Team of the Decade: Ilona Jakab
Our next selection for the Team of the Decade is Ilona ‘Beans’ Jakab.
Joining the club in 2015, Beans quickly became an integral cog in both the senior women’s team and the MUSC community and has since been an asset in every sense of the word. Her presence on and off the field, her technical finesse and her contribution to the team morale makes her an obvious choice for the team of the decade.
Beans was a consistent choice starting 11 for the senior women’s team from the moment she joined, including during the successful 2015 grand final win and 2017 league and grand final wins. She was also a driving factor behind the success of the MUSC Unigames representative team for which she was a part of for 6 years running. Watching her play is a pleasure, with her ability to move the ball around players with ease and grace undoubtedly owing to the extensive experience in representative soccer and futsal teams over the years. The combination of her ability to read the play like a book, hold possession unlike anyone I have seen and distribute the ball with accuracy and ingenuity ultimately makes her the type of player you hate to play against. But luckily, she was ours for the keeping; the fierce passion she plays with and unbridled love for the game is matched only by her loyalty to her teammates and the club. She leads the team not only through her vocal presence and tactical prowess, but also through her consistently high work rate in games and training week to week. She is the quintessential quiet achiever who works hard and just gets the job done.
Tragically, in 2018 during her fourth season she did the big kahuna (ACL) which left a hole in our midfield and our hearts. However, her commitment to the game and the club was exemplified by how little this stopped her. Knowing there was a long rehab road ahead, she stepped up as assistant coach for State 1, returned to play for the Ressies midway through 2019 and was taking the field for the senior women’s team before we knew it.
Congratulations Ili ‘Beans’ Jakab for your selection into the Team of the Decade. You’re a pleasure to play alongside, and we hope to be lucky enough to witness your football finesse on the field for many more seasons to come.