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Jorginho wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award

The Chelsea and Italy midfielder has won the 2020/21 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.

2020/21 Player of the Year - Jorginho

Chelsea and Italy midfielder Jorginho has been named 2021/21 UEFA Men's Player of the Year.

The 29-year-old, who last season became only the tenth player to win a European Cup and a EURO in the same year, beat off competition from Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Chelsea team-mate N'Golo Kanté. The award was announced during the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Istanbul.

Does Jorginho make your Fantasy team?

The top ten

2020/21 Player of the Year - Jorginho

1 Jorginho (Chelsea & Italy) – 175 points
2 Kevin De Bruyne (Man. City & Belgium) – 167 points
3 N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea & France) – 160 points
4 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, now at Paris & Argentina) – 148 points
5 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern & Poland) – 140 points
6 Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan, now at Paris & Italy) – 49 points
7 Kylian Mbappé (Paris & France) – 31 points
8 Raheem Sterling (Man. City & England) – 18 points
9 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus & Portugal) – 16 points
10 Erling Haaland (Dortmund & Norway) – 15 points

Why did he win the vote?

The metronomic midfielder proved to be the perfect foil for Kanté as Chelsea called the tune against European heavyweights Atlético, Real Madrid and Manchester City on their way to UEFA Champions League glory.

The Player of the Match display against Porto in Chelsea's quarter-final opener underlined his ability to dictate play and vindicated Thomas Tuchel's decision to make him part of his first-choice midfield pairing. Roberto Mancini took note, making the 29-year-old the linchpin of Italy's EURO-winning outfit.

2020/21 in numbers

Achievements
UEFA Champions League winner, UEFA EURO 2020 winner, FA Cup runner-up

UEFA Champions League
Appearances: 12
Goals: 1
Assists: 1
Player of the Match awards (KOs): 1

UEFA EURO 2020
Appearances: 7
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Star of the Match awards: 0

Penalty hero Jorginho on Italy win

Domestic league
Appearances: 28
Goals: 7

How he was selected

A jury of coaches and journalists chose their top three players, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.

The jury comprised the following:

  • 24 coaches of the teams which participated in this summer’s UEFA EURO 2020
  • 80 coaches of the clubs that participated in the group stages of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League (32) and UEFA Europa League (48)
  • 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from each of UEFA's member associations
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Jorginho testimonials

"He is a refined player, probably not understandable by everyone. You have to set your eyes on him and only watch him in the game. He is so good and intelligent that he makes everything seem easy, rarely anything spectacular remains in your eyes. This is its greatness."
Maurizio Sarri, former Chelsea manager

Jorginho receives his award prior to Matchday 1
Jorginho receives his award prior to Matchday 1UEFA via Getty Images

"The way he controls the game, retrieves the ball and presses opponents is incredible."
José Mourinho, former Chelsea manager

"Jorginho is the symbol of this Italy team, thanks to him Italy managed not to concede many goals. Watching him live, I realised how important he is for this team."
Fabio Capello, former England manager

What is the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award?

For this award, players in Europe, irrespective of nationality, were judged according to their performances over the whole season in all competitions – both domestically and internationally – at either club or national team level.

Previous winners

2019/20: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern & Poland)
2018/19: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool & Netherlands)
2017/18: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid & Croatia)
2016/17: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)
2015/16: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)
2014/15: Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)
2013/14: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal)
2012/13: Franck Ribéry (Bayern & France)
2011/12: Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona & Spain)
2010/11: Lionel Messi (Barcelona & Argentina)

*Known as the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award from 2010/11 to 2015/16 inclusive

Other award winners

UEFA Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain)
UEFA Men's Coach of the Year: Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea)
UEFA Women's Coach of the Year: Lluís Cortés (Barcelona)

UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season: Rúben Dias (Man. City)
UEFA Champions League Men's Midfielder of the Season: N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea)
UEFA Champions League Men's Forward of the Season: Erling Haaland (Dortmund)

UEFA Women's Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season: Sandra Paños (Barcelona)
UEFA Women's Champions League Defender of the Season: Irene Paredes (Barcelona)
UEFA Women's Champions League Midfielder of the Season: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
UEFA Women's Champions League Forward of the Season: Jenni Hermoso (Barcelona)

UEFA President's Award: Danish medical team, Simon Kjær

Last year's winner

Robert Lewandowski won the 2019/20 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award. The Bayern striker scored in every game en route to the UEFA Champions League final in Lisbon, picking up 15 goals and six assists as well as the trophy he had coveted for so long. He also hit 34 goals in 31 Bundesliga matches and six in five German Cup games.

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