Editor’s word: On Tuesday, the winners of The Greatest FIFA Soccer Awards 2024 had been introduced following a tally of votes solid by followers, nationwide staff coaches, captains and media members representing every of FIFA’s 211 member nations.
And for the second straight 12 months, international soccer’s governing physique chosen FOX Sports activities’ personal Doug McIntyre because the United States‘ media voter for the three males’s classes: greatest participant, greatest goalkeeper, and greatest coach.
Beneath are Doug’s picks — and his rationalization for making every of these selections — together with the precise winners.
McIntyre’s choose: Jude Bellingham
Though Bellingham completed third within the voting, behind Vini Jr. and Rodri, I feel that the proof proves he was higher than each through the interval into consideration, which ran from Aug. 21, 2023 till Aug. 10 of this 12 months.
In that timeframe, Bellingham emerged as Actual Madrid’s engine, main them to Spanish and Champions League titles, one thing Vini Jr. didn’t do the 12 months earlier than. The 20-year-old Englishman was named La Liga’s prime participant at season’s finish, after which dragged his nationwide staff to the ultimate of Euro 2024 virtually by himself.
Bellingham had extra aim contributions than membership teammate Vini throughout all competitions in 2023-24; in different phrases, Vini wasn’t even the perfect participant on his personal membership. Vini additionally continued to wrestle whereas on worldwide responsibility with Brazil, each on the 2024 Copa América and through South American World Cup qualifying.
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri was a detailed second for me. However Manchester Metropolis’s elimination within the Champions League quarterfinals clearly damage his probabilities. In the long run, Bellingham’s physique of labor was just too arduous to miss. I am shocked extra of my fellow voters did not really feel the identical.
McIntyre’s choose: Emiliano Martínez
He could not play for a brand-name membership, with all due respect to Aston Villa. However Martínez has solely gotten extra impenetrable since backstopping Argentina’s World Cup triumph two winters in the past, as his play for each Villa and the Albiceleste confirmed through the pertinent 11 ½th months.
Final season, the keeper recognized to his admirers as “Dibu” helped lead his English staff again to the Champions League for the primary time in many years. He then decamped for the Copa América, the place his penalty kick-stopping heroics had been as soon as once more on show as Argentina joined Spain’s legendary 2008-12 squad by changing into simply the second nation to sandwich a World Cup win between two continental titles. No marvel the 32-year-old gained this award in a landslide.
Man Metropolis’s Ederson completed a distant second to Martínez within the voting, however I felt that Unai Simón did extra to earn that distinction after profitable the Euros with Spain. I had David Raya forward of Ederson, too, primarily due to how persistently stout he was when it mattered for Arsenal final season.
Greatest coach: Carlo Ancelotti
McIntyre’s choose: Xabi Alonso
It is not truthful that managing Actual Madrid virtually counts towards Ancelotti. After wresting again each the Spanish (from Barcelona) and European (from Metropolis) titles final season, the Italian is a worthy choose for positive.
Nonetheless, I am unsure how so many citizens can overlook the near-miracle that Alonso carried out for Bayer Leverkusen final season. Not solely did the Spaniard set up himself as maybe the brightest managerial prospect within the international sport (and an apparent option to finally succeed Ancelotti on the membership he as soon as captained) by main unfenced Leverkusen to its first-ever German Bundesliga crown, he did it with out shedding a single sport. That was an astounding accomplishment in a league that had been dominated by Bayern Munich for greater than a decade. That he additionally took Leverkusen all the best way to the Europa League last was icing on the cake.
I had Ancelotti second. Pep Guardiola completed third and stays the game’s preeminent coach. However for my cash, Lionel Scaloni — my third choose, for what it is value — deserves a ton extra credit score than he will get for guiding Argentina to these three straight main event wins.
How did the USMNT’s Mauricio Pochettino and Tim Ream vote?
The U.S. coach and captain’s prime three selections in every class had been additionally made public by FIFA on Tuesday. The pair voted as follows:
Pochettino
Greatest participant: Lionel Messi, Rodri, Vini Jr.
Greatest keeper: Martínez, Simón, Ederson
Greatest coach: Scaloni, Luis de la Fuente, Ancelotti
Ream
Greatest participant: Rodri, Vini Jr., Bellingham
Greatest keeper: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Mike Maignan, Martínez
Greatest coach: Xabi Alonso, Guardiola, Ancelotti
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports activities. A workers author with ESPN and Yahoo Sports activities earlier than becoming a member of FOX Sports activities in 2021, he has coated United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups at FIFA World Cups on 5 continents. Observe him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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