MODRIC IS THE FIFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Luka Modric broke a decade of award dominance by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after being crowned world footballer of the year by Fifa on Monday
BEST MEN’S PLAYER: Luka Modric who won Champions League with Real and led Croatia to World Cup final
BEST WOMEN’S
PLAYER: Marta who led Brazil to Copa America Femenina glory
BEST COACHES
Men’s: Didier Deschamps who sculpted France’s 4-2 World Cup victory against Croatia Women’s: Reynald Pedros who led OL to reclaim UEFA crown
BEST GOAL
Salah for his score in the Merseyside derby in December 2017
BEST GOALKEEPER
Thibaut Courtois who helped Belgium to third place with 3 clean sheets
BEST FAIR PLAY
German forward Lennart who donated his DNA to save a leukaemia patient
BEST FANS
The 40,000-strong army of Peru fans who made a mark in Russia
The emotion is huge because it is thanks to the work of everyone. So many people have come together and so many have supported me
Luka Modric
london — Luka Modric ended Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s decade-long domination of football’s individual awards by being crowned Fifa’s best player of the year on Monday.
The Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder starred for both club and country as Madrid won a third straight Champions League, and he inspired Croatia to reach the World Cup final for the first time.
“The emotion is huge because it is thanks to the work of everyone. So many people have come together and so many have supported me,” said Modric. Modric beat out Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah and Ronaldo, who along with Messi did not attend the glitzy awards ceremony in London. Both are in action for Juventus and Barcelona on Wednesday, but their no-show attracted criticism after so many years on top. “Everyone has their own reasons,” said Modric. “Obviously I would have liked them to be here but they aren’t.”
Modric’s success means Ronaldo remains tied with Messi hav-
ing won Fifa’s award in different guises five times each. At 33, Croatia’s run to the final was the culmination of a brilliant career for Modric that had often been overshadowed by Ronaldo’s goalscoring in their time together in the Spanish capital, before the latter left for Juventus in July.
Modric scored twice and also netted in penalty shootout wins over Denmark and Russia, but it was his playmaking ability that caught the eye in winning the Golden Ball for the best player at the World Cup. “It was an unbelievable season, the best season in my life,” said Modric. “I’m still not realising how good a year I had collectively, individually,
and I’m very proud for everything I achieved this year and it will be remembered forever.”
For a sixth straight season, Ronaldo was the Champions League’s top scorer with 15 goals and also scored four times at the World Cup, including a hat-trick against Spain in a thrilling 3-3 draw to open Portugal’s campaign. However, Portugal’s last 16 exit to Uruguay in Russia and Ronaldo’s failure to score in the semi-finals or final of the Champions League opened the door for Modric. For the first time in 12 years, Messi was not among the finalists with Salah earning a place on the podium for his incredible 44-goal debut
season with Liverpool that carried the Reds to the Champions League final.
Salah did not go away emptyhanded, however, as he picked up the Puskas award for best goal for his strike against Everton in the Merseyside derby last December.
France’s World Cup-winning coach Didier Deschamps won the best coach of the year prize in recognition for his work in leading Les Bleus to success in Russia.
Deschamps, who became just the third man to win the World Cup as a player and coach, beat off competition from Dalic and his former France team-mate Zinedine Zidane, who won a third consecutive Champions League title with Real Madrid before resigning in June.
Thibaut Courtois won the best goalkeeper award for helping Belgium reach the World Cup semifinals as well as the FA Cup with Chelsea before a summer move to Madrid.
Brazil’s Marta was crowned best women’s player for a record sixth time for her role in winning the Copa America to beat out Lyon duo Ada Hegerberg and Dzsenifer Marozsan. Lyon boss Reynald Pedros did win the award for best women’s coach, though, after winning the Champions League with the French giants. —