UEFA Men’s Player of the Year:
Karim Benzema wins the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award. He won the La Liga and Champions League with Real Madrid last season. He was the top scorer in the Champions League last year with 15 goals. He was also the top scorer of La Liga with 27 goals.
UEFA Women’s Player of the Year:
Alexia Putellas wins the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year award. She netted 34 goals for Barcelona last season as the club won all the domestic trophies and reached the Champions League final.
Men’s Coach of the Year:
Leading Real Madrid to the club’s record 14th Champions League crown en route to a domestic & continental double, Carlo Ancelotti remains one of the best coaches in all of world football. Ancelotti is the only coach in history to have won four Champions League titles, twice with AC Milan and now twice with Real Madrid. He also previously won the competition twice as a player with AC Milan.
Women’s Coach of the Year:
The coach of the England national team, Sarina Wiegman wins this year’s Coach of the Year award. The 52-year-old only joined the national side in November, and led England to the Euro 2022 crown. She has yet to lose a single match with England, with 18 wins and two draws.
UEFA President’s Award:
The UEFA President’s Award is handed out to recognise achievement, personality, and other qualities throughout European football. This year, the award will be presented to Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi, who led AC Milan to the 1987/88 Serie A title as well as back-to-back European championships in 1989 and 1990.
“While Sacchi never played top-flight football, he was always an exemplary student of the game,” UEFA president Alexander Ceferin said in the official UEFA release read.
“Sacchi reinvented the ethos of teamwork, which transcended to pure harmony on the pitch. Perfect synchronisation and a winning mindset, irrespective of whether they were playing at home or away, felt almost supernatural back in the 1980s. That is precisely what divides excellence from greatness.”
Fans Goal of the Year:
Thiago, Liverpool vs. Porto, Nov. 24, 2021
Thiago’s low driven strike in the 2-0 win over Porto in the Champions’ League group stage won the fan vote for best goal of the 2021/22 season.
UEFA Goal of the Year award 2021/22
Karim Benzema‘s hat-trick against Chelsea in the Champions League semifinal helped set the stage for Real Madrid’s charge to the title. The 3-1 first-leg victory, inspired by Benzema’s hat-trick, saw Madrid return home to seal the deal and secure a place in the final.
Benzema’s first was the best of the bunch, a header from just beyond the penalty spot that left goalkeeper Edouard Mendy no chance. The delivery from Vinicius Jr was just slightly behind the French striker, but Benzema managed to contort his body perfectly to deliver a long-distance headed strike.
Picture Courtesy: UEFA Media
