
Jessie Fleming: Moving on, though, given that Fleming led Canada in goals this year along with Adriana Leon, scoring 4 goals, many of them big ones, adding 1 assist for good measure, she really took a massive step forward this year. That made her a lock for the top 5 here. (Top 5 status: lock).
Vanessa Gilles: Returning to defence, however, one player that also played a massive role in Canada’s heroics at the Olympics was Gilles, who didn’t start the tournament as a Canadian regular, but was indispensable by the end of it, showing her importance. Because of that, I had to make her a lock for that top 5. (Top 5 status: lock).
Julia Grosso: This is another tough one, because while Grosso arguably has the most iconic moment of any player here, scoring the winning penalty kick in the gold medal game, she just didn’t play as much as some of her teammates throughout the year, and given how strong some of their cases were, that *narrowly* removed her from that top 5 conversation. (Top 5 status: out)
Stephanie Labbe: And speaking of players who played a big role in Canada’s gold medal, Grosso’s winning penalty kick would not have been possible without Labbe, who was massive not only in that shootout against Sweden, but throughout the year, showing her status as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. That made her a top 5 lock here. (Top 5 status: lock).
Ashley Lawrence: But then, given that I’ve already got 5 locks and I’m just at the 8th player makes things tough, but in Lawrence, there was another lock. She might not have got the plaudits that she deserved, but considering how much she controls the game from wing back, adding 2 assists for good measure, she had to be given a shout here, and I gave it. (Top 5 status: lock).
Adriana Leon: So now that my idea of a top 5 has already been thrown out of a window, that’s good news for Leon, who has Canada’s co-leading goalscorer this year, had to be a lock here, which is why she also got a shout. (Top 5 status: lock).
Nichelle Prince: But at a certain point, we’re going to have whittle things down, and that’s unfortunate for Prince, who had a very good year, coming up with some clutch moments, as well as 2 goals and 1 assist, but that unfortunately wasn’t enough to claw into an already crowded ‘top 5’. (Top 5 status: bubble).
Quinn: And on a similar vein, that leaves Quinn on the outside here, because while they had a huge breakthrough season for Canada, they just don’t have the portfolio to earn a top 5 spot here. Make no mistake, they remain a crucial part of this Canadian team, and are massively underrated, and if anything, that’s only shown in a process like this. (Top 5 status: bubble).
Deanne Rose: Continuing that theme, Rose is unfortunately another player who must be left outside that top 5, as while she had a strong year, she only tallied 1 goal, which as an attacker, just left her behind some of the other names on the list (although her recent club form certainly could’ve made things interesting). (Top 5 status: out).
Desiree Scott: Much like with Quinn, Scott is then another name who falls into the category of being almost too underrated, because while she had a nice resurgent year at the heart of Canada’s midfield, she just didn’t have the overall portfolio to make much of a dent here. (Top 5 status: out).
Kailen Sheridan: Otherwise, nearing the end here, we’ve then got Sheridan, who unfortunately just misses out, as she didn’t play enough with Canada to get much of a shout, especially up next to Labbe’s heroics. That’s not a slight on her, as she was good when called upon, and had a great club season, but that just left her out of the top 5 here. (Top 5 status: out).
Christine Sinclair: Lastly, we’ve then got Canada’s captain, Sinclair, who had a bit of a quiet year by her standards, only scoring 2 goals, but played a big part in Canada’s success. Because of that, it leaves her on the bubble, although her club form certainly could’ve made things interesting. (Top 5 status: bubble)
So having done that, that left us with 7 candidates: Janine Beckie, Kadeisha Buchanan, Jessie Fleming, Vanessa Gilles, Stephanie Labbe, Ashley Lawrence and Adriana Leon.
There was still a lot of work to get this group down to 3, but 7 is better than 15, which made things a *bit* easier, especially as I really started to consider club form.
And to do that, much like I did above, I then tried my best to use that club form to try and create a top 3. Here, assuming that national team form is all *relatively* pretty similar for these 7 players, I operated under the idea that club form would play a big role, helping hopefully create a clear top 3 (or something close to it).
