Robert Lewandowski and Jürgen Klopp, winners of The Best 2020 Awards
Captains, national coaches, fans and sports journalists from all over the world were once again responsible for choosing the best of the football season at The Best Awards Gala, which this time took place virtually in a Swiss television studio and was hosted by Reshmin Chowdhury and former player Ruud Gullit.
The awards were supposed to be presented in Milan in September, but it was decided to change the format and delay the gala instead of suspending it as happened with the Golden Ball.
On this occasion the winner of the best player in the world was the Polish striker of Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowski, who beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who had already received the award in previous years. The award came after a spectacular 2020 for Lewandowski, who managed to win the Champions League and the Bundesliga, where he was also the top scorer.
The striker could not hide his happiness when FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who appeared by surprise in Munich, presented him with the award. "This is a great day for me, but also for my colleagues, my coach and the whole staff. I owe this to them. It's an incredible feeling... It means a lot to me to be by Messi and Ronaldo's side. I always said that it was a dream to be able to live up to both of them and now it is a reality. It's the result of what we achieved as a team on the pitch," said the Bayern player euphorically. "It wasn't an easy year, but we won everything we could win. The highlight was the final against PSG, it was such a special night. I just want to stress that you should never give up and that you should always believe. All this is a reflection of what we were able to achieve as a team," Lewandowski concluded.
One of the keys to the Polish's success that his former team-mate Thiago Cionek is targeting is diet. And his wife Anna, a well-known nutritionist in Poland, has played a major role in this. Cionek says that Robert himself told her that the big change in his career came with a change in eating habits. Today, even several players of the Polish national team follow his wife's advice. "On the day of the match you eat a lot of protein. And there is always tuna for breakfast. The day before the game, after dinner, he finishes off with a plate of rice pudding to fill his body with carbohydrates and glucose for the game the next day. Then, in recovery, vegetables and avocado," Cionek revealed.
In the category of best manager, Liverpool's Jürgen Klopp took first place over Marcelo Bielsa and his compatriot Hansi Flick, with whom he actually drew, although he ended up with the prize because he had more votes from national coaches. Klopp managed this season that the English team won its first Premier League in 30 years, a factor that was decisive in his choice.
In women's football it was Lucy Bronze, currently playing for Manchester City, who won the award for best player, beating Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyon) and Pernille Harder (Wolfsburg). During her time with Olympique de Lyon she won the Champions League, Ligue 1 and the French Cup, and she had already won the UEFA's best player title, so the English defence was also expected to triumph in The Best.
The best women's coach title went to the Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman, who beat Emma Hayes (Chelsea) and Jean Luc- Vasseur, the great favourite (Olympique Lyon). The Dutchwoman already achieved this award in 2017, and in 2018 and 2019 she was on the verge of achieving it. Wiegman has highlighted the constant work as one of the keys to her success.
Manuel Neuer, goalkeeper for Bayern and the German national team, was chosen in his category. "It has been my best season so far and the prize is for the whole team," he said in reference to Bayern. The victory of the team in the German tournaments and in the Champions League has been fundamental in its success. Below him were Brazilian Alisson Becker (Liverpool) and Slovenian Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid). At the age of 34 he is considered one of the best goalkeepers in history.
In women's football, the goalkeeper of the Olympique de Lyion, Sarah Bouhaddi, was the winner. It's been a very good year for the French goalkeeper, who also won the prize for best goalkeeper in UEFA. Bouhaddi's record is enviable, as she is already going for her seventh Champions League with Olympique de Lyon, her fifth in a row, the eleventh Ligue 1 and the eighth French Cup.
The best goal was scored by Son, a Tottenham player, while Mattia Agnese (Ospedaletti Calcio), a 17-year-old Italian who saved the life of an opponent who collapsed in a match against his team, giving him mouth-to-mouth, took the fair play prize. The prize for best fan was won by the Brazilian Marivaldo Francisco da Silva, who walks 60 kilometres to see his team, Recife.