FROM THE ASSISTANT EDITOR

Looking back over the past 12 months, it feels slightly strange to be ending this year with an awards issue. With the possible exception of Zoom, there haven’t been many winners in 2020.

Yet for Bayern Munich, it has been a year to truly remember. The German and European champions collected an incredible five trophies, while playing positively irresistible football. We’ve added three more awards to their pile, and it’s fair to say that they were absolute runaway winners in each category.

Similarly, in the inaugural Women’s awards, Lyon and their coach Jean-Luc Vasseur stormed to victory, just as they did in the Champions League for the fifth season in a row. Yet while the French side won everything in sight once again, one award has evaded them. Chelsea’s Pernille Harder, the most expensive female footballer of all time, is World

Soccer’s first-ever Female Player of the Year. Congratulations to all the winners.

Congratulations also, to our longserving columnist and contributor, Paul Gardner. Paul was recently recognised by the United Soccer Coaches with the inaugural Media Career of Excellence Award, and this issue contains his penultimate column for World Soccer, 48 years after his first – a tremendous innings.

As always, alongside the award winners we have selected our People of the Year. Each of them has, in some way, played their part in providing us with some light in what has been a dark year, and for that we are grateful.

Let us hope that when we reveal the 2021 award winners in 12 months’ time, we will be reflecting on a year with less sadness, fewer interruptions and more fans.

For Bayern Munich, it has been a year to truly remember

Jamie Evans, Assistant Editor