On Thursday, FIFA announced their nominees for the 2023 instalment of The Best awards. However, La Liga has been poor represented, with only a handful of their members up for the awards.
For The Best FIFA Men’s Coach, Barcelona’s Xavi Hernandez has been nominated after guiding his side to their first La Liga title in four years, and in commanding fashion too. The Catalans also won the Spanish Super Cup in January.
🚨 OFFICIAL: Xavi has been nominated for The Best FIFA Men's Coach. Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/LsUsODhdXm
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 14, 2023
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Thibaut Courtois have been nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper, with both players having had excellent individual seasons in 2022-23. Ter Stegen was especially impressive, having broken Barcelona’s club record for most clean sheets in a La Liga campaign.
🚨 OFFICIAL: Marc-André ter Stegen has been nominated for The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper. Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/fkgTS0CHtW
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 14, 2023
Only one La Liga player is in the 12-man shortlist for The Best FIFA Men’s Player, and that is Barcelona’s Ilkay Gundogan. The German captained Manchester City to an incredible treble last season, and he played a starring role throughout.
🚨 OFFICIAL: Ilkay Gündogan has been nominated for The Best FIFA Men's Player. Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/woOFwln3a1
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 14, 2023
It remains to be seen whether any of these nominees are able to walk away with the awards. Barcelona will be more confident with three nominees, although Courtois is in with a good chance for Real Madrid.
