As the curtain came down on the 2021 MLS regular season and the fantastic sevens from both conferences are gearing up to face off in the MLS Cup playoffs while those that missed out are on vacation.
Major League Soccer is very diverse in terms of players plying their trade in the league but the performance of players of African descent can’t be ignored this season as some were pivotal in their team’s run to the postseason.
First of the bunch is Hanny Mukhtar, the German Sudanese who was instrumental in Nashville making the playoffs back-to-back in their second season playing in the MLS. The soccer team from the music city finished as no 3 seed in the eastern conference which also give them home-field advantage in the first round of the MLS cup playoffs.
Hanny Mukhtar since his arrival from Brondby in the Danish league has established himself as one of the best midfielders in major league soccer. He racked up a total of 2,505 minutes in 31 matches this season for Nashville and scored 16 goals and 12 assists this season which earned him a spot as an MVP contender.
Secondly, Hanny Mukhtar’s 21.6% conversion rate made him a lethal weapon inside the opposition goal area and his right foot is his weapon of mass destruction. He scored a total of 14 right foot goals and his left foot can only account for two goals, no headed goals for Hanny. In all Nashville won 35.3% of their regular-season matches.
The number of assists he tallied this season showed that Hanny Mukhtar is a team player, he brings his teammate into the game for them to make plays, as a well-grounded soccer player, this is evident in his play as he finished with 12 assists with Nashville who won 12 regular-season games. His ball distribution skills are very outstanding as it stood at 65.3% with an 82.5% success rate in his passes. He was Nashville's most productive player in the regular season, and they will rely on him to produce more magic during the MLS cup playoffs.
Hanny’s defensive qualities are top-notch, his 10 interceptions and 6 clearances helped Nashville avoid defeat at the Nissan Stadium this season and only lost 4 matches in 34 regular-season games en route to claiming the no 3 seed in the eastern conference.
With Nashville up against Orlando City Fc in the round of eastern conference MLS cup playoffs, Hanny Mukhtar's stellar season highlighted the contribution of players of African descent to the success of their MLS teams.
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