Amer Didic - 2024 Golden Scarf Nominee
If you’ve been following my writing this season, you’ll know that I’ve been vocal about my struggles to find new ways to praise the play of Amer Didic.
And yet, here I am, telling you why the man with the magic hat should add a Golden Scarf to his wardrobe.
There was an abundance of rumours surrounding the 29-year-old centre back’s future that were floating around from the moment 2024 began. Even the suggestion that he would come to the nation’s capital to play had me giddy, and when it was announced he had an agreement in place to go play in Norway, I was disappointed, but understood that a player of his age wouldn’t get many more opportunities to play at a higher level overseas.
Then came that fateful day in San Luis Obispo, when Didic was photographed amongst the Atlético Ottawa side taking in a game of our sister club. At that point, he was only training with the team, and there was still the prospect of heading to Norway, but it gave us hope that we had found the final piece of the puzzle. Up until that point in the offseason, the focus had been on signing attacking players with the goal of playing a more attractive brand of football. The defence, for many, looked like it could be our undoing without one more central defender to solidify the back line. Tyr Walker, while having a good end to 2023, was not ready to be a #1 centre back, and Luke Singh had been shaky and himself was still young.
So, when Amer Didic was announced as an Atlético Ottawa player in front of the season seat members in April, that hope was realized. We would have a bonafide #1 defender to lead the backline to success. My expectations for him were sky high, and he’s met every single one.
It would be foolish to suggest anyone other than Didic has been the most consistent performer on this team this season. For one, he’s only missed one game (June 2nd at home against Halifax) and in every other game he has started and finished the full 90 minutes. Seeing how uncertain our defence looked without him in that game against Halifax, especially in comparison to the performances we had seen to that point where the team was playing it’s best football, made me fearful of what could happen were he to start accumulating yellow cards or if he ended up getting injured.
But those fears never manifested. The cliché that “the best ability is availability” is only a cliché because of players at Amer Didic’s level. It is almost impossible to replace a player that has the impact he has defensively while simultaneously being a centre back that is able to threaten the opposing defence on set pieces. With only two games left before playoffs, Amer Didic sits joint second on the team with four goals in CPL play. All four of those goals have come from set pieces (or in the case of his latest one, an extension of a set piece) and demonstrate how much more threatening the team has become in dead-ball situations this season, despite some consternation about the delivery. He is the player you have to worry about above all else when defending these chances, and that has opened the door for others to find room on the end of crosses, corners, and free kicks to provide Atlético Ottawa with its most prolific season in front of goal to date.
All that said, his attacking prowess is just the cherry on top of what has been a regular defensive season by Didic’s standards, but a superb one for any other Canadian Premier League defender. At the time of writing, Didic sits tied for second in the CPL in total clearances and is first in the league in % of duels won. Anyone who has watched an Atlético Ottawa game this season would be able to infer something along those lines even without the statistics right in front of them, as Didic’s ability in the air is on full display whenever there’s an opposition goal kick or cross. I’ve described his head as being magnetic for his ability, to not only be in the right position to manage most crosses, but also to get enough power behind these headed clearances to avoid immediate threats on second balls from the opposition. It’s almost unfair that someone who stands 6’4” can have the vertical that Didic has, and yet, seeing him soar above opposing strikers to deal with whatever comes his way has not lost its lustre whatsoever.
This calm certainty in the middle of our defence has certainly had a lasting effect on the young defenders that have played alongside Didic this season. You cannot discount the impact that a skilled veteran defender like Didic will have on a young centre back like Tyr Walker, or a player like Ilias Iliadis who had not played any significant minutes as a central defender until August of this year, when the tactical change to five at the back was made. Didic’s presence took the pressure off of their shoulders and allowed them to play their game. Letting a young player be comfortable is the biggest step in allowing them to develop, and despite all the things Didic has done on the field individually, that role as a veteran, working with his younger teammates, Tyr in particular, may end up being the longest lasting, and most important thing he does in red and white.
Put all of this together and you have a player with whom the entire fanbase has connected, even if he might not be the most outgoing player off the pitch. His passion is perhaps not as boisterous as a Matteo de Brienne, nor his fire as easy to see in his play as it is in Manny Aparicio’s, but it’s certainly there. It emerged when he chucked his jersey deep into the Dub following an opening day win against York. It was there when we thought we gave the game away in the 4-3 win against Forge. And it’s there after each of the goals he scores. It’s only been one season in red and white, but much like the 2022 season of Diego Espejo, it’s one that I will remember vividly for years to come. He’s clear of the CPL standard as a player, and he is someone that we have embraced wholeheartedly. All that’s left to do is commemorate this season by giving him one of the few things he’ll never head back.
About Patrick
Having joined CCSG in 2022, Patrick started his footie career playing at the age of 4 and began watching the pros around the same time. While the first pro team he supported was Manchester United, as soon as Atlético Ottawa came to town, he was immediately on board. His wealth of footie knowledge has been a constant asset, along with his role as caretaker for Atléti Wikipedia pages.
