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Robert Lewandowski on winning The Best FIFA Men's Player 2020
The Best FIFA Football Awards™ 2020 ceremony, held as a virtual event from the Home of FIFA in Zurich, crowned two household names, Lucy Bronze and Robert Lewandowski, as the game’s outstanding players on the women’s and men’s side respectively.
Poland and FC Bayern München striker Lewandowski was named The Best FIFA Men’s Player for the first time in his career. Likewise, defender Bronze is also a maiden recipient of The Best FIFA Women’s Player Award after rounding off an impeccable spell with Olympique Lyonnais in style before returning to England to play for Manchester City WFC.
Current Dutch women’s national-team boss Sarina Wiegman was named The Best FIFA Women’s Coach for the second time in her career following her 2017 success. Meanwhile, Jürgen Klopp claimed The Best FIFA Men’s Coach Award for the second consecutive year, having steered Liverpool FC to the English Premier League title for the first time, 30 years after their last top-flight success. As per the Rules of Allocation (art. 12), Klopp was declared the winner after a close race with Hans-Dieter Flick (FC Bayern München), with the outcome decided on voting by the national-team coaches.
Germany and FC Bayern München’s Manuel Neuer was chosen as The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper, while France and Olympique Lyonnais’ Sarah Bouhaddi capped her amazing career with The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper Award.
Teams of the year
Thousands of football players from around the world cast their votes for this year’s FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World11 and FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World11 selections:
FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World11:
Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker (Liverpool FC)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool FC), Alphonso Davies* (FC Bayern München), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF) and Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool FC)
Midfielders: Thiago Alcântara (FC Bayern München/Liverpool FC), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City FC) and Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern München)
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus FC), Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München) and Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
* Alphonso Davies was included as a fourth defender in accordance with the FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World11 Rules of Allocation.
FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World11:
Goalkeeper: Christiane Endler (Paris Saint-Germain)
Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea FC Women), Lucy Bronze (Olympique Lyonnais/Manchester City WFC) and Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyonnais)
Midfielders: Barbara Bonansea (Juventus Women), Verónica Boquete (Utah Royals/AC Milan Women) and Delphine Cascarino (Olympique Lyonnais)
Forwards: Pernille Harder (VfL Wolfsburg/Chelsea FC Women), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns/Manchester United WFC), Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal WFC) and Megan Rapinoe* (OL Reign)
* Megan Rapinoe was included as a fourth forward in accordance with the FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World11 Rules of Allocation.
The other awards
• FIFA Puskás Award: Son Heung-min (Korea Republic) – Tottenham Hotspur FC v. Burnley FC [Premier League – England] (7 December 2019)
The irresistible solo run by the Tottenham forward was voted the best goal.
• FIFA Fan Award: Marivaldo Francisco da Silva (Brazil)
Lacking the money to pay for transport, this fan walked for 12 hours, crossing three cities, to watch his team play. The Brazilian’s story received the most votes.
• FIFA Fair Play Award: Mattia Agnese (Italy)
During a game, Agnese, a 17-year-old from Ospedaletti (in the Liguria region), saw an opponent fall to the ground, not get up and lose consciousness. He did not hesitate for a moment, rushing to the player’s aid, getting him into a safe position and ultimately saving his life before help arrived.
The results
The winners of The Best player, goalkeeper and coach awards were determined through a voting process in which four groups had an equal say: football fans, selected media representatives, and the captains and head coaches of national teams from around the globe.
A breakdown of the voting results, including each nominee’s points total, is available here.
Below is the complete list of how the captains and coaches of national teams from around the world voted
Women’s football: player | head coach | goalkeeper
Men’s football: player | head coach | goalkeeper
The voting procedure was supervised and monitored by the independent observer PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland. For more details about the voting process for each award, consult the respective Rules of Allocation.
For reactions from the winners and inside stories from this evening’s awards show, visit FIFA.com and watch the exclusive videos.
This media release is available in other languages on FIFA.com.
