The recipient of the inaugural The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award has retained his position at the pinnacle of the men’s game, adding yet another individual award to his glittering personal trophy cabinet. The second consecutive The Best award comes after a superlative season in which he won the Spanish league, the FIFA Club World Cup and another UEFA Champions League crown – remarkably finishing as the competition’s leading marksman for the fifth-straight season. Yet, despite another stellar year, Portugal’s semi-final loss in the FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017 will surely continue to rankle with this fiercest of competitors.
Fifa Puskas award for best goal – Olivier Giroud
Best men’s coach – Zinedine Zidane
Best goalkeeper – Gianluigi Buffon
Fifa fan award – Celtic
Best women’s coach – Sarina Wiegman
Fair play award – Francis Kone
Best women’s player – Lieke Martens
Best men’s player – Cristiano Ronaldo
Read about the winners in full (with photos) below…
The Best FIFA Women’s Player – Lieke Martens
Lieke Martens’ year like no other has prised the crown of women’s football from Carli Lloyd. The new queen of the women’s game announced her move to Barcelona and excelled as her national team triumphed at UEFA Women’s EURO 2017. Voted Player of the Tournament, which was held on home soil, the vastly talented 24-year-old left winger scored three goals and provided two assists, though there was more to her performance than mere statistics. Martens proved the most elusive of dribblers and set the tempo for her side, showing her innate ability to read the game.
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach – Zinedine Zidane
A year on from making the three-man shortlist for The Best FIFA Men’s Coach 2016 award, Zinedine Zidane has gone one better and claimed the prize this year. After steering Real Madrid to the UEFA Champions League title in his inaugural season, after just a few months in the job, the French legend maintained his side’s spot at the pinnacle of European football with a 4-1 triumph against Juventus in the 2016/2017 final. This came after Los Blancos also reclaimed the Liga crown for the first time in five years. Zizou likewise oversaw victory in the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup, extending his perfect record in finals to five wins from five since he took charge.
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach – Sarina Wiegman
Sarina Wiegman follows in the footsteps of some legendary names in the women’s game by becoming the latest The Best FIFA Women’s Coach. The Netherlands native led her country to the UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 title on home soil. The hosts’ brand of attacking football brought an end to Germany’s run of six successive European trophies. Wiegman’s side came into their own in the knockout stages, scoring two and three goals in the quarter- and semi-finals against Sweden and England respectively before hitting four past Denmark in the finale.
The Best FIFA Goalkeeper – Gianluigi Buffon
It is testament to his professionalism, dedication and ability that Gianluigi Buffon has been crowned The Best FIFA Goalkeeper as he approaches his 40th birthday. Last season, ‘Gigi’ guided Juve to a record sixth consecutive Serie A title, his eighth with I Bianconeri, which saw him equal the all-time record as the player with most Italian league victories. He also went 600 minutes without conceding in the UEFA Champions League last season, keeping a remarkable 25 clean sheets in 50 games for club and country during the 2016/17 season.
Puskás Award – Olivier Giroud
Olivier Giroud’s superb ‘scorpion kick’ was voted by fans around the globe as the best goal of 2016-17, succeeding Mohd Faiz Subri as this year’s FIFA Puskás Award winner. His brilliantly improvised finish, scored against Crystal Palace in the English Premier League on 1 January 2017, completed a swift counter attack by Arsenal. Alexis Sanchez curled in a cross from outside the penalty area on the left wing for the Frenchman, whose audacious, acrobatic effort crashed in off the crossbar before bulging the inside of the Palace net.
FIFA Fan Award – Celtic FC
Football fans from around the world have chosen Celtic supporters as winners of the second FIFA Fan Award, after the remarkable display by their fans at their final league match of the season. The final match of their domestic league campaign coincided with the 50th anniversary of the side winning the European Cup in 1967. Fans of the Scottish side organised a stunning 360-degree card display around Celtic Park to honour the “Lisbon Lions”. The Hoops went on to win the match, in the process completing an undefeated league season – part one of their ‘invincible treble’.
Fair Play Award – Francis Kone
During a Czech First League game, Slovacko’s Togolese player Francis Kone saved the life of Bohemians goalkeeper Martin Berkovec. Kone gave the opposing player first aid treatment after Berkovec was knocked unconscious in a collision with a team-mate. “I can’t stand there, watching someone suffocate, without doing something. I just can’t,” Kone told FIFA.com. “I didn’t even think about it.” The forward says this is the fourth time he has administered life-saving first aid on the football pitch – twice in Africa and once in Thailand.
FIFA FIFPro World 11
The wait is over. The FIFA FIFPro World11 2017, as voted for by thousands of professional players, was revealed at The Best FIFA Football Awards™ ceremony in London on 23 October 2017. The 11 stars that earned a place in the FIFA FIFPro World11 2017 are: Gianluigi Buffon, Dani Alves, Leonardo Bonucci, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Andres Iniesta, Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar.
