THEY DESERVE MORE ACCOLADES (LA LIGA EDITION)

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So the unappreciative nature of football has been the driving motivation for this series. Over the course of a season, a number of players performing wonderfully for their clubs and teams are sometimes overlooked by the media and are not always given the accolades and attention they deserve.

A few days ago I started with the series A version of players who deserve more accolades. Today I'm going to take a journey through the Spanish La Liga Santander to identify players who had performed throughout the season but who did not get the deserved attention and accolades.

ÓSCAR TREJO (RAYO VALLECANO)

Oscar Trejo is a central midfielder who's been doing magic for Rayo Vallecano. His biggest strengths are his dribbling abilities and setpiece prowess. At 34 years old, the argentine made 33 appearances, scoring 4 goals and contributing 9 assists.

Focusing on the stats alone might deflect from the influence he's had on the overall play and performance of the team. His goals and assists contribution accounted for 35% of the team's total goals involvements.

At 34 years of age, the 33 appearances he made throughout the season indicates the player's importance to the team and his amazing fitness level. He is a constant menace with his hard tackle reputation, continuously committing into tackles to disrupt the opposition's flow. This is best captured in the 13 times he's been booked throughout the season.

For all his indiscipline, he makes up for in his dictating play and his eye for a pass.

SERGIO CANALES (REAL BETIS)

The perfect embodiment of the fine and quite outstanding season that Real Betis had. The Silent magician of Cantabria as he is fondly known, Canales has been the creative hub of his team, breaking the lines and locating teammates further forward with incisive passing, coupled with his agility, and composed dribbling in the final third. The Spaniard is the one that makes this team tick. His chemistry with Nabil Fekir has been the driving force for all of the team's achievements this season.

His importance to the team was highlighted in February when he picked up an injury and the team ended up going on a five game winless run that eventually ruined their chances of qualifying for the champions league. The 31 year old Spaniard has finally found his home at Betis after struggling to find his footing and stamp his authority at clubs like Real Madrid and Real Sociedad.

He finished the season with 8 goals and 12 assists as he led his team to the Copa del Rey trophy, beating Valencia 6-5 on penalties.

No other player embodies this Betis team more than their silent magician of Cantabria with his constant press and ball playing abilities setting the right tone for the team to thrive. His 34 appearances this season is an indication of his indispensable position to the team. Perhaps we'll never found out what this team would've looked like without the silent magician.

IKER MUNIAIN (ATHLETIC BILBAO)

The petite weaver of Basque, Iker Muniain is arguably the basque club's rare shining light this season. Athletic club has been stuttering all through the season with nothing tangible to show for their stutter. The wide midfielder who can also operate as a central playmaker has contributed 4 goals and 11 assists from the wide left forward role that he plays.

Considering the dearth of quality in the team this season, it is a tangible return for a player who's surrounded by teammates who seem to suffer from a lack of inspiration.
Being the team's captain, Iker Muniain has taken on the responsibility gracefully and is usually the driver flooring the pedal in order for the team to move forward.

DIEGO CARLOS (SEVILLA)

The imposing defender whom Sevilla stole for a penny from Nantes has been in impeccable form. His partnership with Joules Kounde has laid the perfect rear for the Sevilla attack to strike with fervor.

The argentine still in his prime years (28 yrs) is intelligent in possession, deceptively fast and has a deep understanding of the game. The defender has proven to be one of the signings of the season after his €15m transfer from french side Nantes. Due to his huge build, his agility and flexibility usually comes as a surprise to many attackers.

The Brazilian centre back is comfortable defending both with his back to goal, or on the sprint with an attacker. He made 34 appearances, scoring 3 goals. An intelligent reader of the game, Carlos is almost always right with his movement predictions, with his razor-sharp intuition making sure that he's always one step ahead of the defender.

He has a tackle success rate of 80.95% to show how efficient he is in his tackles. He's also very composed on the ball and is very good with ball distribution, which is very important with modern day Centre backs. His 82.27% pass completion rate shows his prowess when he's on the ball.

With Diego Carlos in defense, Sevilla conceded just 30 goals throughout the season, keeping 17 clean sheets in the process. The Brazilian has finally found the consistency that has been eluding him in the past 4 years, and at age 28, is in the peak of his years.

That's all for now, but then sit tight as more are coming from the EPL, and other leagues.

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