UEFA have announced the nominees for their annual player awards for the season 2020/21. These awards are Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, Best Midfielder and Best Forward of the past UEFA Champions League season. These awards will take place on the 26th of August in Istanbul, Turkey, along with the group stage draw.
🏅 UEFA has today announced the nominees for the 2020/21 club competition awards!
Who will take the honours on 26 August?#UCL #UWCL #UEL
— UEFA (@UEFA) August 13, 2021
UEFA have explained their process regarding nominations. A jury consisting of 32 coaches from teams who have participated in the 2020/21 Champions League group stage and journalists from all 55 national federations under the UEFA, selected by the European Sports Media(ESM) Group nominated the players. The managers/coaches were not allowed to select their own players. The jury had to shortlist three players under all the categories, giving five points, three points and one point to the player they select. The cumulative points were counted and according to that, the players were selected.
Under Best Goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid, Edouard Mendy of Chelsea and Ederson of Manchester City were the final nominations. Courtois had 17 clean sheets during the past La Liga season and 4 in the Champions League. Mendy is the Champions League winning goalie for Chelsea having 9 clean sheets in the past season’s tournament. Ederson was also successful last season, winning the Best Goalkeeper award in the Premier League, shutting out teams 19 times.
Under Best Defender, Cesar Azpilicueta and Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea, along with Ruben Dias of Manchester City were nominated. Azpilicueta and Rudiger have been reliable for Chelsea during their campaign, conceding only 4 goals. Dias was City’s and the Premier League’s best player of the season.
Under Best Midfielder, N’Golo Kante and Jorginho of Chelsea are nominated along with Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City. Kante continued to be the outstanding player that he is for Chelsea. Jorginho was imperious not only during the Champions League but also for Italy during the Euros. De Bruyne has won PFA Player of the Season and has continued to be City’s talismanic midfielder.
Under Best Forward, Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund, Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint Germain and Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich were nominated. Haaland scored 10 goals in the Champions League last season and was the highest goal scorer. Mbappe was the 2nd highest with 8 but also scored 42 in all competitions. Lewandowski remains the best striker in the world, breaking Gerd Muller’s record of the highest goals scored in a Bundesliga season, scoring 41 in the league.
Who will be awarded? We will find out on the 26th of August when we see who are the winners.