Thomas Tuchel wins Men's Coach of the Year award
Thursday, August 26, 2021
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Chelsea's German manager has won the 2020/21 UEFA Men's Coach of the Year award.
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Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel has been named UEFA Men's Coach of the Year for 2020/21.
Tuchel beat off competition from Roberto Mancini and Josep Guardiola to become the second German winner after Hansi Flick claimed the inaugural award for 2019/20. The prize winner was announced during the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Istanbul.
The top ten
1 Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea) – 378 points
2 Roberto Mancini (Italy) – 292 points
3 Josep Guardiola (Man. City) – 198 points
4 Unai Emery (Villarreal) – 64 points
5 Diego Simeone (Atlético de Madrid) – 29 points
6 Antonio Conte (Inter, now free agent) – 19 points
7 Gareth Southgate (England) – 18 points
8 Christophe Galtier (LOSC Lille, now at Nice) – 16 points
9 Ole Gunnar Solskjær (Manchester United) – 14 points
10 Kasper Hjulmand (Denmark) – 11 points
Why did Tuchel win the award?
Tuchel orchestrated a sensational turnaround at Chelsea after replacing Frank Lampard on 26 January, leading the west London side to their second UEFA Champions League title. He also became the first coach to reach successive finals with different clubs, having been a runner-up with Paris Saint-Germain in 2019/20.
What is the UEFA Men's Coach of the Year award?
For this award, coaches in Europe, irrespective of nationality, have been judged in regard to their performances over the whole season in all competitions – both domestically and internationally – at either club, or national team level.
How he was chosen
A jury of coaches and journalists chose their top three coaches, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. Coaches were not allowed to vote for themselves.
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
The other awards
UEFA Men's Player of the Year: Jorginho (Chelsea & Italy)
UEFA Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain)
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
Hansi Flick won the 2019/20 Coach of the Year award. Bayern were fourth in the German top flight when Flick took interim charge in November 2019. A 20-match winning run meant they ultimately completed a UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble.