London dresses up to host the eighth edition of The Best FIFA Awards, this Monday, January 15. FIFA's highest recognition gains excitement with the nomination of Leo Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé for best player of last year. World champions Aitana Bonmatí and Jennifer Hermoso are the two Spanish footballers nominated for the coveted category of best player of the year, with Bonmatí being the big favorite to take home the recognition. The third finalist is the Colombian Linda Caicedo, a Real Madrid player. Jonatan Giráldez, the still coach of FC Barcelona women's team, is nominated for best women's coach and Pep Guardiola is the favorite to win the equivalent category in men's soccer.
The ceremony will take place at the Eventim Apollo auditorium in London and will begin at 8:30 p.m. – one hour less in the British time zone. A total of nine individual awards will be distributed on the evening, including best male and female player or best goalkeeper and goalkeeper, which will recognize talent among the different categories of world football.
Nominees and nominees for The Best awards
Best player
The best player trophy is one of the most anticipated and coveted awards of the night. This year, there is a duel between three great stars: Leo Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé. Haaland and Mbappé seek to dethrone the Argentine, current winner of the award. Haaland, after his treble with Manchester City – they won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League – is presented as the favorite to win The Best recognition for the best male player.
best player
Aitana Bonmatí, a key player in FC Barcelona, is the undisputed favorite to win the trophy for best player of the year for FIFA, taking over from Alexia Putellas, as she already did with the Ballon d'Or. Jennifer Hermoso, teammate of Bonmatí in the Spanish team that was crowned world champion for the first time, and the Real Madrid player, Linda Caicedo, will compete for the title with San Pere de Ribes.
Best men's soccer coach
In the category of best coach, Pep Guardiola leads the bets to win the award, after winning the treble with Manchester City by winning the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League. It would be the second FIFA recognition for Guardiola, who already won The Best for best coach in 2019. They will compete for the title with the Catalan, Simon Inzaghi (Inter Milan) and Luciano Spalleti (Italy Coach). Inzaghi took Inter Milan to the Champions League final for the first time in 13 years, and Spatelli won the Scudetto with Napoli before leaving to manage the Italian team. Despite not being among the three finalists to win the trophy, Xavi Hernández also appeared among the nominees in the category.
Best women's soccer coach
The gala also recognizes talent in women's football, in this case on the benches. The Spanish Jonatan Giráldez, still coach of FC Barcelona – he has signed with the Washington Spirit of the United States for next season – is among the three finalists to win the recognition. The coach, for the first time among the three finalists, must compete for the award against Emma Hayes, Chelsea women's coach for more than a decade and new coach of the United States soccer team, and Sabrina Wiegman, England coach. Wiegman is the current champion of The Best, after having led her team to lift the Euro Cup. In 2023, with the Irish Wiegman at the helm, England was a World Cup finalist. Hayes, for her part, won her sixth league title with Chelsea. Giráldez, favorite to win the award, won the League with FC Barcelona and led the team to win its second Champions League.
Best goalkeeper and best goalkeeper
In addition, outstanding goalkeepers such as Real Madrid player Thibaut Courtois, who was already a finalist last year, and Ederson Moraes (Manchester City) or goalkeepers such as Cata Coll, also champion with Spain, and Mary Earps, current winner, hope to be recognized. in their respective categories.
The gala will present a total of 11 awards, among which are also the Puskas Award for the best goal, which was won a year ago by the Polish Marcin Olesky, the FIFA FIFPRO World 11 for men and women, the FIFA Fair Play Award and the recognition a FIFA Fan. Spanish footballers like Rodrigo Hernández will also be able to see his efforts recognized. “Rodri” is nominated among the 23 players for the FIFPRO ideal eleven, in which it is the ceremony that recognizes the talent of coaches and players from around the world.
Where to see the gala
The FIFA The Best awards ceremony can be followed live on television on the Eurosport and Mega channels in Spain, starting at 8:30 p.m.
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