The 2020/21 European league season may have ended, the sparks of their burning light will continue to fester through the summer and possibly into next season.

One of the most controversial endings to the season was the award of the German Player of The Year which was given to Borussia Dortmund and Norway's prodigy, Erling Brut Haaland.

The 20-year old bagged the award ahead of Bayern Munich great, Robert Lewandoski scoring 41 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions for Borussia Dortmund, 27 of which came in 28 Bundesliga games and 10 in 8 matches in the Champions League.

The Norwegian is no doubt a proven goalscorer whose talent cannot be undermined. However, to have picked the award ahead of Robert Lewandoski is one that causes for eyebrows to be raised.

📸: bavarianfootballworks.com

Lewandoski scored 41 league goals in the season under review. He was tied on the 40-goal record set by Gerd Muller about 49 years ago and had to wait till the dying stages of Bayern Munich's last league game against Augsburg to score his 41st goal and surpass the 75-year old German legend.

Aside from this, Lewandoski's goals were pivotal in ensuring Bayern Munich cruised to their ninth consecutive Bundesliga title.

Yes, Dortmund also won the DFB Pokal, however, even the 3.37 minute per goal ratio of Lewandoski surpasses the 3.53 minute per goal ratio of Haaland.

The absence of Lewandoski due to injury was felt over the two legs of their Champions league quarterfinal ouster in the hands of Paris Saint Germain.

On a comparative level, Haaland was below par, arguably as the whole of the Dortmund team were against Manchester City in the same quarterfinal round.

While it's arguable that one match may not be enough, the point of concern is the overall contribution of these players to the success of their teams and not just their goals, which both have shown reliability.

📸: skysportcafe.com

Join This is a Lewandoski who is poised to win the European Golden Shoe for the 2021, ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, having lost out marginally to Lazio's Ciro Immobile last season. A season he was also denied the Ballon d'Or as the organizers cancelled the awards in 2020, citing the Coronavirus pandemic as reason.

Awards have become questionable over the years. One of the most talked about was the award of the Ballon d'Or to Lionel Messi in 2010 ahead of Wesley Sneijder who was highly touted for the award after an amazing year, winning the Serie A, Copa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana Champions League, the FIFA World Club Cup and also played in the final of the 2010 World cup with the Netherlands.

The continued controversial nature of these awards will keep putting question marks on the credence of these awards, the organizers and the criteria on which they are based.