She was unable to play in the Women’s European Championship because she seriously injured her knee. This course Barça will have to learn to play without her and without a doubt that will be the great challenge. But Alexia Putellas’ numbers last year that helped Barça reach the Champions League final and win the Queen’s Cup, the League and the Spanish Super Cup were reason enough for the Blaugrana captain and best player in the world to raise for the second consecutive year the UEFA best player award. The Barça star thus becomes the first player to win the UEFA award twice in a row
The other candidates to win the award were 27-year-old English striker Beth Mead (Arsenal), European Championship champion, and 20-year-old German midfielder Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg), runner-up at said finals.
Alexia, dressed in elegant white palazzo pants and a gold top, went up to collect the award slowly and with her knee still limp. “I am very happy to have won this award for the second year. And even more so at this time when I cannot do what I like. It’s a motivation to be here. I’m looking forward to playing again, practicing my profession, which is what I like the most and that’s where I’m at”, he pointed out.
The Barcelona captain, who last year also won the Ballon d’Or and The Best award, attended the UEFA awards gala accompanied by her family and also by a wide representation of Barcelona’s institutions. The vice presidents of FC Barcelona, ??Rafa Yuste and Elena Fort, attended Istanbul. Also Xavier Puig, manager responsible for women’s football; Markel Zubizarreta, women’s sports director and the manager responsible for youth football Joan Soler, as well as Jordi Cruyff, a member of the sports area.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank the club that opened the doors of the Camp Nou. We fulfilled a dream and now the culés who come know that they can also fill stadiums,” claimed Alexia, who also remembered her teammates. I want to thank my teammates and the coaching staff because they help me to improve day by day. My role is to do things to the best of my ability and win whenever I can. I can’t wait to do it again,” she warned.
Moments later and sharing the stage with the Barcelona player, Frenchman Karim Benzema came up. The Real Madrid striker and current champion of the Champions League was chosen as UEFA’s best player of the year after beating the Belgians Thibaut Courtois, goalkeeper for the white team, and Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City midfielder, in the final vote.
It has been Benzema’s best season. His 34 goals in 46 games with Real Madrid, between LaLiga Santander (27 goals), the Spanish Super Cup (2) and the Champions League (15), of which his team came out champion of all of them with him as the undisputed protagonist . Benzema, 34, succeeds Jorginho, Chelsea’s Italian international midfielder, who two years ago was proclaimed European champion at club and national team level.
“The best day of the Champions League was the second leg against PSG, we were able to come back thanks to the support of our fans”, assured the Frenchman. “I want to thank my club, my coach, my president, my teammates… Without all of them I couldn’t be here,” he began.
A few words in which he wanted to highlight the work of his coach, the Italian Carlo Ancelotti, who was also awarded at the gala held in Istanbul, in his case with the award for best coach by UEFA. “Ancelotti is the best coach in the world, he gives me a lot of confidence, he is a great professional. I am happy that he is my coach, ”said the Frenchman.
