In recognition of their performances throughout the 2021/22 Isuzu UTE A-League Men campaign, six Western United stars have received nominations for the A-Leagues All-Stars match.
An Expert Panel at Australian Professional Leagues (APL) selected five players from every A-League Men club, with the final squad to be decided by a mix of fan voting and recommendations from coaches and APL itself.
VOTE NOW: Get your favourites in Green and Black into the All-Stars game
The All-Stars are set to take on Barcelona in a blockbuster match at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on Wednesday May 25, and voting is now open.
Swiss colossus Leo Lacroix has been immense at the back this season, helping United to the best clean sheet record in the league while chipping in with three goals himself.
United’s No.4 has been nominated for the All-Stars game alongside his defensive partner Nikolai Topor-Stanley, who has played a major role alongside Lacroix at the back.
The 37-year-old has continued to improve throughout his debut campaign in Green and Black and is showing no signs of slowing down after breaking the all-time A-Leagues appearances record.
Western United’s defence has been outstanding all season, and left-back Ben Garuccio joins his two teammates in receiving a nomination.
In his first season at the Club after joining from Melbourne City, Garuccio has contributed with six assists and two goals, including that scorpion kick against Western Sydney Wanderers – undoubtedly the highlight of the season.
Further forward, Steven Lustica has had the most prolific season of his career with five goals to his name from midfield. The 31-year-old was rewarded with a new contract earlier in the season and has continued to increase his levels on the pitch, with further recognition now in the form of All-Stars acknowledgement.
Another of Western United’s big recruits has been Aleksandar Prijovic. The Serbian has netted nine goals and added five assists in his first season in the A-League Men and is the final outfield player to be nominated for the Green and Black.
As well as five outfielders being nominated from each team, there were five goalkeepers selected across the league to be in the running to take part.
Naturally, Jamie Young was one of those five. Young has played every minute of the campaign so far and leads the league with 10 clean sheets and 87 saves.
Vote for the stars of Western United to take part in the A-Leagues All-Stars match
Voting is now open so fans can have their say in who they want to see lining up in the All-Stars side at the end of the month.
Fans can vote for their Best XI of a goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three attackers. The 11 highest vote-getters will be the first 11 players drafted into a squad of 30, while the players receiving the 12th and 13th most votes – no matter of their position – will be next.
VOTE NOW: Your chance to select the Green and Black heroes for the A-Leagues All-Stars
All-Stars coach Dwight Yorke will then pick another 15 players with the help of coaches across the league serving as his assistants, before A-Leagues Commissioner Greg O’Rourke selects the final two players in the 30-man squad, which is to be announced on May 19.
From there, any players that qualify for the A-League Men Grand Final will be given ‘non-playing status’ while still holding onto the honour of their selection, before a mini camp in Sydney takes place ahead of the game.
