On Wednesday, the final game of the inaugural edition of the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ will be played to crown the first-ever ASEAN Club Champion and also the tournament’s top player – the Shopee Star of the Season.
Following a thrilling 2-2 draw in the first leg of the final in Hanoi last week, Công An Hà Nội FC of Vietnam and Thai League 1 champions Buriram United FC will meet again on Wednesday to battle for the coveted ASEAN Shopee Cup™ Champions title.
However, the Shopee Cup™ trophy will not be the only honour which will be up for grabs at Buriram Stadium as we will also learn which leading player will earn the accolade of the Shopee Star of the Season.
And there is certainly no shortage of candidates for this prestigious award with several making significant contributions in the journey of their clubs to the 2024/25 Shopee Cup™ final.
With the award adjudged on the overall performance of a player during the entire Shopee Cup™ 2024/25 season, the accumulation of Shopee Star of the Match awards will play a big part in deciding the winner.
For Buriram United, two players have stood out in their progress to this stage – Brazilian stars Lucas Crispim and Gulherme Bissoli.
Crispim has played a key role in Buriram’s attack throughout their campaign, with the 30-year-old attacking midfielder scoring a joint-leading five goals and winning two Shopee Star of the Match awards. He bagged a hat-trick in a 7-0 rout of Kaya FC-Iloilo of the Philippines and got the only goal in a 1-0 win over Kuala Lumpur City FC of Malaysia which sent Buriram into the semi-finals.
Bissoli has also won two Shopee Star of the Match awards after the 27-year-old forward netted crucial goals in wins against Borneo FC Samarinda of Indonesia in the group stage and Thai rivals BG Pathum United FC in the semi-finals. While he didn’t score in the first leg of the final, his long-range attempt in the 79th minute could only be parried by goalkeeper Filip Nguyen into the path of Peter Žulj, who levelled the score.
Lê Văn Đô is also a Shopee Star of the Season candidate with two Shopee Star of the Match prizes and four goals in total for Công An Hà Nội. The 23-year-old striker made key contributions in two of the Vietnamese club’s five wins during the group stage, scoring and forcing an own goal in a 2-1 win at Kaya FC and netting a stoppage-time winner in a 3-2 victory at Kuala Lumpur City.
A few of his Công An Hà Nội teammates are also in the running for the overall award after each was named Shopee Star of the Match during the tournament.
Brazilian forwards Alan Grafite and Leo Artur starred in Công An Hà Nội’s wins against Buriram and Lion City Sailors FC of Singapore, while centre-back Bùi Hoàng Việt Anh has been a rock in the Vietnamese club’s defence and also scored the winner in the semi-final victory over PSM Makassar.
Meanwhile, club captain Nguyễn Quang Hải has anchored their midfield in all eight of their matches so far and was named Shopee Star of the Match after his combative display against Buriram United in the first leg of the final.
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