UEFA awards: De Bruyne in three-man shortlist, Klopp nominated
What's the story
Manchester City mid-fielder Kevin De Bruyne has been nominated for the 2019-20 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award. Besides De Bruyne, Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski and goal-keeper Manuel Neuer have also been shortlisted. Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is on the shortlist for Men's Coach of the Year after guiding the club to a maiden Premier League honor. Here's more.
De Bruyne
A look at De Bruyne's exceptional 2019-20 season
De Bruyne had a terrific 2019-20 season. The Belgian scored 13 goals and had a record-equaling 20 assists in the Premier League last season. Overall, he scored 16 goals and contributed with 23 assists across competitions. He was adjudged the Premier League Player of the Season, besides winning the Playmaker of the Season award. De Bruyne also won PFA Player of the Year award.
Duo
Robert Lewandowski was phenomenal for Bayern, Neuer impressed
Polish international Robert Lewandowski was exceptional for Bayern and helped them win the treble last season. Lewandowski scored 55 goals in all competitions for Bayern in just 47 matches. Notably, he was the top scorer in the Bundesliga (34), DFB-Pokal (5) and the Champions League (15). Meanwhile, Neuer was superb in both Bundesliga and the Champions League, keeping 21 clean sheets.
Coach
Men's Coach of the Year: Klopp, Flick and Nagelsmann nominated
German trio Hansi Flick, Klopp and Julian Nagelsmann have been nominated for the best coach award. Flick took the charge of Bayern in November when they were fourth in the Bundesliga. From there on, he guided them to three trophies. Klopp's Liverpool won their first league title in 30 years. At 33, Nagelsmann helped Leipzig reach their maiden UCL semi-final.
Women's football
UEFA Women's Player of the Year award nominees
Lucy Bronze, Pernille Harder and Wendie Renard are the three nominees for the 2019-20 UEFA Women's Player of the Year award. Bronze, who bagged the award last year, won the Champions League with Lyon before returning to Man City. Harder played an important role for Wolfsburg and helped them reach the Champions League finale. Meanwhile, Renard has been the face of Lyon.