On 15 January 2024, the FIFA The Best awards gala will be held in London, England. This ceremony awards the best women’s football player, best goalkeeper, best coach and reveals the best team of the year.
For this edition of The Best, the dates between 1 August 2022 and 20 August 2023, the same day as the World Cup Final in Australia and New Zealand, have been taken into account.
The finalists for the award were Aitana Bonmatí (FC Barcelona), Jenni Hermoso (Pachuca/Tigres) and Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid). These players have been selected by an international jury composed of: coaches of women’s national teams, captains of women’s national teams, football journalists and fans who have voted on the official FIFA website.
Aitana Bonmatí:
Aitana Bonmatí is the favourite to win The Best after a season to remember. The FC Barcelona player has won everything and has also been named as the best in the Champions League and the World Cup with Spain. On an individual level, she has won the Ballon d’Or, the Golden Women and the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year award. All this, without any debate whatsoever.
Her numbers support her being the winner of this award: with Barça she played 47 games, where she scored 22 goals and won three titles. With the Spanish national team, she played eight games, scored three decisive goals and was key to winning the World Cup.
If the Azulgrana wins the award, it will be the third year in a row that it has gone to a Spanish Barça player, as Alexia Putellas won the award in 2021 and 2022. This award would be one more mark in the history that the player from Sant Pere de Ribas is writing in football. No one has managed to win everything she has played in the same season.
We don’t have to talk much about his influence on the game. Everyone who has seen Aitana Bonmatí play this year has been amazed by her superiority and her way of understanding football. Her ambition and desire to improve means that more of the same is expected this season, as it seems she still has a lot of potential to bring out of her boots.
Jenni Hermoso:
The years go by and Jenni Hermoso continues to rack up nominations for football’s best awards. Already in 2021 she got the third place in The Best. The Spanish player has reached the final of the award after a great season in Mexico with Pachuca and also winning the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with Spain.
At the age of 33, she is living a great football moment. Two seasons ago she left Barça and headed for Mexico, where many thought she had already retired. The Spanish striker played a total of 41 games for the Tuzas, where she reached an all-time record with 26 goals and 11 assists. She also reached the final of the Clausura Tournament.
In the World Cup with Spain, she was key from the midfield to organise the game and take charge in attack. Her three goals were very important for ‘La Roja’, but above all, her influence and versatility in the Spanish national team. Her great performance led to her winning the Silver Ball at the World Cup. Now, Jenni will take on a new challenge in her career after signing this week for Tigres.
Linda Caicedo:
Linda Caicedo is the biggest surprise in this final for The Best. The Real Madrid youngster has yet to win a title with either club or country, but she has certainly played an outstanding role in both. At 18, she is a player who is set to be an important part of the history of women’s football, as expectations are very high.
Despite her youth, the Colombian has already been named best player of the Copa América 2022. That same year, in December, she signed for Real Madrid after coming of age. She has adapted quickly and has been very important in the Madrid game.
It is clear that she is a special player on the ball and you have to take care of her. In just ten games for Madrid, she scored two goals and provided four assists.
In this same World Cup, she took Colombia to the quarter-finals, where she led her team to the quarter-finals, losing to England. The Real Madrid player has been nominated for the Puskas Award and came ninth in the Ballon d’Or. Her goal against Germany was voted best goal of the World Cup.
Best goalkeeper and best coach:
Spanish football and Barça will be very present at this The Best gala in different categories. Cata Coll, Barça’s goalkeeper, will fight for the best goalkeeper award, although she will have Mackenzie Arnold and Mary Earps as rivals. As for best coach, Jonatan Giráldez is in the running to win this award, where he is nominated alongside Emma Hayes and Sarina Wiegman.
The gala will also reveal the ideal eleven of the year, where the Spanish league has once again swept the board with players such as Lucy Bronze, Olga Carmona, Mapi León, Irene Paredes, Rolfö, Claudia Pina, Aitana Bonmatí, Keira Walsh and Salma Paralluelo. FC Barcelona is the team with the most nominees for this gala.
Translated by Marcos Rodríguez.
Images by: @FCBFemeni, @TuzosFemenil & @realmadridfem.
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