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Last night FIFA announced its annual awards for the 2020-21 season with Bayern Munich’s Polish striker Robert Lewandowski winning on popular votes ahead of Lionel Messi and Mohammad Salah.
All the awards that were announced for the last season…
Best men’s player- Robert Lewandowski
Best men’s goalkeeper-Eduord Mendy
Best men’s coach- Thomas Tuchel
Best women’s player-Alexia Putellas
Best women’s goalkeeper- Christiane Endler
Best women’s coach- Emma Hayes
Best FIFA Fan award- Denmark and Finland Fans
FIFA Fair Play Award- Denmark National team and medical team
Puskas Award- Erik Lamela
Women’s Special Award-Christine Sinclair
Christiano Ronaldo- Award for the top men’s international goal
scorer of all time.
Background
FIFA special awards have been awarded since 1991 partnering with the Ballon d’Or ‘between’ 2010-2015. Christiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski have won the best player most number of times (x2).
Robert Lewandowski scored 41 goals in Bundesliga last season, won his club Bayern Munich the domestic title and FIFA club world cup along with scoring 3 goals in Euro 2020. Thomas Tuchel came mid-season to manage Chelsea and won the UEFA Champion’s league.
FIFA’s best player is given to the player with the best performance in the last season. The winner is picked through voting by an international jury of coaches of all national teams (one per team), captains of all national teams (one per team), one specialist journalist from each territory, and fans registered on FIFA.com.
The special award was given to Portugal star Christiano Ronaldo for scoring the highest number of goals in international men’s football (115) surpassing Iran’s Ali Daei (109) in Euro 2020 held last year.
RELEVANCE
The awards are one of the most coveted trophies for individual players in all of football. FIFA fan award honors the love of fans for the sport. The Danish and Finnish fans chanting the name of Christian Eriksen after he had a cardiac arrest on the pitch is a sight that no one would ever forget.
Eduard Mendy was an unknown player till last season and came in as a replacement for Kappa and made a name for himself as the best gaolkeeper. Puskas Award is offered for the best goal of the season honoring the skills of the players (There is no separate men’s or women’s category for this award).
Not only the players but the fans also get to vote in these awards which add to its sanctity and legacy. The voting is open and public which reduces any chances of rigging and that is why FIFA Best player is considered one of the fairest awards