Kaohsiung Sunny Bank’s Japanese midfielder Minori Wakabayashi on Sunday received the Taiwan Mulan Football League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award at a ceremony in Taipei, while Tainan TSG captain Wu Chun-ching took the Taiwan Football Premier League MVP title for a second consecutive season.
Formerly with JEF United Chiba in Japan, Wakabayashi joined Sunny Bank late in 2020, and in her first full season last year she led the team to third place after they finished last in 2020.
Wakabayashi was made team captain due to her outstanding leadership skills, but more importantly she was pivotal in scoring three goals late in the season as Sunny Bank challenged the league’s top clubs, Taichung Blue Whale and Hualien City.
Photo: Jason Pan, Taipei Times
In a crucial match last month, Wakabayashi scored a header late in the game, as Sunny Bank beat reigning champions Hualien City 1-0.
That result enabled Taichung Blue Whale to seize their fourth league title since the women’s competition began in 2014.
The other Japanese star making a splash last season was Blue Whale attacking midfielder Maho Tanaka, who contributed vital goals as her side claimed the title with 23 points, with Hualien and Sunny Bank both finishing with 20.
Tanaka, who scored five goals, shared the Gold Boot with teammate Lai Li-chin, Tan Wen-lin of Hualien City and Li Hsiu-chin of Sunny Bank.
It was the first time that foreign players have won MVP and Golden Boot honors.
Blue Whale head coach Lu Kuei-hua won the Coach of the Season award.
In the Taiwan Football Premier League, Tainan TSG, who successfully defended their title, were the big winners, with captain Wu selected as MVP and striker Marc Fenelus of the Turks and Caicos Islands winning the Golden Boot after scoring 11 goals.
Fenelus previously won the award in 2017 and 2018 when playing for Tatung.
TSG’s Lo Chih-tsung picked up the Coach of the Season award, while Pan Wen-chieh was awarded the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper.
Wu, Pan, Haitian striker Benchy Estama and defender Cheng Hao last week announced that they are leaving TSG.
That followed the shock announcement that Tatung, league champions from 2017 to 2019, would cease to exist after parent company Tatung Co decided to end its sponsorship of the team after six decades.
Wu told reporters that he plans to continue playing next season, but is not sure where he will end up and is not ruling out playing overseas.
“It is the final chance for me to go to a foreign country as I am now 33 and it is not easy for older players,” he said, adding that he was open to playing in China or Hong Kong.
Pan said he and the other three players left TSG after talks over new contracts broke down.
“I am negotiating with another team in Taiwan and should have some good news soon. I want to prove to people that I can also win the title with a new team,” he said.
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