Janine Beckie: And to start, I went right into it with Beckie, who had a good club season personally, scoring 4 goals, even despite having to play out of position a lot. At the same time, though, with no trophies, and compared to some of the other names that might come up, that left her just on the outside of the top 3, here. It’s harsh, as Beckie certainly had a shout, but to whittle it down, we needed to be ruthless, and that’s reflected in her missing out. (Top 3 status: out)
Kadeisha Buchanan: On a similar vein, that doesn’t bode well for Buchanan, who despite having a good year personally, scoring 4 goals, the fact that Lyon saw a 5-year winning run in the Champions League and 14 year winning run in the league snap left the 3-time Canadian player of the year (and reigning winner) on the outside looking in here. (Top 3 status: out)
Jessie Fleming: But then with Fleming, we’ve got our first lock, because thanks to a year that saw her score 4 goals and win 4 trophies with Chelsea, her resume became too hard to ignore here. (Top 3 status: lock)
Vanessa Gilles: Otherwise, though, Gilles is a tough one, because while she didn’t win any silverware, she scored an impressive 5 goals, and helped Bordeaux reach the champions league. Because of that, I put her on the bubble, for now. (Top 3 status: bubble)
Stephanie Labbe: And joining Gilles on the bubble is Labbe, who after a big year with Rosengard, who she helped win the title despite leaving halfway through the year, she scored a big move to PSG, where she’s helped the French giants get off to a decent start. Thanks to all of that, it made her a more than worthy bubble candidate, along with Gilles. (Top 3 status: bubble)
Ashley Lawrence: Otherwise, though, we’ve then got our next lock with Lawrence, who might not have the counting stats that some of her teammates did, but she was a huge part of PSG’s success this year, helping them win their first-ever league title, breaking Lyon’s 14 year run. Due to that, and the role that she played in that, she was a lock here. (Top 3 status: lock)
Adriana Leon: Lastly, we’ve got Leon, who unfortunately just misses out here as she wasn’t able to leave much of an impact at the club level, scoring just once this year. That’s no fault of her own, as she suffered a lot of injuries, but that cost her in this case, leaving her just outside of the top 3. (Top 3 status: out)
And from there, things all of a sudden get a lot more clear, as I then just had 4 names to select from, with 2 of the 3 finalists already sorted.
So first, I tried to narrow down who would be #3 between Gilles and Labbe, and after some consideration of both country and club form, Labbe just edged it, with her penalty heroics at the Olympics just carrying it over the line. Gilles was close, but given how signature of a moment Labbe’s saves ended up being, she just had the edge there.
But then, that left the hard part, and that was selecting a winner, which between Lawrence and Fleming, was no easy feat, as they both had a massive impact on the national team, as well as at the club level, and both won silverware.
That means that I truly had to break it down, and when I did that, one name slightly edges ahead.
And that name was Jessie Fleming, because while Lawrence, who won it in 2019, had a good year, this really felt like 2021 was a breakout year for Fleming, who was indispensable to Canada’s success, and has become a key contributor on a very good Chelsea team.
Considering that Chelsea made the Champions League final, where they lost, and won the league, the League Cup the FA Cup and the Community Shield, that was just too hard to ignore. So even though Lawrence was a big part of PSG’s big league triumph, the fact that they fell short in the Champions League, losing in the semi-finals, just nudged her behind Fleming, although the margin was razor-sharp.
It’s tough, no doubt, but a consensus had to be reached somehow, and when seeing how Fleming’s overall year went, she a deserved shout for player of the year, and that was reflected in my final ballot.
Final ballot:
Jessie Fleming
Ashley Lawrence
Stephanie Labbe
The CanWNT/CanXNT looks on before an October clash vs New Zealand in Montreal (Canada Soccer/Claude-André Fortin)
CanMNT:
Naturally, though, having gone through that arduous process of trying to narrow down 3 worthy finalists from a group of 15 players, the next step was to do it all over again now, as I had to do with the CanMNT, too.
And the good thing for me was that having done this process once, I was hoping that I could be a bit more ruthless with my decision-making the second time round, first whittling down a *proper* top 5, and then making a top 3 from there.
So without further ado, here’s a look at the names I had to work with here.
And much like on the other list, there were a lot of deserving shouts here. Especially when considering both club and country form, it felt like making a top 3 was going to be a very difficult task.
But I had to try, and much like I did before, to start, I first used national team form to try and work this down to a top 5.
