Doug McIntyre
Football journalist
Editor’s Note: Tuesday, the winners of the Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 have been introduced following a tally of votes forged by followers, nationwide crew coaches, captains and members of the media representing every of FIFA’s 211 member nations.
And for the second yr in a row, soccer’s international governing physique has chosen FOX Sports’ Doug McIntyre as United Statesmedia voter for the three males’s classes: finest participant, finest goalkeeper and finest coach.
Below are Doug’s picks – and his rationalization for making every of these picks – together with the precise winners.
McIntyre’s choose: Jude Bellingham
Although Bellingham got here in third within the voting, behind Vini Jr. and Rodri, I believe the proof exhibits he was higher than each of them in the course of the interval below overview, which runs from Aug. 21, 2023, to Aug. 10 of this yr.
In that point, Bellingham emerged as Real Madrid’s driving drive, main them to the Spanish title and the Champions League, one thing Vini Jr. had didn’t do the yr earlier than. The 20-year-old Englishman was named La Liga’s finest participant on the finish of the season, after which dragged his nationwide crew to the Euro 2024 remaining nearly single-handedly.
Bellingham contributed extra objectives than teammate Vini in all competitions in 2023–24; In quick, Vini wasn’t even the perfect participant of his personal membership. Vini additionally continued to battle throughout worldwide obligation with Brazil, each on the 2024 Copa América and in the course of the South American World Cup qualifiers.
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri was second for me. But Manchester City’s elimination within the Champions League quarter-finals clearly broken their probabilities. In the tip, Bellingham’s work was just too troublesome to miss. I’m stunned that lots of my fellow voters did not really feel the identical.
McIntyre’s choose: Emiliano Martínez
He may not play for a famend membership, with all due respect to Aston Villa. But Martínez has turn out to be much more impenetrable since supporting Argentina’s World Cup triumph two winters in the past, enjoying for each Villa and the nationwide crew. Albiceleste proven in the course of the related 11 and a half months.
Last season, the goalkeeper identified to his admirers as “Dibu” helped lead his English crew again to the Champions League for the primary time in many years. Then he left for the Copa América, the place his penalty-kick-saving heroics have been as soon as once more on show as Argentina joined Spain’s legendary 2008-12 crew in turning into solely the second nation to incorporate a World Cup victory between two continental titles. No surprise the 32-year-old gained this award in a landslide.
Manchester City’s Ederson got here second to Martínez within the voting, however I had the sensation that Unai Simón did extra to earn that distinction after successful the European Championships with Spain. I additionally had David Raya forward of Ederson, largely as a consequence of his constant power when it mattered for Arsenal final season.
Best coach: Carlo Ancelotti
McIntyre’s choose: Xabi Alonso
It’s not honest that the administration of Real Madrid nearly counts in opposition to Ancelotti. Having regained each the Spanish (from Barcelona) and European (from City) titles final season, the Italian is actually a noteworthy alternative.
However, I’m unsure how so many citizens might overlook the near-miracle Alonso carried out for Bayer Leverkusen final season. Not solely has the Spaniard established himself as maybe the brightest managerial prospect in international soccer (and an apparent option to succeed Ancelotti on the membership he as soon as captained) by main defenseless Leverkusen to their first German Bundesliga title, however he has performed with out dropping a single sport. It was a shocking lead to a league dominated by Bayern Munich for greater than a decade. The undeniable fact that he took Leverkusen to the Europa League remaining was the icing on the cake.
I had Ancelotti second. Pep Guardiola got here third and stays the game’s most necessary supervisor. But so far as I’m involved, Lionel Scaloni – my third alternative, for what it is value – deserves much more credit score than he will get for main Argentina to these three consecutive victories in main tournaments.
How did it go USMNT Maurizio Pochettino and Tim Ream vote?
The high three U.S. coach and captain picks in every class have been launched Tuesday by FIFA. The couple voted like this:
Pochettino
Best participant: Lionel Messi, Rodri, Vini Jr.
Best goalkeeper: Martinez, Simon, Ederson
Best coach: Scaloni, Luis de la Fuente, Ancelotti
Ream
Best participant: Rodri, Vini Jr., Bellingham
Best goalkeeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Mike Maignan, Martínez
Best coach: Xabi Alonso, Guardiola, Ancelotti
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. He was a workers author at ESPN and Yahoo Sports earlier than becoming a member of FOX Sports in 2021 United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups on the FIFA World Cup on 5 continents. Follow him @By Doug McIntyre.
(Want nice tales delivered proper to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, comply with leagues, groups and gamers to obtain a personalised e-newsletter every day.)
Get extra from the FIFA Men’s World Cup Follow your favorites to get info on video games, information and extra
