Who has been Valletta’s best player this season? Put this question to the City fans or neutral followers and you would probably end up with a plethora of nominations for the general view is that there hasn’t been one stand-out performer in Valletta’s title-winning team.

The choice of Denni and Barbosa as Valletta’s top players is also backed by statistics as they head the team’s scorers’ list with 12 league goals each

We felt that the best way to resolve this dilemma was to hand the onus of selecting Valletta’s most influential performer in the BOV Premier League to the players themselves.

Eighteen members of Valletta’s first-team squad took part in the poll. They were asked to name the best three players with points assigned as follows: nine for the first preference, six for the second and three for the third.

As it turned out, not even the Valletta players themselves were able to determine who was the most outstanding performer as Brazilians Denni and William Barbosa topped the vote with the same number of points.

Denni and Barbosa, incidentally the only two foreign players to have been confirmed by the Valletta committee for next season so far, each amassed 63 points.

Not only did the Brazilian duo have the same total but they were also perfectly matched in all the other aspects of the ballot, receiving three first-preference votes, four second-choice and four third.

The choice of Denni and Barbosa as Valletta’s top players is also backed by statistics as they head the team’s scorers’ list with 12 league goals apiece.

Since joining Valletta from Tarxien Rainbows in the summer of 2010, Denni has further enriched his reputation as one of the most talented foreigners in the Premier League.

Fast and skilful, he normally plays on the wing where he can use his agility and footballing intelligence to prise open opposing defences.

The 28-year-old is equally adept at scoring goals as well as providing assists for his team-mates.

William Barbosa signed for Valletta last summer after impressing coach Jesmond Zerafa during a trial.

The 33-year-old had spent most of his career in the lower echelons of Italian football with the highlight being a two-year stint with Verona.

Barbosa mostly played as an advanced midfielder or second striker in the early months of the season but not before long, he was switched to central midfield where he has often shared marshalling duties with Edmond Agius.

His versatility helped Barbosa fend off growing competition for first-team places from other foreign players but it also stood Valletta in good stead as, in the decisive match against Hibs, the Brazilian dropped further back to fill in at centre-half after Ian Azzopardi was forced off by injury.

It says everything about Barbosa’s shooting prowess and scoring instinct that he has managed 12 goals in the league despite playing several games in central midfield.

No wonder that Barbosa has come to be regarded as the “jolly” in City’s pack.

Next in the vote was defender Jonathan Caruana.

A mainstay of the national team, he has been a colossus of the City defence along with team-mate Steve Borg over the past two seasons.

The 25-year-old goes about his stuff in an unassuming but composed manner to the point that, most of the time, he makes defending look easy. Strong and athletic, Caruana also has good technique and likes to make the occasional forward run.

After another solid campaign, Caruana is seen by many as a strong contender for the MFA player of the year award.

His team-mates certainly rate him highly for the former Hibs player received four first-preference votes and a creditable total of 54 points.

The top five

1. Denni, William Barbosa - 63 pts
2. Jonathan Caruana - 54
3. Ousseni Zongo - 36
4. Steve Borg - 33
5. Andrew Hogg - 24