Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City and Chelsea duo, N’Golo Kante and Jorginho will be going head-to-head as nominees for the UEFA 2020-21 male player of the year award after making the top three in an all-midfield shortlist released by UEFA on Thursday.
The three midfielders all featured in the Euro 2020 and the Champions League final.
De Bruyne for Belgium and Manchester City: He reached the semi-final of the Euros 2020 and the final of the Champions League with Manchester City.
Kante with France and Chelsea: France experienced a shock exit in the Euros 2020 in the quarter-finals but Kante won the Champions League with Chelsea.
Jorginho with Italy and Chelsea – Italy were crowned champions when they defeated England in the 2020 Euros final at Wembley with the midfielder playing a huge part in his team’s success. Jorginho also won the Champions League with Chelsea.
This is the first time in the 11-year existence of the award to feature only midfielders as the top three contenders.
The votes were cast by the coaches of the 24 national teams who featured in the Euro 2020 as well as the 80 coaches of the clubs that played in the group stages of UEFA competitions.
So also, journalists from UEFA’s 55-member associations were each eligible to give their votes.
Lionel Messi, former Barcelona captain and six-time Ballon d’Or winner who moved to PSG, occupied the fourth place on the list.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, who won the Bundesliga and the European golden boot, came in fifth on the list.
Also Read:
- Bayern Beat Dortmund To Clinch German Super Cup
- Arsenal vs Chelsea: Match Preview, Stats And Team News
- Who Will Win The 2021/2022 Champions League?
- Premier League Contenders For The 2021/2022 Season
PSG duo Gianluigi Donnarumma and Kylian Mbappe came in sixth and seventh respectively.
The only top player from Euro 2020 finalists, England, was Raheem Sterling of Manchester City who came in eighth place.
Portugal captain and Juventus forward, Cristiano Ronaldo who won the golden boot of the Euros 2020 despite an early exit from the competition was ninth on the UEFA.
Norway international and Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland was placed 10th on the list for his brilliance over the season.
The UEFA 2020-21 award winners will be announced on 26 August, along with UEFA’s women’s player of the year award winner.
The Champions League positional award winners for best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward will also be announced at the event of the Champions League group stage draw in Istanbul, Turkey.
The UEFA women’s shortlist is dominated by three Barcelona midfielders – Jennifer Hermoso, Lieke Martens and Alexia Putellas after a treble winning season.
The shortlist for the Men’s Coach of the year was also announced and it featured Champions League finalist Pep Guardiola of Manchester City and the Champions League winning coach, Thomas Tuchel of Chelsea in the company of the Euros 2020 winner, Roberto Mancini of Italy.
The women’s team coach of the year was also shortlisted and it has two men in the top three place.
Barcelona’s Luis Cortes and Sweden’s Peter Gerhardsson are all going up against Emma Hayes of Chelsea for the UEFA award.
Which nominees should win the UEFA 2020-21 awards? Let us know in the comments section.
Enjoyed the article? Share with others as well. Stay in the know, follow us on Twitter @punditgist.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.