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Since 2015, the Best FIFA and France Football Ballon d’Or have been independently honoring the standout footballers and coaches of a particular year. We already had the Ballon d’Or ceremony in November, which generated its fair share of controversies. Now, attention is turning to the Best FIFA Football Awards in anticipation of a 'fairer' outcome.
With results set to be published at 7 p.m. CET (11:30 pm IST), we will be giving our last-minute predictions for the ceremony.
Here are our predictions for the winners at The Best FIFA Football Awards on Monday night:
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper award: Ann-Katrin Berger
Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea FC Women), Christiane Endler (PSG / Olympique Lyon), and Stephanie Lynn Marie Labbe (FC Rosengard / PSG) are the top-three women’s goalkeepers this year.
Under Emma Hayes, Berger enjoyed an excellent FA Women's Super League (WSL) campaign, winning the Golden Glove as Chelsea cruised to the domestic title.
Berger also helped Chelsea to the Women’s Champions League final. The Blues were ultimately beaten by an unstoppable Barcelona side at the grand event.
Berger is our pick for the Best Women’s Goalkeeper award, following her bravado between the sticks.
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Lluis Cortes
Lluis Cortes (FC Barcelona), Emma Hayes (Chelsea FC Women) and Sarina Wiegman (Dutch national team and England national team) fill up this year’s three-person shortlist.
Hayes and Wiegman did great with their respective sides, but Cortes’ exploits with the FC Barcelona Women’s team make him an outright favorite.
Under Cortes, Barcelona produced an exceptional brand of football last season and cruised to their first-ever treble. They dominated almost every team they encountered and unlocked even the trickiest of defenses with unbelievable ease.
Surprisingly, Cortes stepped down from his post only a couple of days after winning the treble, stating he felt exhausted. The 35-year-old is currently the head coach of the Ukraine women's national team and is preparing to take them to unprecedented heights.
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Thomas Tuchel
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, Italy’s Roberto Mancini, and Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel are the final nominees for the best men's coach award this year.
Guardiola, the Spanish mastermind, brought the Premier League back to Manchester City last season and looks on course to do the double this term. Italy national team coach Mancini guided his country to the European Championship in spectacular style in the summer of 2021.
Finally, we have Chelsea’s German tactician Thomas Tuchel who outsmarted the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Pep Guardiola to win the Champions League last season.
All three were brilliant, of course, but Tuchel’s Champions League heroics might prove to be decisive at the FIFA The Best ceremony tonight. Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola could end up clinching second place in the race to be the best.
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper award: Gianluigi Donnarumma
Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Chelsea’s Senegalese shot-stopper Edouard Mendy and Bayern Munich's German custodian Manuel Neuer are the finalists for the Best FIFA Goalkeeper award.
All three were exceptional in their own right, but Gianluigi Donnarumma’s inhumane effort at Euro in Italian colors was something out of the ordinary. Had it not been for his heroics in the penalties, Italy wouldn’t have been able to bag the European Championship in the summer of 2021.
Donnarumma is our pick for the Best FIFA Goalkeeper award in Zurich tonight.
Puskas award: Patrik Schick (Czech Republic vs Scotland | Euro 2020)
Mehdi Taremi, Erik Lamela and Patrik Schick are the three finalists for the Puskas award at The Best FIFA Football Awards tonight.
FC Porto’s Taremi has been nominated for his strike against Chelsea in the Champions League in April 2021. Former Tottenham Hotspur star Lamela got the nod for his blinder against Arsenal in the Premier League back in March 2021. Schick, meanwhile, booked a place following his out-of-the-world strike against Scotland at Euro 2020 in June 2021.
We believe Schick’s strike against the Scots was the most outlandish of the lot and could end up winning the Puskas at the Best FIFA Football Awards.
The Best FIFA Women’s player: Alexia Putellas
Last year’s The Best Women’s player Lucy Bronze has not been able to get into the three-woman shortlist this year. Barcelona duo Alexia Putellas and Jennifer Hermoso, alongside Chelsea ace Sam Kerr, have made the cut.
Although all three women were exceptional for their clubs and countries, current Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas seems to be the favorite this time around. The midfielder scored 26 goals in all competitions last season, emerging as the highest-scoring midfielder in Europe.
Her contributions helped Barcelona to their first-ever continental treble and she is currently on her way to yet another fruitful campaign. Winning her first Best Women’s player award seems more likely than ever at this point.
The Best FIFA Men’s player: Robert Lewandowski
The Best Men’s Player’s shortlist was cut to three earlier in January. As things stand, one of Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, or Mohamed Salah will take home the prestigious award this year. Cristiano Ronaldo has not managed to make the shortlist this year.
While Salah has produced some stellar performances for Liverpool over the last year, we believe he will finish third in this race. The current Ballon d’Or holder, Lionel Messi, could finish second, primarily down to his poor run of form for PSG in Ligue 1.
Bayern’s Lewandowski, who scored 69 goals in 2021, is set to retain his title and win The Best men’s player award for the second time running.
