FIFA nominates Southgate for Best Coach award

England manager Gareth Southgate is among the nominees for FIFA’s The Best Men’s Coach award alongside Pep Guardiola, Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane.

Southgate guided England to their first World Cup semifinal in 28 years in Russia this year with a young squad before eventually finishing fourth behind Belgium, whose coach Roberto Martinez also makes the 10-strong shortlist.

Deschamps, Guardiola and Zidane will be considered front-runners for the award after respectively claiming title triumphs for France at the World Cup, Manchester City in the Premier League and Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Deschamps became only the third person to lift win the World Cup as both a player and a coach in the men’s game. Guardiola was behind Manchester City’s record-breaking Premier League campaign, while Zidane claimed three consecutive Champions League wins before sensationally resigning just days later.

Jurgen Klopp, whose Liverpool side team were beaten by Real Madrid in the Kiev final, is also among the nominees. Juventus’ Massimiliano Allegri, Russia’s Stanislav Cherchesov, Croatia’s Zlatko Dalic, Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone and Barcelona’s Ernesto Valverde are the other names on the men’s shortlist.

FIFA also announced the 10-strong shortlist for the The Best Women’s Coach award. Lyon coach Reynald Pedros is among the top contenders after claiming Champions League glory over Wolfsburg, whose coach Stephamn Lerch is also on the list.

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes is another nominee after leading the Blues to the Women’s Super League title and the semifinals for the Champions League.

The other nominees are Mark Parsons (Portlands Thorns), Alen Stajcic (Australia), Asako Takakura (Japan), Vadao (Brazil), Jorge Vilda (Spain), Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (Switzerland/Germany) and Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands).

Both shortlists will be reduced to three finalists in early September, ahead of the award ceremony later that month.

Other prizes to presented in London on Sept. 24 include the FIFA The Best Women’s and Men’s Players awards and the Puskas Award for the best goal of the year. The shortlists will be announced later on Tuesday.

Both shortlists will be reduced to three finalists in early September, ahead of the award ceremony later that month.

Other prizes to presented in London on Sept. 24 include the FIFA The Best Women’s and Men’s Players awards and the Puskas Award for the best goal of the year. The shortlists will be announced later on Tuesday.

About Southgate

After wins against Tunisia and Panama saw England qualify behind Belgium in their 2018 FIFA World Cup group, Southgate’s England side beat Colombia 4–3 on penalties in the round of 16 after a 1–1 draw on 3 July 2018 to claim his nation’s first ever World Cup penalty shoot-out victory and a place in the quarter-final.

On 7 July 2018, Southgate’s England side beat Sweden in a 2–0 win in the 2018 FIFA World Cup quarter finals, with Southgate becoming the first England manager to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup since Sir Bobby Robson’s side at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.This success bought Southgate significant admiration from England fans. For the semi-final with Croatia, fans dressed up in waistcoats in tribute to Southgate’s iconic waistcoat, which he wore during England’s matches: retailer Marks & Spencer reported a 35% increase in sales of waistcoats, and the hashtag ‘WaistcoatWednesday’ trended on Twitter.

A week after the end of the tournament, Southgate tube station in Enfield, London, was renamed to “Gareth Southgate” for two days in recognition of Southgate’s achievement. Southgate was also lauded for personal qualities shown in the World Cup, including consoling an opposition player whose missed penalty had seen England win.

On 11 July 2018, Southgate’s England side suffered a 2–1 defeat to Croatia after extra time in the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Kieran Trippier opened the scoring for England with a free kick, before a goal from Ivan Perišić sent the tie into extra time.

Mario Mandžukićscored the winner for Croatia in the second half of extra time. With England trailing, the match also saw England play the final ten minutes of extra time with ten men as Trippier suffered an injury after Southgate had already made his permitted substitutions. Harry Kane, a striker and the England team captain, also won the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top goal-scorer.

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