Sarina Wiegman was named best coach of the year at the annual gala of the world football association FIFA on Monday. That made the organization announced on Monday. It is the fourth time that Wiegman, currently coach of the English national team, has won the prize in the women’s division – no one has done it before her. According to FIFA, this award once again marks Wiegman’s “genius”. “The product of another great year.”
With England she became a finalist at the World Cup in Australia last year. The England women’s team has never made it this far in the tournament. It was also the first time that a coach had reached the World Cup final with two different countries. Wiegman previously played in the final with the Netherlands.
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Wiegman previously won the award in 2017, 2020 and 2022. The Dutch coach has now reached the podium of a FIFA award seven times. Neither a player nor a coach had achieved this before. “You must be thinking, there she is again. Sorry about that,” said Wiegman during the ceremony in London. FC Barcelona coach Jonatan Giraldez came second in the awards, while Emma Hayes, national coach of the United States, finished third. FC Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati, who became world champion with Spain, won the award for best player of the year.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola was named coach of the year in the men’s division. Lionel Messi was again the best footballer of 2023. The now 36-year-old Argentinian, who switched to Inter Miami last year, was chosen over Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé.
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Correction (January 15, 2024): an earlier version of this article stated that Sarina Wiegman had won a World Cup with the Netherlands. That is not correct, the Netherlands reached the final with Wiegman in 2019 but lost to the United States. That has been adjusted above.