Bundesliga Season Awards: biggest surprises, biggest losers, and more!

It has been a rollercoaster of a season in the German top-flight, with a lot to take in. Now that Matchday 34 has passed, we can look back at all the excitement and process what has happened. Here are some of the biggest stories of the Bundesliga season.

Biggest Surprise: Union Berlin

The biggest surprise of this season has to be the small but mighty Union Berlin. Lead by Max Kruse, who put up an excellent 11 goals and five assists this campaign this side qualified for European competition, in the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League. It was not enough, but in just their sophomore season in the top flight, they have exceeded all expectations. Union Berlin veteran Christopher Trimmel also must be mentioned for his stellar performance at right-back this year. No one could have imagined that a team that had never been promoted to the top flight, would be playing in Europe in just the span of two years. It’s just too bad the Union fans could not spectate these games in person.

Most Intriguing Newcomer: VfB Stuttgart

What a season it was for the newly promoted Stuttgart. After narrowly securing promotion to the Bundesliga last season, this team has exceeded all expectations. The team was lifted to new levels with players such as Silas Wamangutika, who was by far, the best rookie of the season. Austrian-born striker Sasa Kalajdzic was probably their most impressive, putting up 16 goals and five assists this season. The Austrian surprised us all after scoring just one goal in six appearances in the second division last season. Relatively unknown going into this season might have paid off as he took several teams by surprise with his scoring ability.

Best Player: Robert Lewandowski

It would be a crime to name any other player instead of the Polish striker. He once again proved that he is the world’s best striker at the moment. The once unbeatable record of 40 goals held by Gerd Muller, was broken by LewanGOALski in just 29 games. There is nothing else that needs to be said here, this player will go down in the history books.

Most Disappointing: Schalke 04

Schalke’s season will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. One of the biggest clubs in the Bundesliga and yet they came dead last with just 16 points to their name. Worst of all, they finished with a brutal -61 goal difference. As funny as it might be to laugh at them, we should all hope for a solid recovery for their club as they play an important part in the German football ecosystem and have a highly prestigious academy that produces some of the best German talents around. Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka are both Schalke products, just to name a couple.

We couldn’t give an award to everyone, but who did we miss? What’s an award you would give a player or team. Let us know in the comments!