PARIS: Chelsea duo N’Golo Kante and Jorginho have been shortlisted for the UEFA men’s player of the year prize for the 2020/21 season alongside Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne, European football’s governing body announced on Thursday.
The winner will be revealed at a ceremony in Istanbul next Thursday, August 26, when the draw for this season’s Champions League will also take place.
Midfield duo Jorginho and Kante both starred as Chelsea beat De Bruyne’s City 1-0 in the Champions League final in Porto in May. Jorginho then helped Italy win Euro 2020.
The shortlist was selected by a jury composed of the coaches of the 24 national teams who took part in Euro 2020, 80 coaches of the clubs which played in the group stages of last season’s Champions League and Europa League, as well as one journalist from each of UEFA’s 55 member associations.
Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel was shortlisted for the coach prize along with Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Roberto Mancini, who led Italy to European Championship glory.
The three players on the shortlist for the women’s prize are Jennifer Hermoso, Lieke Martens and Alexia Putellas, all of whom won the Champions League with Barcelona.
Lluis Cortes of the Catalan club was listed for the women’s coach award along with Peter Gerhardsson, who won the Olympic silver medal with Sweden, and Emma Hayes of Chelsea, English Women’s Super League champions and Champions League runners-up.
The women’s awards were voted for by the coaches of clubs who reached the last 16 of the women’s Champions League and coaches of the top 12 women’s national teams, along with a panel of journalists.
Champions League winners Kante, Jorginho shortlisted for UEFA prize
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Champions League winners Kante, Jorginho shortlisted for UEFA prize
- The winner will be revealed at a ceremony in Istanbul next Thursday when the draw for this season's Champions League will also take place
- Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel was shortlisted for the coach prize along with Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Italy’s Roberto Mancini
Rajkovic excels as Al-Ittihad cruise to victory against Al-Shabab
- Al-Ittihad secure fifth Saudi Pro League win of the season with a 2-0 victory
JEDDAH: It has not been the start to the season that Al-Ittihad fans had anticipated. Nevertheless, on their return to Saudi Pro League action after a 36-day hiatus, the defending champions delivered a performance that offered renewed confidence ahead of a demanding run of seven matches in the space of 30 days.
The opening exchanges proved far from straightforward for The Tigers.
Attempting to play out from the back, they were punished within the first two minutes as Abdullah Matuq pounced on a mistake to find himself one-on-one with Predrag Rajkovic, only for the Serbian goalkeeper to produce the first of several crucial saves. Just 60 seconds later, Rajkovic was called into action again, this time denying a header from a corner.
Momentum soon shifted. Roger Fernandes began to cause problems down the left wing, his quick footwork getting the better of Al-Shabab’s defence before he delivered a low cross into the box. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, aided by Karim Benzema’s intelligent screening of Saad Balobaid, met it to open the scoring in the 16th minute.
Al-Ittihad came close to doubling their advantage in the 28th minute. Mohannad Al-Shangeeti struck the far post with a powerful effort, before his follow-up attempt narrowly missed the target, drifting wide of Marcelo Grohe’s goal.
Grohe was later called upon to keep Al-Shabab in the contest, producing a fine save in the 58th minute to deny Benzema after the Frenchman was released by a perfectly weighted pass from Steven Bergwijn.
Al-Ittihad continued to dominate possession, though Imanol Alguacil’s side managed to limit Fernandes’ influence by committing extra defensive cover on the left flank.
That adjustment failed to account for Al-Shangeeti’s runs from deep, as he surged down the right to find Bergwijn, who finished first time to seal the contest for the hosts in the 85th minute.
Late substitute Abdulaziz Al-Bishi thought he had added a third in the closing stages, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
The win lifts Al-Ittihad into sixth place on 17 points, while Al-Shabab remain just two points above the relegation zone, extending their winless run to eight matches since their Matchday 2 victory over Al-Hazem.
