Bayern Munich trio Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer and Hansi Flick lead nominees for the Best FIFA Football Awards
Bayern Munich's treble-winning trio Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer and Hansi Flick have been nominated for different prizes at the Best FIFA Football Awards 2020 ceremony, which will be held on 17 December.
Lewandowski is undoubtedly the frontrunner for the evening's most prestigious gong, Best Men's Player, with his 55 goals in 2019/20 powering Bayern to the summit of German and European football. The 32-year-old Pole became the first player in history to win the continental treble as the top scorer in each competition: 34 in the Bundesliga, 15 in the UEFA Champions League and six in the DFB Cup. He also won the Torjägerkanone for the fifth time.
Watch: The best of Lewandowski at Bayern
The Bayern striker will be going up against Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) after being named in the final three for the award on 11 December.
Neuer, one of three final nominees for Best Men's Goalkeeper, gave the football world a timely reminder of his immense talent in 2020. After a spate of injury problems in recent years, the 34-year-old looks back to his best, and kept 22 clean sheets in 49 competitive outings last term. Bayern boasted the best defence in the Bundesliga (32 goals conceded) and only shipped three goals in five games in the Champions League knockout stage, with Neuer shutting out Lyon and PSG in the semi-final and final.
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The Bayern and Germany captain is up against Alisson Becker (Liverpool) and Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid).
A few eyebrows were raised when Flick was handed the reins at Bayern in November 2019, but it is hard to see who can possibly stop the 55-year-old being named the Best Men's Coach of 2020. In his first head coaching role since 2005(!), Germany's former assistant manager has hardly put a foot wrong, following in the footsteps of the great Jupp Heynckes by guiding Bayern to their second continental treble. In 50 games in charge of the record Bundesliga champions, Flick has overseen a staggering 45 wins, two draws and just three losses. Not to mention adding five pieces of silverware to the trophy cabinet!
The Bayern boss will be vying for the award with former Borussia Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp, who finally delivered a long-awaited English Premier League title for Liverpool in 2019/20, as well as Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds United).
Watch: How Flick guided Bayern to an eighth straight Bundesliga title
Lewandowski, Neuer and Flick all went home with trophies when the UEFA Awards were held in October. Lewandowski was named UEFA Men's Player of the Year, Neuer was the Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season, and Flick was Men's Coach of the Year.
In July, France Football made the decision not to award the Ballon d'Or in 2020, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the 2019/20 football season.
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