sports award
Haaland Europe’s Footballer of the Year – Hard words against Rubiales
As of: 8:07 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
Thoughtful at the ceremony: Erling Haaland (left) and Aitana Bonmatí
What: AFP
Erling Haaland has been named the best footballer in Europe. Uefa recognizes the performance of the former Dortmund player at Manchester. The award is also about the Spanish kiss scandal.
With strong words against the head of the Spanish association Luis Rubiales, Europe’s footballer of the year Aitana Bonmatí and England’s national coach Sarina Wiegman sent a signal against sexual assault at the Uefa ceremony. Erling Haaland’s award as the best footballer in Europe almost faded into the background in view of the discussion about the kiss scandal.
“We all know problems around the Spanish team. That really hurts me – as a coach, as a mother of two daughters, as a wife, as a person. This shows that there is still a very long way to go in women’s football and in society. It’s a long road,” Wiegman said after winning the award for best coach of a women’s team. In equally haunting and emotional terms, Bonmatí appealed to football officials to set an example for the children.
After the forced kiss for the player Jenni Hermoso at the World Cup award ceremony, Rubiales has been suspended from all football offices, but refuses to resign.
Haaland’s award became a side note through the messages. After all, the striker outdid Lionel Messi. Uefa awarded the Norwegian with the trophy for the best footballer on the continent for the first time on Thursday evening shortly after the draw for the Champions League groups in Monaco. Haaland’s Manchester City team-mate Kevin de Bruyne came in third.
Manchester’s Torgarant: Haaland
What: AFP
The title wins in the Champions League and the English championship and Haaland’s insatiable thirst for goals ultimately carried more weight with the jury than Messi’s World Cup triumph with the Albiceleste in Qatar eight months ago. In contrast to Fifa, Uefa selects its best player on a seasonal basis rather than on an annual basis.
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Haaland switched from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City last year and, with his 36 goals in the Premier League alone, played a major role in the Cityzens’ successful season. His coach Pep Guardiola also won the title of best coach ahead of Italy’s Simone Inzaghi (Inter Milan) and Luciano Spalletti (Naples).
Miroslav Klose has received the UEFA President’s Award for lifetime achievement. Otherwise, German football played no role in the honors for the past season. Ilkay Gündogan finished fourth in the men’s category for his contribution to Manchester City’s successes and was absent from the podium, as was Alexandra Popp, who finished fifth despite the DFB women’s early World Cup elimination.
