2011 NADI Review

The story of the North American Division I 2011 season was not the championships won by the Houston Comets or Zacatepec but rather the season put in by the Order of the Georgia Peach Sporting Authority, and most notably their veteran striker, twenty-eight year old Nicola Brighenti who scored an amazing 24 goals in 28 league games. Led by Brighenti, MLS veteran Kheli Dube and on-loan winger Steven Owens, the Peaches looked to be the class of the league, but faded at the end of the season to finish in second behind the Comets.

Joining the two champions and Georgia in promotion are The Golden Wolves of Albuquerque, Real Miami, Correcaminos UAT, The Rochester Rhinos, and LA Firpo.

Challenging Brighenti as the best player in NADI was Correcaminos’ eighteen year old defender David Chávez. In a bewildering vote, Brighenti was left out of the MVP voting entirely, with Chávez beating out Reboceros de la Piedad’s Boyd Parham (who is destined shortly for Chelsea) for the award. The Young Player of the Year was won by New England’s Willie Roberts (on loan at Lighthouse), who edged out Owens and the Comets’ Lance Miller.

NADI always has a lot of churn: going down this year are Victoria, Marquense, Platense, the Islanders, Árabe Unido, Comunicaciones, Salamanaca, The Santa Fé Red Devils, the New York Giants, the Phoenix, the Memphis Blues, and the Penn Yan Mustangs.

NADI Awards

Goalkeeper of the Year: Graham McSweeney (Comets)

Defender of the Year: Scott Jones (Vancouver)

Midfielder of the Year: Humberto Gutiérrez (Correcaminos)

Striker of the Year: Nader Kara (Correcaminos)

NADI All Stars

GK: McSweeney

D: N’Faly Kouyate (Árabe Unido), Jones, Chávez, Marco Reda (Vancouver)

M: Julio César Cruz (Olimpia), Mick Johnson (Real Miami), Gutiérrez, Wycliff Kambonde (Georgia)

F: Brighenti, Kara

NADI Select XI

The Select XI showed only two changes, with Marathón’s Said Maulid replacing Kambonde in midfield and Parham replacing Kara up front.

November, 2011 Awards

November of 2011 saw a lot of press for players on our featured teams, from Addis Ababa to London to Port-au-Prince to Houston. For the African side, Kennedy Dube, Pierre Delorme, Adugna Deyas, Mesfin Ayenew, Ishmael Ishmael, Mulalem Regassa, and Andrew Sinkala all featured in the Team of the Week. Saint George players also swept the individual awards with Sinkala topping teammates Bereket Addisu and Ishmael Ishmael in the Player of the Month voting and Addisu and Ishmael finishing first and second for Young Player of the Month.

In London, Chelsea players Yury Zhirkov, Frank Lampard, and Fernando Torres all were selected to the Team of the Week, with Lampard finishing third behind Aston Villa’s Stephen Ireland and Manchester City’s David Silva in Player of the Month voting; a finish matched by Guillermo Salinas for Young Player of the Month with the young Mexican defender finishing behind Manchester United’s twins, Rafael and Fábio. Chelsea’s young Jonathan Jones, on loan at Portsmouth, finished third in the voting in the Coca-Cola Championship League in both the Player of the Month and Young Player of the Month awards, which were won by West Brom’s Jonas Olsson and Huddersfield’s Jordan Rhodes respectively.

For the Comets, Leonel Saint-Preux, Alioune Gueye, Tristan Bowen, and Tomas Pekhart each made the Team of the Week, with Bowen finishing second behind Communicaciones’ Marlon Pérez in the Young Player of the Month voting. Sixteen year old Guinean defender N’Faly Kouyate won the Player of the Month Award, beating out Pérez and Marquense’s Víctor García. It was Gueye, however, who opened the most eyes, with his long curling strike against The Santa Fe Red Devils being selected the NADI Goal of the Month.

Finally, Racing Club Haïtien’s surprisingly successful season was crowned with Kofi Dil and Devon Frederick both being selected to the NADII Team of the Week and Frederick walking away with the Goal of the Month award.

Elsewhere:

• Defender Drew Savage of the Honolulu Spinners was the NADII Player of the Month.
• After a month without hardware, Colorado’s teenage sensation Nick Johnson picked up his fourth NACL Player of the Month award in November.
• At the top of the North American pyramid, Estudiante Tecos’ teenage defender Joaquín García was selected NASL Player of the Month while Querétaro’s Gustavo Martínez picked up his second consecutive Young Player of the Month honor.
• After winning the award two consecutive months, Tranmere’s Ash Taylor finished second to Coventry’s Javi Ros in the Coca-Cola League One Young Player of the Month.