Borussia fans have voted for Yann Sommer as their 2021/22 Player of the Season. The goalkeeper finished ahead of Jonas Hofmann, Manu Koné, Breel Embolo and Alassane Plea in the voting, presented by Cichon Personalmanagement.
Yann Sommer has been voted Borussia's 2021/22 Player of the Season. Sommer received nearly 75% of the vote on his way to being selected as Borussia’s Player of the Season for the third time overall, having also won the award in 2015 and 2019. Hofmann finished with 13% of the votes in the ranking, presented by Cichon Personalmanagement, ahead of Koné (10%), Embolo and Plea (both 1%).
The Switzerland international was in top form once again in 2021/22. Borussia’s vice-captain has long been known for his consistent and reliable form between the sticks, but this past season proved that he is always able to set new benchmarks by which to measure him. Sommer helped on several occasions to prevent his team from conceding and secured them several points, for example, in the home game against 1. FSV Mainz 05 on 3rd April 2022.
“Out of this world” saves
The clock had just ticked over into the 48th minute, as Leandro Barreiro sprinted towards Borussia’s goal with the aim of canceling out the Foals’ 1-0 lead. The Mainz midfielder let loose a shot from 17 metres out, one that Sommer was helpless to prevent. Fortunately for the Foals, it crashed off the post and fell to the feet of Jonathan Burkardt. The Mainz striker took aim from point-blank range inside the six-yard box – a can’t miss shot that had the travelling fans halfway on their feet already preparing to celebrate. Sommer cut the celebrations short, however, with an incredible reflex save to redirect it over the bar. “Out of this world,” was how Adi Hütter described it after the game. ESPN even selected Sommer’s incredible stop as their ‘Save of the Season.’
The 33-year-old remained humble when asked to describe the save: “Sometimes it just twitches, even at night. I was just trying to do anything. Fortunately, it struck my hand,” Sommer explained, despite conceding the equaliser later in the game. He was able to secure a point for the Foals late on, however, clearing the ball off the line and out of play.
Three-time Player of the Month
Sommer was voted April’s Player of the Month by the fans, following his strong performances against Mainz, Fürth (2-0 win), Köln (3-1 loss) and Freiburg (3-3). He won the award a total of three times this season, having won it in December after picking up four Man of the Match awards in that month, as well as in January.
The goalkeeper appeared in 33 Bundesliga and three DFB-Pokal games in 2021/22. He kept seven clean sheets across all competitions, and kept out a league-high 131 shots on his goal. Sommer has featured 324 times in all competitions for the Foals, and has the most appearances of any non-German player for the club.
Previous Player of the Season winners:
