Jorginho and Roberto Mancini could cap a golden year for Italy by taking top honors from UEFA after the two were shortlisted for the top prizes on Thursday, although Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne and Pep Guardiola could spoil the feast of the Azzurri.
Azzurri midfielder Jorginho won the Champions League with Chelsea and followed that by helping his country to Euro 2020 glory, under coach Mancini.
Jorginho, 29, is joined on the list of three finalists for UEFA Men’s Player of the Year by Chelsea teammate N’Golo Kante, who made a name for himself in the Champions League final, and by City playmaker De Bruyne.
Kante played for France at Euro 2020 and De Bruyne played for Belgium, but neither team made the expected progress, the Blues being eliminated in the round of 16 and the Red Devils losing to Italy in the quarter-finals.
The three players received the most votes from a panel made up of 24 Euro 2020 head coaches, 80 Champions League and Europa League group stage coaches and journalists from each of the 55 member associations. of UEFA.
The list of male coaches of the year consists of the two Champions League final coaches, Thomas Tuchel of Chelsea and Guardiola of City, as well as Italy boss Mancini.
That means there is no room for Gareth Southgate, who guided England to their first men’s grand final since the 1966 World Cup. He finished seventh in votes, UEFA announced, behind the Villarreal’s Europa League winning boss Unai Emery, Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone and former Inter coach Antonio Conte.
Like Guardiola, Simeone and Conte both led their club teams to national league title success.
The winner of each prize will be announced in the UEFA Champions League group stage draw on August 26 in Istanbul.
Barcelona have wiped out the shortlisted players for the Female Player of the Year award, following their treble in the League and Spanish Cup and the Champions League.
The Spanish duo of Jennifer Hermoso and Alexia Putellas were joined on the list by her Dutch teammate Lieke Martens.
The UEFA women’s awards come from the votes of each of the last 16 Champions League coaches and the top 12 coaches according to the UEFA national team rankings, as well as a pool of 20 journalists.
Former Barcelona boss Lluis Cortes is joined on this list by Chelsea’s Emma Hayes and Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson.
