London is coming out to host the eighth edition of The Best FIFA Awards this Monday, January 15th. FIFA's highest honor gains more excitement with the nomination of Leo Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé as last year's best player. World Cup winners Aitana Bonmatí and Jennifer Hermoso are the two Spanish footballers nominated for the coveted Best Player of the Year category, with Bonmatí the heavy favorite to win the award. The third finalist is Colombian Linda Caicedo, a Real Madrid player. Jonatan Giráldez, who is still the coach of the FC Barcelona women's team, is nominated as the best women's coach and Pep Guardiola is the favorite to win the corresponding category in men's football.
The ceremony will take place at the Eventim Apollo Auditorium in London and will start at 8:30pm – an hour less in the UK time zone. A total of nine individual awards will be presented on the evening, including Best Male and Female Player or Best Goalkeeper and Best Goalkeeper, recognizing talent in the various 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 will be a duel between three big stars: Leo Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé. Haaland and Mbappé want to dethrone the Argentine, the current winner. After his treble with Manchester City – they won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League – Haaland is favorite to win The Best award for the best male player.
best player
Aitana Bonmatí, a key player for FC Barcelona, is the undisputed favorite to win the trophy as the best player of the year for FIFA, replacing Alexia Putellas, as she already did at the Ballon d'Or. Jennifer Hermoso, Bonmatí's teammate in the Spanish team that won the World Cup for the first time, and Real Madrid player Linda Caicedo will fight for the title with San Pere de Ribes.
Best men's soccer coach
In the Best Coach category, Pep Guardiola is leading the betting to win the award after winning the treble with Manchester City by winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. It would be the second FIFA award for Guardiola, who already won “The Best” award as the best coach in 2019. They will fight for the title with Catalan Simon Inzaghi (Inter Milan) and Luciano Spalleti (Italy coach). Inzaghi led Inter Milan to the Champions League final for the first time in 13 years and Spatelli won the Scudetto with Napoli before moving to manage the Italian side. Although Xavi Hernández was not among the three finalists who won the trophy, he was also among the nominees in this category.
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Best women's soccer coach
The gala also recognizes talent in women's football, in this case on the bench. Spaniard 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 receive the award. The coach, who is among the three finalists for the first time, will have to compete for the award against Emma Hayes, Chelsea women's coach for more than a decade and new coach of the US soccer team, and Sabrina Wiegman, England coach. Wiegman is the current winner of The Best after leading her team to win the European Cup. In 2023, England were World Cup finalists with Irishman Wiegman at the helm. Hayes, for his part, won his sixth league title with Chelsea. Giráldez, the favorite to win the award, won the league with FC Barcelona and led the team to their second Champions League win.
Best goalkeeper and best goalkeeper
In addition, outstanding goalkeepers such as Real Madrid player Thibaut Courtois, who was 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.
A total of 11 awards will be presented at the gala, including the Puskas Prize for the best goal, won a year ago by Poland's Marcin Olesky, the FIFA FIFPRO World 11 for men and women, the FIFA Fair Play Award and the recognition of a FIFA -Fans. Spanish footballers like Rodrigo Hernández can also receive recognition for their achievements. “Rodri” is among 23 players nominated for the FIFPRO Ideal XI, where the ceremony recognizes the talent of coaches and players from around the world.
Where can you watch the gala?
The FIFA The Best awards ceremony can be watched live on television on Eurosport and Mega channels in Spain from 8:30 p.m.
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