Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season: Edouard Mendy
Thursday, August 26, 2021
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Edouard Mendy has been named Goalkeeper of the Season for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League.
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Chelsea's Edouard Mendy has been named Goalkeeper of the Season for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League.
The French-born Senegal international, 29, beat off competition from Manchester City's Ederson and Real Madrid No1 Thibaut Courtois to cap a remarkable rise from unemployment just seven years ago. The award was presented to Mendy during the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony in Istanbul.
The top ten
1 Edouard Mendy (Chelsea) – 286 points
2 Ederson (Man. City) – 154 points
3 Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) – 96 points
4 Keylor Navas (Paris) – 50 points
5 Manuel Neuer (Bayern) – 36 points
6 Jan Oblak (Atlético) – 35 points
7 Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan, now at Paris) – 20 points
8 Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona) – 13 points
9 Agustín Marchesín (Porto) – 4 points
= Alisson Becker (Liverpool) – 4 points
2020/21 Champions League stats
Appearances: 12
Clean sheets: 9
Goals conceded: 3
Save percentage: 91.2%
Edouard Mendy testimonials
"His personality is pretty laid-back with a tough edge when it comes to work. He is very low maintenance. He has a smile on his face so it's a real positive when you have a player that comes in and hits the ground running."
Frank Lampard, former Chelsea manager
"He is an all-round goalkeeper. He is very good with his feet. He has all the range of distribution, and the way he dominates crossing situations and high balls sets him apart. He has the qualities in overcoming difficult moments, too. When you have had different pressures in your life, like he has when he was unemployed, you perhaps cope much better with pressure from football."
Petr Čech, former Chelsea goalkeeper
"His dedication is unbelievable. Edou has a strong personality, but in a good way. He is very strict with himself and other players. He stayed only one year in Rennes but we felt like he had been here for ten years."
Olivier Sorin, Rennes goalkeeping coach
How Mendy was chosen
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
Jury members 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 other awards
UEFA Men's Player of the Year: Jorginho (Chelsea & Italy)
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 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
Bayern's Manuel Neuer won the 2019/20 Goalkeeper of the Season award. Neuer enjoyed a stellar season with Bayern, leading them to the treble of UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup. The 34-year-old goalkeeper played every minute of Bayern’s triumphant European campaign, turning in some particularly impressive performances in the Lisbon finals.