THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
This year’s The Best FIFA Football Awards™ ceremony took centre stage at Milan’s historic Teatro alla Scala on Monday’s evening and crowned two household names as the players of the season: Megan Rapinoe and Lionel Messi.
The Argentina and FC Barcelona star was recognised by FIFA as the Player of the Year for the sixth time in his career − an absolute record – while Rapinoe capped an impeccable season that saw her lead the USA to their second consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup™ title in France.
The Americans’ success in France also gave Jill Ellis the title of Women’s Coach of the Year, an accolade that, on the men’s side, was picked up by German Jürgen Klopp, who coached Liverpool FC to UEFA Champions League glory.
Brazilian Alisson Becker, also of Liverpool FC, was chosen as The Best FIFA Goalkeeper, a distinction that was also introduced this year for women’s football and saw Dutch Sari van Veenendaal voted as its maiden recipient.
Thousands of football players from around the world cast their votes for this season’s FIFA FIFPro World11, as well as, for the first time, for the FIFA FIFPro Women’s World11:
FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11:
- – Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
- – Defenders: Matthijs de Ligt, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Virgil van Dijk
- – Midfielders: Frenkie de Jong, Eden Hazard, Luka Modrić
- – Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi
FIFA FIFPro Women’s World11:
- – Goalkeeper: Sari van Veenendal
- – Defenders: Lucy Bronze, Nilla Fischer, Kelley O’Hara, Wendie Renard
- – Midfielders: Julie Ertz, Amandine Henry, Rose Lavelle
- – Forwards: Marta, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe
Former Dutch star Ruud Gullit and Italian presenter Ilaria D’Amico were the hosts of a beautiful ceremony at La Scala, which featured performances from The Accademia Teatro alla Scala Orchestra and the La Scala Theatre Ballet, besides the presentation of three other awards:
FIFA Puskás Award: Dániel Zsóri
The 18-year-old’s bicycle kick for Debrecen FC against Ferencváros TC in the Hungarian top flight on 16 February was voted as the best goal of the season.
FIFA Fan Award: Silvia Grecco
Football fans from around the world voted for Silvia Grecco, the mother who lovingly narrates the matches of Palmeiras to her blind son, Nickollas. The Brazilian’s story received 58.36% of votes.
FIFA Fair Play Award: Marcelo Bielsa and the Leeds United squad
The Argentinian head coach and his players at Leeds United were commended for the act of sportsmanship during a decisive EFL Championship match against Aston Villa on 28 April 2019. After seeing his team take the lead with a goal when a Villa player was down injured, Bielsa instructed his players to deliberately allow their opponents to equalise straight from the restart.
The winners of The Best player 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.
For reactions from the winners and inside stories from this evening’s awards show, visit FIFA.com and watch exclusive videos on FIFA’s channel on YouTube.
Visit The Best FIFA Football Awards page on Facebook too, and join the discussion about the winners of this year’s prizes by using the hashtag #TheBest.
