ZURICH: Lionel Scaloni, Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola were on Thursday shortlisted for the “best coach” award, while Walid Regargui did not receive enough votes despite Morocco’s impressive performance in the World Cup semi-finals.
A worldwide selection panel of national team coaches and captains, as well as selected media and online voting fans, have named Argentina’s Scaloni, Real Madrid’s Ancelotti and Manchester City as finalists for the FIFA Best Men’s Coach Award for 2022. Chose Guardiola.
Argentina won the World Cup, Madrid won the UEFA Champions League and City captured the English Premier League title.
Regragui was appointed in August, less than three months before the start of the World Cup, and led his team through a group including Belgium and Croatia. Morocco eliminated Spain and Portugal before losing to defending champions France on an injury-plagued team. During the run, Regargui expressed concerns about the lack of respect for Arab coaches.
Since the first FIFA Coaching Awards were given in 2010, no coach from Africa or an African team has ever been voted into the top three shortlist.
Only European and South American coaches have finished in the top-three places, despite two-thirds of the voting panel members coming from outside the continents.
Scaloni is the likely favorite to receive the award on February 27 in Paris after World Cup-winning coaches Didier Deschamps and Joachim Lo have won FIFA votes for 2018 and 2014 respectively.
After winning the 2010 World Cup, Spain’s then-coach Vicente del Bosque was defeated in a FIFA-organised vote by José Mourinho, whose Inter Milan team had won the Champions League and Serie A.
Guardiola won the FIFA Coaching Award for 2011 while he was with Barcelona. Ancelotti never won; He went from being runner-up in 2014 to winning the Champions League in his first spell with Madrid.
On Thursday’s Women’s Coaching Awards shortlist, two-time winner Sarina Wigman – who won the 2017 and 2020 votes for coaching her native Netherlands – seeks a third FIFA win for leading England to the European Championship title last year.
Another European champion, Sonia Bompastor, who guided Lyon to a sixth Women’s Champions League title in seven years, is on the list which is completed by Pia Sundhage. She led Brazil to win the 2022 Copa América Feminina.
Sandhage won the FIFA award for 2012 as the coach of the Olympic champion team of the United States.
FIFA will announce three shortlists on Friday for the men’s and women’s best player awards.