Jean-Luc Vasseur wins UEFA Women's Coach of the Year award

Lyon’s Jean-Luc Vasseur has been named UEFA Women's Coach of the Year for 2019/20.

Vasseur beat off competition from Wolfsburg's Stephan Lerch and Barcelona's Lluís Cortés to win the inaugural award. The decision was announced during the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland.

The top ten

1 Jean-Luc Vasseur (Lyon) – 122 points
2 Stephan Lerch (Wolfsburg) – 78 points
3 Lluís Cortés (Barcelona) – 36 points
4 Emma Hayes (Chelsea) – 28 points
5 Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands) – 22 points
6 Olivier Echouafni (Paris Saint-Germain) – 18 points
7 Jens Scheuer (Bayern) – 15 points
8 Joe Montemurro (Arsenal) – 5 points
9 Scott Booth (Glasgow City) – 4 points
10 Dani González (Atlético) – 3 points

Why did Vasseur win the award?

Vasseur, 51, was appointed to his first job in women's football in June 2019 with the task of keeping the dominant club in the game ahead of their rivals. He is yet to taste defeat as Lyon coach after they completed yet another French double and made it five UEFA Women's Champions League titles in a row – recording only the second 100% perfect campaign in the competition's history despite the loss of crucial players Ada Hegerberg, Griedge Mbock Bathy and Amandine Henry to injury by the time of August's final against Wolfsburg.

How Vasseur was chosen

The jury comprised the coaches of the eight clubs that participated in the quarter-finals of the 2019/20 UEFA Women's Champions League and 20 journalists specialising in women's football and selected by the ESM group.

Jean-Luc Vasseur led Lyon to victory in his first season as coachPOOL/AFP via Getty Images

Jury members 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.

What is the UEFA Women's Coach of the Year award?

For this accolade, coaches 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.

The other award winners

UEFA Men's Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
UEFA Women's Player of the Year: Pernille Harder
Men's Coach of the Year: Hansi Flick
Men's Goalkeeper of the Season: Manuel Neuer
Men's Defender of the Season: Joshua Kimmich
Men's Midfielder of the Season: Kevin De Bruyne
Men's Forward of the Season: Robert Lewandowski
Women's Goalkeeper of the Season: Sarah Bouhaddi
Women's Defender of the Season: Wendie Renard
Women's Midfielder of the Season: Dzsenifer Marozsán
Women's Forward of the Season: Pernille Harder
UEFA President’s Award: Didier Drogba