First Johan Cruyff Talent of the Month award for Manfred Ugalde
Based on statistics and votes from football fans, 20-year-old Manfred Ugalde performed best of all players aged 21 or under in March. This is the first time that the FC Twente forward has won the Johan Cruyff Talent of the Month.
The Costa Rican can look back on one of the best months of his career. Ugalde scored as a substitute against sc Heerenveen (3-3), scored two goals as a starting player against Fortuna Sittard (0-3) and was credited with both goals against AZ (2-1). With his five goals, the striker scored at least twice more than any other Eredivisie player last month and he managed to score a goal every 36 minutes in the Eredivisie.
Ugalde also managed 14 shots and seven shots on goal in March, despite playing only 67% of total playing minutes, which was more than any other player. This earned the FC Twente forward the honour of being named KPN Man of the Match twice. Unfortunately, for FC Twente fans, they will have to wait to see him in action again: the golden boy will be side-lined for a few weeks due to a knee injury.
In addition to a trophy, the striker will receive a cheque for €2,500 on behalf of the VriendenLoterij (Friends Lottery) to encourage social projects for the FC Twente Foundation, Scoring in the Neighbourhood. His election also raised €5,000 for Johan Cruyf Foundation projects.
About the voting
The Eredivisie Player of the Month and Johan Cruijff Talent of the Month Awards are based on statistics (StatsPerform) and votes from football fans (KPN Man of the Match). The vote is an initiative of the Eredivisie CV in collaboration with ESPN and EA Sports. The Johan Cruyff Talent of the Month is an initiative of the Eredivisie CV, in collaboration with ESPN, the Johan Cruyff Foundation and VriendenLoterij (Friends Lottery).
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