Australia’s golden girl Sam Kerr was again front and centre at The 2022 FIFA Best Awards in Paris.
The who’s who of football descended on the French capital on Tuesday (AEDT) to celebrate the most outstanding players in the current game.
Kerr was named in the FIFA FIFPro Women’s World XI – the only global player award decided exclusively by footballers. The superstar Matildas captain was the sole Australian and Chelsea representative in the XI on the back of her title and Golden Boot-winning exploits in the Women’s Super League.
Alexia Putellas was also in the World XI and it was a sign of things to come as the Barcelona megastar secured back-to-back The Best FIFA Women’s Player honours.
Putellas reigned supreme again with 50 points, ahead of American icon Alex Morgan (37), Arsenal’s Beth Mead (37) and fourth-placed Kerr (34).
The award is voted for by national team coaches and captains as well as expert journalists and supporters worldwide via FIFA’s official website – voters make their first, second and third choices for the winner.
Points are then given to nominees depending on where they are placed (five points for first, three for second and one for third). Selections for the four voting groups – coaches, captains, journalists and fans – each count for 25% of the total vote, irrespective of the number of voters from each group.
Kerr voted for Puellas (five points), Lena Oberdorf (three points) and Mead (one point) but who voted for her?
The A-Leagues legend received over 360 votes from 1,110, including a top-placed vote from her Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson, who did not have winner Putellas in his top three.
The world’s number one nation had Kerr at the top of their voting, with United States boss Vlatko Andonovski placing the Aussie ahead of his own player Morgan.
Coaches from Armenia, Bermuda, Botswana, Cameroon, Guam, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Laos, Lesotho, Malta, Russia, Singapore, Tanzania and Thailand also gave five votes apiece to Kerr.
England coach Sarina Wiegman – the winner of the FIFA Best Women’s Coach award – overlooked Kerr in her top three, so did Spain counterpart Jorge Vilda, Germany’s Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, France coach Corinne Diacre and Netherlands boss Andries Jonker. Coaches from Sweden, Brazil and Canada gave one vote each to the former Perth Glory and Sydney FC sensation.
In the captains section, Kerr was popular among her fellow skippers.
Jayda Brown (Belize), Hsiang-Huei Wang (Chinese Taipei), Tayla Jeanne Heremoana Hetherington (Cook Islands), Jotivini Tabua (Fiji), Boakye Portia (Ghana), Ariya Cruz (Guam), Nerilla Mondesir (Haiti), Dorcas Shikobe Nixon (Kenya), Aphatsala Chanthavongxay (Laos), Steffi Sarge Maur Sergeant Singh (Malaysia), Sladjana Bulatovic (Montenegro), Khin Malar Tun (Myanamar), Zenatha Goeieman Coleman (Namibia), Maren Mjelde (Norway), Rayleen Miriam Bauelua (Papua New Guinea), Monique Fischer (Samoa), Pascalina Moustache (Seychelles), Ellaisa Marquis (St Lucia), Madina Fozilova (Tajikistan), Nipawan Panyosuk (Thailand), Elmah Aiviji (Vanuatu), Deyna Cristina Castellanos Naujenis (Venezuela) and Barba Banda (Zambia).
Arnold’s snub!
After leading Argentina to their first FIFA Men’s World Cup in 36 years, Lionel Messi took home The Best FIFA Men’s Player for 2022.
The award recognised the most exceptional performer in the men’s game between August 8, 2021 to December 18, 2022.
Messi beat Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Karin Benzema to the award – the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s second FIFA The Best title and first since 2019.
But when it comes to Australia’s head coach, Messi was not the best!
Socceroos boss Graham Arnold had Mbappe and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland ahead of the player widely regarded as one of, if not, the greatest player of all time after Argentina overcame Australia in the World Cup last 16. Perhaps, he is still holding a grudge after Messi scored against the Socceroos!
There were no surprises from Australia captain Mat Ryan, who went for Messi, Mbappe and Benzema in that order.
Argentina dominated the awards, with Lionel Scaloni and Emiliano Martinez scooping coach and goalkeeper honours respectively.
Both Arnold and Ryan voted for Argentina head coach Scaloni, while they also followed suit with Martinez.
When it comes to The Best FIFA Women’s Coach, Kerr and Gustavsson had their say.
Both had Wiegman at the top of their list after she guided England to UEFA Women’s European Championship glory.
Overall, there was some odd votes across the board.
Messi voted for close friend Neymar, ahead of PSG teammate Mbappe and Benzema, while Gabon captain Lloyd Palun gave maximum votes to City’s Julian Alvarez. Guyana skipper Sam Cox surprisingly awarded five votes to Borussia Dortmund’s England midfielder Jude Bellingham!
