England’s march to the Euro 2022 title has led to Sarina Wiegman being named best women’s coach at the Best Fifa awards in Paris.
The Dutchwoman led the Lionesses to the country’s first major title since the men’s World Cup triumph in 1966 last summer. A key member of that team, Mary Earps, was also named best women’s goalkeeper at Monday night’s ceremony.
“From when I could walk, I loved football and over the years I’ve seen how the women’s game has grown and developed,” said Wiegman, who pipped Lyon’s Sonia Bompastor and Brazil’s national coach, Pia Sundhage, to the award. “It’s incredible to be here right now and celebrate women’s football. We have heroes in this room, little girls have their idols.”
Wiegman described the Euros as “incredible”, adding: “Stadiums full, so many families, all celebrating football. As the English say: ‘We brought it home.’”
Earps started every game for England at the Euros and beat Germany’s Ann-Katrin Berger and Chile’s Christiane Endler to the top women’s goalkeeper award. “Thank you to everyone who voted for me,” said the Manchester United player in what proved an emotional speech.
“Thank you so much to my loved ones, for peeling me off the kitchen floor. To all my teammates, the coaching staff at England and United … thank you Sarina for believing me in the way you have. Anyone who’s been in a dark place, keep going, know there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Be unapologetically yourself.”
Earps’s fellow Lionesses Leah Williamson, Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh and Beth Mead were named in the women’s team of the year – although Endler was in goal in a line-up picked by professional players only.
Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas was named best women’s player for the second year in succession, beating Mead and USA forward Alex Morgan to the trophy. Putellas led Barça to an unbeaten domestic treble in the 2021-22 season, before suffering a serious knee injury that saw her miss Euro 2022 with Spain.
Quick Guide
Fifa’s The Best Awards 2022: all the winners
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Best Women’s Player: Alexia Putellas
Best Men’s Player: Lionel Messi
Best Women’s Coach: Sarina Wiegman
Best Men’s Coach: Lionel Scaloni
Best Women’s Goalkeeper: Mary Earps
Best Men’s Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martínez
Puskás Award: Marcin Oleksy
Fair Play Award: Luka Lochoshvili
Fifa Fan Award: Argentina supporters
Fifpro Men’s World 11: Courtois; Hakimi, Van Dijk, Cancelo; Casemiro, Modric, De Bruyne; Messi, Mbappé; Benzema, Haaland.
Fifpro Women’s World 11: Endler; Bronze, Renard, Williamson, Leon; Walsh, Putellas, Oberdorf; Kerr, Morgan, Mead.
In the men’s categories, Lionel Messi was named best player to complete a clean sweep of trophies for Argentina’s World Cup 2022 heroes. “I was able to achieve my dream after so much fighting, so much searching,” Messi said. “It’s the most beautiful thing that has happened to me in my career.”
Lionel Scaloni was named the best men’s coach, on the day he extended his Argentina contract until 2026. Penalty shootout hero Emiliano Martínez was named the best men’s goalkeeper, while supporters of the Albiceleste in Qatar and at home won a collective fan award.
Messi was also named in the men’s team of the year, a somewhat lopsided affair featuring four forwards and just one centre-back in Virgil van Dijk. Marcin Oleksy, of Warta Poznan’s amputee team, won the Puskas Award for best goal after a stunning overhead effort beat strikes from Dimitri Payet and Richarlison.
The Georgia centre-back Luka Lochoshvili won the fair play award after coming to the aid of an opponent who was knocked unconscious during an Austrian league game last February. Lochoshvili, who now plays for Cremonese, intervened to stop Austria Vienna winger Georg Teigl from swallowing his tongue while playing for Wolfsberger.
