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After over a month of voting during which almost 6 million votes were cast, the UEFA.com women’s and men’s Fans’ Teams of the Year 2020 can now be revealed.
For the 20th year running, football supporters around the world were invited to select their teams from shortlists of 50 elite players playing for clubs in UEFA’s 55 member associations in 2020. As well as the men’s poll, fans were also given the chance to select their women’s Team of the Year for the first time, reflecting the ever-increasing appeal of the women’s game.
The UEFA.com Fans’ Women’s Team of the Year 2020:
• Sarah Bouhaddi (Olympique Lyonnais & France)
• Lucy Bronze (Olympique Lyonnais/Manchester City FC & England)
• Kadeisha Buchanan (Olympique Lyonnais & Canada)
• Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyonnais & France)
• Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea FC & Sweden)
• Kheira Hamraoui (FC Barcelona & France)
• Amandine Henry (Olympique Lyonnais & France)
• Delphine Cascarino (Olympique Lyonnais & France)
• Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir (VfL Wolfsburg/Olympique Lyonnais & Iceland)
• Daniëlle van de Donk (Arsenal FC & Netherlands)
• Pernille Harder (VfL Wolfsburg/Chelsea FC & Denmark)
The inaugural UEFA.com Fans’ Women’s Team of the Year includes six of Olympique Lyonnais’ UEFA Women’s Champions League title-winning squad. The eleven selected players represent six different clubs and seven countries, with France (five players) being the most represented nation.
The team features the 2020 UEFA’s Women’s Player of the Year Pernille Harder, who inspired VfL Wolfsburg to another German double and UEFA Women’s Champions League final before moving to Chelsea FC later in the year. She also helped Denmark qualify for UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 in impressive fashion.
The UEFA.com Fans’ Men’s Team of the Year 2020:
• Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München & Germany)
• Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern München & Germany)
• Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid CF & Spain)
• Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool FC & Netherlands)
• Alphonso Davies (FC Bayern München & Canada)
• Thiago Alcántara (FC Bayern München/Liverpool FC & Spain)
• Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City FC & Belgium)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus & Portugal)
• Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona & Argentina)
• Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil)
• Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München & Poland)
Here are some key facts about the 20th annual selection of the UEFA.com Fans’ Men’s Team of the Year:
• Three players make their debut in the team – Kimmich, Thiago Alcántara and Davies, who is the first-ever Canadian to make the UEFA.com Fans’ Team of the Year.
• The 11 players represent seven clubs and nine countries, Germany and Spain both being represented by two players.
• The team features five players from 2019/20 UEFA Champions League winners FC Bayern München, including UEFA’s Men’s Player of the Year Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker also won the domestic league and cup double with his club.
• Cristiano Ronaldo was selected for the 15th time, and has been in every Fans’ Team of the Year since 2007.
• Lionel Messi, who scored 26 goals for FC Barcelona in UEFA and domestic competitions in 2020, features for the 12th time.
Nominees and Winning Team
The 50 nominees for the women’s and men’s edition were selected by the UEFA editorial team, based on the players’ performances in UEFA competitions and domestic competitions within UEFA member associations from January to December 2020.
Fans had from 30 November 2020 until 6 January 2021 to select their favourite XIs from two shortlists of 50 elite players – five goalkeepers, 15 defenders, 15 midfielders and 15 forwards – all of whom appeared for clubs or national teams in one of UEFA’s 55 member associations in 2020.
The two winning sides reflect the votes of the fans in parallel with players’ achievements over the course of the calendar year, and were validated based on input from a UEFA technical observer panel throughout the course of the year.
All users who submitted a team will now be entered into a prize draw to win a VIP trip to both the men’s and women’s UEFA Champions League finals.
