The Polish goalscorer Bayern is a favorite after his brilliant Champions League run, but he will have to rule out Messi, FIFA’s top player last year, as well as Ronaldo who is also a regular at the trophy.
In the absence of a Golden Ball this year, the main accolades have so far been awarded by UEFA, which nominated Lewandowski and Harder on 1 October.
Harder, a Danish forward transferred from Wolfsburg to Chelsea at the start of the season, will want to succeed Megan Rapinoe, but she will face big candidates in the English defender Manchester City and the Lyon captain.
OL goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi is one of the three finalists in her category, along with Chilean Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Christiane Endler and American Alyssa Naeher, player of the Chicago Red Stars.
On the men’s side, the best goalkeeper of the year will be Bayern’s German Manuel Neuer, crowned European champion in August, Liverpool’s Brazilian Alisson Becker or Atlético Madrid’s Slovenian Jan Oblak.
Argentina’s Marcelo Bielsa, who was promoted to the Premier League with Leeds, is a candidate for the male coach of the year award, alongside Germans Hansi Flick (Bayern) and Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool).
On the women’s side, Frenchman Jean-Luc Vasseur (Lyon) is one of the finalists along with Chelsea driver Emma Hayes and Netherlands coach Sarina Wiegman.
The winners are chosen by a vote of the captains and coaches of the national teams, a group of more than 200 journalists, as well as supporters consulted online from November 25 to December 9.
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