UEFA award winners 2022: Benzema, Putellas win Best Player of the Year, Ancelotti best men's coach

Kyle Bonn

UEFA award winners 2022: Benzema, Putellas win Best Player of the Year, Ancelotti best men's coach image

Following the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage draw, European governing body UEFA announced the winners of the Player of the Year and Coach of the Year awards for the previous season.

Last year, Chelsea's Jorginho won UEFA's men's Player of the Year award for 2020/21, while Barcelona's Alexia Putellas won the award on the women's side.

Karim Benzema was the frontrunner for the men's award, and he took home the title, bringing him one step closer to his expected triumph in the prestigious Ballon d'Or on Oct. 17.  The Real Madrid forward was incredible last season, scoring 42 goals between La Liga and the Champions League, leading his club to a famous double.

In past years, UEFA has also presented individual position-specific awards, with the Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, Best Midfielder, and Best Forward recognized. However, UEFA confirmed to The Sporting News that those awards have been scrapped. It is not immediately clear whether those awards have been eliminated permanently or just for this season.

The Sporting News brings you all the information ahead of the awards ceremony in the aftermath of the Champions League group stage draw on Thursday, August 25.

MORE: What teams are in the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League?


UEFA Player of the Year award 2021/22

There are three nominees for the men's and women's Player of the Year honors.

UEFA Men's Player of the Year: Karim Benzema

The Real Madrid striker was the runaway winner of this award, leading all Champions League scorers with 15 goals en route to another European title, giving him 42 goals total between the league and continental competitions.

With the World Cup coming and the French national team calling, Benzema is in top form. It's expected that the 34-year-old will follow this award up with the Ballon d'Or, to be handed out in mid-October.

Shortlisted Nominees:

Player Club Nationality
Karim Benzema Real Madrid France
Thibaut Courtois Real Madrid Belgium
Kevin de Bruyne Man City Belgium

Recent Men's UEFA Player of the Year winners

Year Player Club Nationality
2020/21 Jorginho Chelsea Italy
2019/20 Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich Poland
2018/19 Virgil van Dijk Liverpool Netherlands
2017/18 Luka Modric Real Madrid Croatia
2016/17 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Portugal

UEFA Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas

Before agonizingly going down with an ACL injury just before the Euro 2022 tournament, Alexia Putellas has risen to the top of the world football game. The defending Ballon d'Or winner, Putellas has pushed Barcelona to new heights.

She led Barcelona to the Champions League final this past summer, and scored 18 goals with 15 assists in La Liga last campaign while helping the Blaugrana to a runaway title.

Shortlisted Nominees:

Player Club Nationality
Beth Mead Arsenal England
Lena Oberdorf Wolfsburg Germany
Alexia Putellas Barcelona Spain

Recent Women's Player of the Year winners

Year Player Club Nationality
2020/21 Alexia Putellas Barcelona Spain
2019/20 Pernille Harder Wolfsburg Denmark
2018/19 Lucy Bronze Lyon England
2017/18 Pernille Harder Wolfsburg Denmark
2016/17 Lieke Martens Barcelona Netherlands

UEFA Coach of the Year award 2021/22

Men's Coach of the Year: Carlo Ancelotti

Leading Real Madrid to the club's record 14th Champions League crown en route to a domestic & continental double, Carlo Ancelotti remains one of the best coaches in all of world football.

Ancelotti is the only coach in history to have won four Champions League titles, twice with AC Milan and now twice with Real Madrid. He also previously won the competition twice as a player with AC Milan.

Nicknamed "Don Carlo," Ancelotti engineered a pair of incredible second-leg comebacks route to last year's Champions League title, first downing PSG 3-2 on aggregate after falling behind 2-0 by halftime of the second leg, before sending Man City home 6-5 on aggregate after a 4-3 first-leg loss.

Shortlisted Nominees:

Coach Club Nationality
Carlo Ancelotti Real Madrid Italy
Pep Guardiola Man City Spain
Jurgen Klopp Liverpool Germany

Recent winners:

Year Player Club Nationality
2020/21 Thomas Tuchel PSG & Chelsea Germany
2019/20 Hansi Flick Bayern Munich Germany
2015/16 Claudio Ranieri Leicester City Italy
2014/15 Luis Enrique Barcelona Spain
2013/14 Unai Emery Sevilla Spain

The Men's Coach of the Year award was previously known as the European Football Coach of the Season award, which ceased to exist in 2016. The award was revived in 2020 for the UEFA Best Of awards.

Women's Coach of the Year: Sarina Wiegman

The coach of the England national team, Sarina Wiegman wins this year's Coach of the Year award. The 52-year-old only joined the national side in November, and led England to the Euro 2022 crown. She has yet to lose a single match with England, with 18 wins and two draws.

