Fifa announced, this Thursday afternoon, the three finalists for The Best award, both in the male and in the feminine. Among the women, the highlight goes to the Swedish Pia Sundhage, coach of Brazilian Team since 2019.
Competing with her for the 2022 best football coach trophy are France’s Sonia Bompastor of Lyon and Dutch Sarina Wiegman of the England national team.
In turn, in the men’s category, competing for the award are Argentine Lionel Scaloni, world champion with Argentina, Spaniard Pep Guardiola, from Manchester Cityand or Italian Carlo Ancelotti, do Real Madrid.
🚨 Your finalists for #TheBest FIFA Women’s Coach Award are here!
🇳🇱 @wiegman_s
🇸🇪 @PiaSundhage
🇫🇷 Sonia Bompastor— FIFA Women’s World Cup (@FIFAWWC) February 9, 2023
The FIFA The Best ceremony will take place on the 27th of February in Paris, France. According to the organization, the period used as an evaluation criterion for choosing the nominees is from August 7, 2021 to July 31, 2022.
The finalists came out of a list of six chosen, in the female, and five, in the male. From the list, three were selected by an international jury made up of national team coaches (male and female), national team captains (male and female), football journalists (male and female) and fans who voted on FIFA’s official website. Each expert voted separately in their respective category (male or female).
Technique from Brazil celebrates being a finalist for The Best
In testimony to the CBF TVPia Sundhage celebrated the achievement of being a finalist for The Best award and dedicated the nomination to the technical commission of Brazil and the athletes.
“I’m very proud, I hope everyone knows how important this is for the coaching staff, I also need to thank the players. This recognition means a lot”, emphasized Pia, who took the opportunity to talk about how the nomination boosts the path to the World Cup female, which will be held between July and August 2023.
“Right now, it’s a perfect moment because we’re on our way to the Women’s World Cup and that drives us forward. Great encouragement for me, of course, but also for the coaching staff, athletes and the Brazilian national team”, he added.
Pia and company’s accomplishments for the nomination
Pia Sundhage
Champion of the 2022 Copa América, Pia Sundhage won 12 of the 19 games that the Brazilian team played in the year. In addition, there were three other draws and only four defeats. Brazil reached the mark of ten consecutive victories, between July and October. The conquest of the South American title happened with 100% success, with 20 goals scored and none conceded.
Winner of the award in 2012, when she coached the US national team, the 62-year-old Swede is among the finalists for the fifth time in her career.
Sarah Wiegman
Women’s Euro 2022 champion Sarina Wiegman ended the 2022 season undefeated with the England national team. Under the command of the Dutch, the team played 20 matches, with 16 wins and 4 draws. In addition, he achieved a sequence of 15 consecutive victories – six in the victorious campaign of the European championship.
The 53-year-old coach has won The Best twice in her career, in addition to taking third place last season. She competes for the award for the sixth time.
Sonia Bompastor
The only club coach among the finalists, Sonia Bompastor is also the youngest – she is only 42 years old. Lyon coach since April 2021, the Frenchwoman won the Champions League, the French Championship and the French Super Cup in 2022. The club played 37 matches, with 33 wins, one draw and three defeats.
Lionel Scaloni
Nominated for The Best for the first time, Scaloni took charge of the Argentina national team in 2021. Since then, he has been champion of the Copa América, which had not happened for 28 years, of the Finalissima and of the World Cup, won the last time in 1986 .
The 44-year-old coach, along with star Lionel Messi, led Argentina to an unbeaten run of 36 games, interrupted in the opening match of the World Cup – in fact, it is the team’s only defeat in the last 43 matches.
From there, the Albiceleste passed through Mexico, Poland, Australia, Holland, Croatia and France to lift the main trophy in world football for the third time in its history.
Pep Guardiola
English Premier League champion with Manchester City last season, after an electrifying dispute with Liverpool, Pep Guardiola appears again on the list of finalists for The Best. The 52-year-old Spaniard was third in 2021.
The English club finished the national with 99 goals scored and reached the semifinals of the Champions League, when it was eliminated by Real Madrid. In addition, he was runner-up in the FA Super Cup and semi-finalist in the FA Cup.
Charles Ancelotti
The most experienced of the finalists, Carlo Ancelotti, 63, had a glorious season with Real Madrid. Back in charge of the Spanish club since 2021, the Italian won the European Champions League – the 14th in the team’s history -, the Spanish Championship, the Spanish Super Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
Despite being played now, the FIFA Club World Cup corresponds to the 2021/22 season. The merengue team, which seeks the eighth title, faces Al Hilal, this Saturday, for the final of the tournament.
The three finalists for #TheBest FIFA Men’s Coach Award have been revealed!
🇪🇸 @PepTeam
🇦🇷 @lioscaloni
🇮🇹 @MrAncelotti— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 9, 2023
Source: Gazetaesportiva
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
