Marc Cucurella voted as WAB Brighton Player of the Season 2021-22
No prizes for guessing the winner of our WAB 2021-22 Player of the Season award. With over 70 percent of the vote, Marc Cucurella adds yet another personal accolade to a bulging collection from his first season with Brighton & Hove Albion.
The wild-haired Spaniard claimed both Players’ Player and Supporters’ Player of the Year at the Albion’s official awards.
He has won every single vote held by other Brighton content creators and been the selection of the Andy Naylor, Brian Owen and BBC Radio Sussex.
In terms of WAB Player of the Season, nobody has ever secured such a huge margin of victory before. Cucurella finished 57 percent clear of Joel Veltman in second with third placed Pascal Gross a further eight percent behind. It was an absolute rout in favour of Cucurella.
And a thoroughly deserved one at that. From the moment Marc Cucurella took a heavy whack in the nose on his Brighton debut at Brentford and Lewis Dunk muttered those infamous words “Welcome to the Premier League”, he has been an absolute revelation.
Cucurella arrived from Getafe for £15 million in September as a roving left wing back. Over the next nine months, he would go onto prove himself as a valued customer of Shoreham’s premier Italian restaurant La Galleria as well as one of the best all-round full backs in England.
That is not just the opinion of a Brighton fan; the stats back it up. Cucurella sat third for most chances created from open play by a full back in 2021-22 behind Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson.
At the other end of the pitch, he made the third highest number of tackles after Tyrick Mitchell and Stuart Dallas. Cucurella is as dangerous and exciting in attack as he is solid and reliable defensively.
The most impressive aspect of Cucurella’s season however has been the way in which he has adapted to a role that was completely alien to him during the second half of the season.
Injuries to Adam Webster and Lewis Dunk, the sale of Dan Burn to the Saudi Sportswashers and Graham Potter losing faith in Shane Duffy left the Albion lookinglight on central defenders for when Potter wanted to play a back three.
The Brighton manager therefore decided to convert Cucurella into a left sided centre back. Cucurella learnt a brand new position on the job in the toughest league in the world. It takes a truly special talent to do that.
By the end of the campaign, he was comfortable enough playing as a central defender to start reproducing the swashbuckling runs forward that were his trademark as a wing back.
Cucurella could genuinely be anything in the future. At the age of 23, he is still some years from his peak. Keep progressing at his current rate and he could reinvent what it means to be a centre back through his ability to join attacks in a manner few players in football history ever have.
As a left back, he has the talent to become the best in the world. It is little wonder that Pep Guardiola has apparently told Manchester City to break the bank for his fellow Catalonian.
The chance for Cucurella to work with one of the greatest ever football managers at a club where petrodollars buy trophies would surely be too much to turn down.
As Brighton fans, all we can do is hope that City do not meet Tony Bloom’s valuation of Marc Cucurella – which must be £60 million at the very least – and that we get another season from him yet.
Should Cucurella go, then he would not be the first WAB Player of the Season to depart soon after receiving their crown.
Andrew Crofts left Brighton a month after winning in 2010. Glenn Murray left Brighton a month after winning in 2011. Liam Bridcutt left Brighton six months after winning in 2013.
Stephen Ward left Brighton a month after winning in 2014. Inigo Calderon left Brighton a year after winning in 2015. Shane Duffy was sent on loan to Celtic a year after winning in 2019.
And it now looks like 2020-21 Player of the Season Yves Bissouma is heading out the door a year after his win, bound for Spurs.
If Marc Cucurella does remain a Brighton player for another year, then who would bet against him becoming only the second man to retain the WAB Player of the Season crown after Liam Bridcutt? Not us.
Dependable Dutchman Veltman was an obvious choice to finish runner up to Cucurella as he has enjoyed another fine season full of consistent performance.
You can count on one hand – maybe even one finger – the number of mistakes Veltman has made in 2021-22. Potter values versatility in his players above all else and Veltman is the ultimate when it comes to that particular trait.
He has done a job as a right wing back, right back, right sided centre back in a three and as part of a defensive four.
Like Cucurella, Veltman has also proved his worth in attack. Two moments in particular stick out. His only goal of the campaign launched the comeback win over West Ham United on the final day of the season.
Back in September and it was Veltman’s cushioned volleyed pass 50 yards down the pitch and over the heads of the Crystal Palace defence set Neal Maupay away for that memorable late equaliser at Crystal Palace.
It is hard to believe that Brighton signed Veltman for only £900,000. As a piece of business, it rivals Gary Hart as one of the best bargain signings the Albion have pulled off.
Gross deserves a place on that list of steals too having repaid his £3 million transfer fee to Ingolstadt many times over.
Regular readers will know that Gross is a far more popular player here at WAB Towers than in other sections of the Albion fan base.
Needless to say a bottle of Lowenbrau will be cracked open to celebrate his third place finish behind Cucurella and Veltman in the Player of the Season standings.
It is no coincidence that Brighton always tend to embark on poor runs of form when Potter drifts Gross in and out of the starting XI.
The Albion manager may have a host of young, creative midfielders available to him but none can match the output of Kaiser Pascal.
His official stats for the season read two goals and four assists but that only tells half the story. His set pieces cause consistent problems and his Gross Turn continues to bamboozle opposition players, even when they know what is coming.
The clamour for Gross to sign a new contract as the 2021-22 campaign ticked towards its close was a sign that even the doubters and the pAsCaL gRoSS iS a sEt pIeCe mERchAnT crowd have belatedly begun to appreciate what he brings to the party. Long may it continue.
WeAreBrighton.com Brighton Player of the Season 2021-22 – The Results
- Marc Cucurella – 70.50%
- Joel Veltman – 13.94%
- Pascal Gross – 5.76%
- Leandro Trossard – 4.69%
- Moises Caicedo – 2.94%
- Alexis Mac Allister – 2.14%
Previous Winners: Yves Bissouma (2021), Lewis Dunk (2020), Shane Duffy (2019), Pascal Gross (2018), Anthony Knockaert (2017), Bruno (2016), Inigo Calderon (2015) Stephen Ward (2014), Liam Bridcutt (2013, 2012), Glenn Murray (2011), Andrew Crofts (2010).