Samuel Adekugbe: And to start, I had a tough choice, as while Adekugbe certainly made a name for himself with Canada this year, arguably making himself a lock in the lineup for big games, he just found himself on the bubble here, mostly due to how good some of his teammates were, instead of anything that he did wrong. (Top 5 status: bubble)
Milan Borjan: On a similar vein, that also saw Borjan miss out, because while he was very good when he played, keeping 5 clean sheets in 9 games, the fact that he missed the Gold Cup made his case for the top 5 a bit harder. (Top 5 status: out)
Tajon Buchanan: But with Buchanan, I had my first lock, because despite making his debut this year, he scored an impressive 3 goals and added 4 assists for Canada. Plus, all of the goals were big ones, too, showing a ‘clutch gene’ that has come in handy for Canada at times this year, making him an easy lock. (Top 5 status: lock)
Maxime Crepeau: Otherwise, though, Crepeau is in a similar boat to Borjan, because while he kept a solid 3 clean sheets in 9 games, including a great run at the Gold Cup and during a window in World Cup qualifiers, he just didn’t play enough compared to some of his other teammates to earn a shout here. (Top 5 status: out)
Jonathan David: Moving on, though, I had another lock in David, who despite having what felt like a down year for Canada, at least by his lofty standards, he still scored a solid 7 goals, all of them in World Cup qualifiers, many of them important ones. Because of that, it made him an easy lock for the top 5. (Top 5 status: lock)
Alphonso Davies: And continuing into another lock, I had Canada’s starman, Davies, who certainly played like that for Canada this year, scoring 5 goals and adding 8 assists, a lot of that from wing back. At times where his team needed him, he picked them up on his shoulders and took them forward, and that made him a lock for the top 5. (Top 5 status: lock)
Stephen Eustaquio: But here, I had an interesting name to consider, because while Eustaquio might fly under the radar for many, he 100% felt like a lock. The 3 goals and 2 assists that he put up helped, no doubt, but the fact that he played over 1300 minutes for Canada this year, missing just one game, shows how important he was to this Canadian team, who looked a lot better both offensively and defensively when he played. (Top 5 status: lock)
Atiba Hutchinson: But that run of locks unfortunately left Hutchinson on the outside, because despite setting the CanMNT’s all-time cap record this year, he just didn’t play enough games, seeing the field just 6 times. He made the most of those minutes, scoring a goal, but on a team where so many had big years, the 6-time Canadian player of the year just missed out here. (Top 5 status: out)
Alistair Johnston: And to know why Hutchinson was left out, just consider the rise of someone like Johnston, as an example. In a year where he played a whopping 18 games (16 starts), including over 1400 minutes played, scoring 1 goal and adding 3 assists, he made it into the top 5 conversation, and for good reason, as among the Canadian defenders, he shone as one of the brightest this year. (Top 5 status: lock)
Mark-Anthony Kaye: Elsewhere, while Kaye had a strong year for Canada, scoring 2 goals and 4 assists, he just missed out. That’s not a slight on him, but that instead shows how deep the field is here, and unfortunately Kaye had to be left behind when you consider all of that. (Top 5 status: bubble)
Cyle Larin: But then, we’ve got our next lock, and that’s Larin, who after a year that saw him score 14 goals in 13 games, became the CanMNT’s co-leading all-time goalscorer. Because of that, it made him an easy inclusion in the top 5. (Top 5 status: lock)
Richie Laryea: Otherwise, though, one example of how tough it is to crack the top 5 here is with Laryea, who despite a big year for Canada, one where he scored 1 goal and added 3 assists, while playing a lot of big minutes defensively, he just missed out here. It’s a tough decision, but that’s not a slight on Laryea, who remains a key part of this Canadian team, and will be in that discussion for years to come. (Top 5 status: bubble)
Kamal Miller: And on a similar vein, that left Miller on the outside, because while the centre back played a big part in Canada’s defensive growth this year, playing in 13 games, he just didn’t have the resume here, especially given that these sort of awards always favour defenders. He’s very close, no doubt, but due to that, he *just* misses out. (Top 5 status: bubble)
Jonathan Osorio: Continuing down, that also saw Osorio miss out, because while he had 2 goals and 1 assist, and was a key part of some of Canada’s biggest games, he just didn’t have the resume to crack the top 5 here. Again, not a slight, but that’s just the nature of this vote. It was a tough one (Top 5 status: out)
Steven Vitoria: Lastly, we’ve got another solid shout in Vitoria, who played 14 games for Canada this year, helping Canada keep 6 clean sheets when he played. Despite that, though, with some of the competition elsewhere, that was *just* not enough to get him in, although it was close. (Top 5 status: bubble)
So having gone through the first round of cuts, that left us with 6 top 5 locks in Tajon Buchanan, Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies, Stephen Eustaquio, Alistair Johnston and Cyle Larin. It wasn’t a perfect top 5 (in fact, it was a top 6), but it’s certainly a lot more narrowed down than before, making it easier to whittle it down to just 3.
And with that in mind, I then tried to do just that, using club form as the tiebreaker here once again.