A former midfielder for the UNC Tar Heels and owning 99 caps for the Dutch national team, Wiegman took charge of the Netherlands for four years before joining England.

Shortlisted Nominees:

Coach Club/Team Nationality
Sonia Bompastor Lyon France
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg Germany Germany
Sarina Wiegman England Netherlands

Recent winners:

Year Player Club Nationality
2020/21 Lluis Cortes Barcelona Spain
2019/20 Jean-Luc Vasseur Lyon France

UEFA Goal of the Year award 2021/22

UEFA has a technical committee that picks the 10 best goals of the season across all UEFA league and cup competitions.

Once the 10-goal shortlist is created, UEFA's Goal of the Year award is then split into two awards. One is selected by the technical committee, while another is voted on by the fans.

2021/22 Best Goal Nominees (watch the goals here)

Player Club Date Opponent
Karim Benzema Real Madrid Apr. 6, 2022 Chelsea
Vinicius, Jr. Real Madrid Oct. 19, 2021 Shakhtar Donetsk
Kylian Mbappe PSG Feb. 15, 2022 Real Madrid
Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich Nov. 23, 2021 Dynamo Kyiv
Marco Asensio Real Madrid Dec. 7, 2021 Inter
Alex Telles Man United Sept. 29, 2021 Villarreal
Sebastien Thill Sheriff Tiraspol Sept. 28, 2021 Real Madrid
Rodrygo Real Madrid Apr. 12, 2022 Chelsea
Lionel Messi PSG Sept. 28, 2021 Man City
Thiago Liverpool Nov. 24, 2021 Porto

Technical Observers Goal of the Year: Karim Benzema 1st goal vs. Chelsea , Apr. 6, 2022

Karim Benzema's hat-trick against Chelsea in the Champions League semifinal helped set the stage for Real Madrid's charge to the title.

The 3-1 first-leg victory, inspired by Benzema's hat-trick, saw Madrid return home to seal the deal and secure a place in the final.

Benzema's first was the best of the bunch, a header from just beyond the penalty spot that left goalkeeper Edouard Mendy no chance. The delivery from Vinicius Jr was just slightly behind the French striker, but Benzema managed to contort his body perfectly to deliver a long-distance headed strike.

Fans Goal of the Year: Thiago, Liverpool vs. Porto, Nov. 24, 2021

Thiago's low driven strike in the 2-0 win over Porto in the Champions League group stage won the fan vote for best goal of the 2021/22 season.

Recent winners (watch past Goal of the Year winners here):

Year Player Club Date Opponent
2020/21 Mehdi Taremi Porto Apr. 13, 2021 Chelsea
2018/19 Lionel Messi Barcelona May 1, 2019 Liverpool
2017/18 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Apr. 3, 2018 Juventus
2016/17 Mario Mandzukic Juventus Jun. 3, 2017 Real Madrid
2015/16 Lionel Messi Barcelona May 6, 2015 Bayern Munich

Note: The UEFA Fans Goal of the Year award was not awarded in 2019/20 due to COVID-19.

UEFA President's Award

The UEFA President's Award is handed out to recognise achievement, personality, and other qualities throughout European football.

As per the official UEFA award description, the President's Award is given to those with "outstanding achievements that transcend the sport."

"The UEFA President's Award recognises professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities, on and off-the-field."

Last season, Denmark national team captain Simon Kjaer received the award, along with the pitch-side medical team during Denmark's opening match in Euro 2020 at Copenhagen Stadium. They were recognised for their actions in saving the life of Christian Eriksen, who collapsed during the match and was revived on the pitch.

This year, the award will be presented to Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi, who led AC Milan to the 1987/88 Serie A title as well as back-to-back European championships in 1989 and 1990.

"While Sacchi never played top-flight football, he was always an exemplary student of the game," UEFA president Alexander Ceferin said in the official UEFA release read.

"Sacchi reinvented the ethos of teamwork, which transcended to pure harmony on the pitch. Perfect synchronisation and a winning mindset, irrespective of whether they were playing at home or away, felt almost supernatural back in the 1980s. That is precisely what divides excellence from greatness."

Previous winners of the UEFA President's Award

Year Winner(s)
2022 Arrigo Sacchi
2021 Simon Kjaer & Danish medical staff
2020 Didier Drogba
2019 Eric Cantona
2018 David Beckham
2017 Francesco Totti
2014 Josef Masopust
2013 Johan Cruyff
2012 Franz Beckenbauer
2011 Gianni Rivera
2010 Raymond Kopa
2009 Eusebio
2008 Sir Bobby Charlton
2007 Alfredo Di Stefano
2006 William Straub
2005 Frank Rijkaard
2004 Ernie Walker
2003 Paolo Maldini
2002 Sir Bobby Robson
2001 Juan Santisteban
2000 Guy Roux
1998 Jacques Delors

*The award was not presented in 1999, 2015, or 2016

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.