Defenders of the Month for May: The Nominees

May was a month with more drama and more excitement than any other, with cup finals being played throughout the continent. The team that scores the most goals wins but to do that, you must make sure the defence is solid, to quote legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman.

Here are the top five nominees for Defender of the Month for May:

Jeremy Mathieu, Valencia and France

Although Valencia lost one game in May, they kept four clean sheets in their five games. Those clean sheets came courtesy of some solid defending by Mathieu and his defensive partners.

The Bats began May with a solid 4-0 win against Osasuna before repeating the feat away at Rayo Vallecano. Mathieu rose to the occasion when he struck a minute before half time to score the only goal of the game at Getafe to collect three clean sheets and three wins in as many games. Los Che then collected their fourth clean sheet with a 1-0 win against Granada to give them a chance at entering the Champions League berths, ending May on a perfect streak.

But their last game of the season against Sevilla resulted in a 4-3 defeat at the Ramon Sanchez Pijuan, missing out on the Champions League to Real Sociedad by a point.

Omer Toprak, Bayer Leverkusen and Turkey

Leverkusen went through May unbeaten to solidify third place and confirm automatic representation in the UEFA Champions League.

Bayer 04 began their final month of the Bundesliga season with a 2-0 win away at Nurnberg, with Toprak opening the scoring in the 26th minute. Another win followed with a 3-1 win at home to Hannover before the Bay Arena side finished their season a point behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund with a 1-0 win away at Hamburg.

*I would have included someone from Bayern Munich here, but the Bavarians have been included in several Defenders of the Month poll and it didn’t seem fair to ignore those below them.

Cristian Zapata, AC Milan and Colombia

The only constant in an otherwise changing Milanese rearguard, Zapata marshalled the San Siro back four to ensure Milan went unbeaten in May to ensure Champions League football.

The Rossoneri beat Torino via Mario Balotelli’s late strike (1-0) before Milan thrashed Pescara 4-0 away. The Lombardy side were held to a 0-0 draw by Roma in what turned out to be a game that would not govern a situation wherein Milan would overtake the top two. They were, however, nearly denied a place in Europe’s elite next season when they conceded early at Siena but late goals from Robinho and Philippe Mexes provided them euphoria.

Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal and France

The return of the Frenchman to the Gunners’ starting XI has seen them win nine of their last eleven games. He was crucial in helping the Gunners secure a narrow win away at relegated Queens Park Rangers before putting another workmanlike display in a 4-1 win at the Emirates that sent Wigan Athletic to the Championship.

But he saved his best performance for the last day of the season as he kept Newcastle at bay and then prodded home the game’s only goal from Per Mertesacker’s flick-on in the 52nd minute to allow the Gunners a shot at playing in the Champions League next season.

Mamadou Sakho, Paris Saint-Germain and France

The only team to go unbeaten in France during the month of May, Sakho is the third Frenchman to enter this five-man list. He was solid at the back in the capital side’s 1-1 draw against Valenciennes as he held the line after Thiago Silva was sent off, before marshalling his team in a 1-0 win away at Olympique Lyonnais in a match that saw PSG seal the title.

The France international was benched for the penultimate game of the season but was forced to come off the bench and stand in goal as Roman Le Crom was sent off on his professional debut. Despite the best attempts of the skipper, Arnaud Le Lan converted the resulting spot kick in his final professional game.