Tajon Buchanan: And to start, while Buchanan certainly had a year to remember for New England, scoring 9 goals and 6 assists en route to a Supporters Shield (and a big money move to Brugge), they fell short in the playoffs, which hurt his case a little bit (even though he scored a late winner in their lone playoff game to make things interesting). Because of that, it left him just on the outside here, although he was a worthy top 5 candidate, no doubt. (Top 3 status: out)
Jonathan David: Otherwise, David’s a tough one, because while he had that ‘quiet’ year for Canada, he still scored a lot of goals there, and he was lights out for Lille, scoring 23 goals for them in 2021 (as of writing). And considering that he helped them win a surprise league title in the 2020-2021 season, his first campaign in Ligue 1, and currently leads Ligue 1 in scoring in the 2021-2022 season, that just overall does enough to make him a lock here. (Top 3 status: lock)
Alphonso Davies: And unfortunately, that comes at the cost of Davies, who despite his dominant year for country, just missed out due to club form. That feels weird to say, as he had 8 assists in 2021, and remains arguably the best left back in the world based on his overall play, but given that Bayern *only* won the Bundesliga and German Supercup this year (shows how big of a team they are for that to be a bad year for them), that just leaves him on the outside here. That’s just the reality of the beast for Davies, though, who having already won 2 player of the year awards, will need to be at another level just to earn a shout, especially in years like this one. (Top 3 status: out)
Stephen Eustaquio: But while Davies misses out, we had to give Eustaquio a shout as a lock, because while he didn’t win any silverware like Davies, the fact that he helped Pacos de Ferreira, who were supposed to be a relegation team, to a top 5 spot in a very tough Portuguese league was impressive. Plus, with all of the love going to goalscorers, that gave Eustaquio an edge, too, and based on the superhuman effort that he put up at times for Pacos, winning their team MVP last season, it was a deserved one, as well. (Top 3 status: lock)
Alistair Johnston: Moving on, though, there was unfortunately no more love for the defenders here, because while Johnston had a strong year for Nashville, who made a decent run in the MLS regular season and playoffs, his team weren’t able to push through to the level that they flirted with all year long. Because of that, that left Johnston out here, although you have to imagine that this isn’t the last time he contends for a top 3 spot in the future. (Top 3 status: out)
Cyle Larin: Lastly, that left the final top 3 lock, and that’s Larin, who had a year to remember for Besiktas, scoring 14 goals (to go along with his 14 for Canada), helping them win the league for the first time since 2017, while also returning them to the Champions League for the first time since 2018. Plus, although 2021-2022 hasn’t been as great for them, he’s remained productive, and thanks to his overall body of work, that made him a lock. (Top 3 status: lock)
But now, with a top 3 of Jonathan David, Stephen Eustaquio and Cyle Larin, that meant that while I already had the 3 names that I needed for my ballot, I did still need an order to them.
The easy one to pick was who finished 3rd, because while Eustaquio certainly deserved a shout to be in the top 3 based on how good he was for club and country this year, his club form unfortunately left him a bit behind Larin and David.
So from there, the choice had to be made between Larin and David. And there, the margins were *really* tight. Like, really tight.
For example, Larin scored 34 goals for club and country in 2021, whereas David scored 32, but David had 25 goals for club in a tougher league (as well as 3 in the Champions League), while Larin had 20 in a lower-ranked league (although he did nab 1 in the Champions League).
But they did also both win their respective leagues, and even though Larin’s league is lower-ranked, he did win the Turkish Cup, whiereas David and Lille weren’t able to replicate that feat in the French Cup, evening out the scores there.
Plus, while David outscored Larin by 5 goals at the club level, Larin outscored him by a whopping 7 goals for country, and most of them were massive goals, too, which tipped the pendulum back towards the middle, if not a bit towards Larin’s side.
So when considering all of that, the winner had to be Larin. At the end of the day, this is a national team award, not a club one, and given how much stronger his case was from that perspective, that made him the 1st option on my ballot.
What that showed, though, is how tight that race could be, and that’s without considering the likes of Davies, Eustaquio and Buchanan, who will all garner signifncant votes, too, you have to imagine.
Final ballot:
Cyle Larin
Jonathan David
Stephen Eustaquio
The CanMNT celebrate a big October World Cup qualifying win over Panama in Toronto (Keveren Guillou) (IG: @kevereng)
Looking Forward:
So there we have it - I somehow narrowed down 2 pools of 15 players to create 2 seperate 3 player ballots, ranked in order from #1 to #3.
It wasn’t easy, but I’ve completed it now, and will submit it shortly after writing.
The process wasn’t perfect, no doubt, as it’s always hard to vote for these sorts of awards, but at least by sharing my process, I was able to both justify and question certain decisions, helping lead to a more clear top 3, at least from my perspective.
Interestingly, this helped me a lot, because while both top 3’s are quite similar to what I’d originally expected it to be heading into it, this process certainly made some players cases stronger than I’d thought it’d be (such as Fleming and David), while also making some players cases weaker than I’d originally thought they’d be.
Because of that, it’s certainly something that I might have to do again in the future, as one thing that voters can do is get caught in their biases, and other than my slight bias for offensive numbers, I hope I was able to eliminate that here.
Seeing that, though, let me know how you would’ve chosen your ballots, and if there are any areas where I missed out, because I’m very curious to see how people expect this award to shape up.
Either way, it promises to be a fun vote, and it’ll be quite fun to see how things end up going when the final votes are tallied and the winner is announced later this month.