Striker Erling Haaland and coach Pep Guardiola finished first in the voting for UEFA’s best individual award of the year, a worthy honor when the duo helped Man.City win the first Champions League title in history. thereby completing the “treble” achievement.

Erling Haaland and Aitana Bonmati were honored as UEFA Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year.

Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 games to help Man.City win the “triple” of the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. In which the 23-year-old Norwegian striker is the top scorer in the two most important tournaments – 12 goals in the Champions League and especially the record of scoring 36 goals in the Premier League, also setting a new scoring record in a season. of the most exciting tournament on the planet.

Haaland won the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award, beating teammate Kevin De Bruyne and especially world champion Lionel Messi – who will be Haaland’s main rival in the race for the Ballon d’Or award. Awarded on October 30. Haaland shared when accepting the award: “I am living a dream! This was my dream when I was young, so to win this with my teammates is something special.”

Not surprisingly, Pep Guardiola won the UEFA Best Coach of the Year award when he overcame the “loser generals” in the Champions League final, Simone Inzaghi (inter Milan coach) and Luciano Spalletti, who led Napoli to the championship. Serie A and currently leads the Italian national team. This is the first time the 52-year-old military leader has been honored at the award that was born in 2020, although he is the only coach to be named in the nomination list at all four awards.

Coach Pep Guardiola was not present to receive the award as he was recovering from back surgery.

In the women’s category, the star of Spain’s 2023 World Cup winner Aitana Bonmati won the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year award. Bonmati, 25, starred as Barcelona won the Women’s Champions League last season, and was later named the 2023 Women’s World Cup Player of the Year in Australia and New Zealand. Bonmati beat teammate Olga Carmona, who scored the winning goal in the Women’s World Cup final against England, and striker Sam Kerr (of Australia and Chelsea).

Meanwhile, coach Jorge Vilda was surprisingly only second despite the achievement of bringing the Spanish women’s team to the top of the world. This honor belongs to coach Sarina Wiegman of the England women’s team, and this is also the second year in a row she has been honored, after the achievement of the 2022 European Championship.