Champions League Forward of the Season: Erling Haaland
Thursday, August 26, 2021
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The Dortmund striker has been named Forward of the Season for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League.
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Dortmundˈs Erling Haaland has been named Forward of the Season for the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League.
The 21-year-old, the competition top scorer last term, finished ahead of Bayern's Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappé of Paris in the vote to become Norway and BVBˈs first recipient of a UEFA award. The prize was presented to Haaland during the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony in Istanbul.
The top ten
1 Erling Haaland (Dortmund) – 202 points
2 Kylian Mbappé (Paris) – 154 points
3 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern) – 104 points
4 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, now at Paris) – 76 points
5 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – 70 points
6 Neymar (Paris) – 23 points
7 Kai Havertz (Chelsea) – 16 points
= Raheem Sterling (Man. City) – 16 points
9 Mason Mount (Chelsea) – 6 points
= Romelu Lukaku (Inter, now at Chelsea) – 6 points
2020/21 Champions League stats
Appearances: 8
Goals: 10
Assists: 2
Minutes per goal: 70.5
Shot conversion rate: 38.5%
Erling Haaland testimonials
"He's one of the best strikers in the world right now, already at his age. He can score with the right, left, via counterattacks, in the box. He's a fantastic striker; everyone knows it."
Josep Guardiola, Manchester City manager
"He has so much talent. He's a great guy with a superb mentality. No matter what style of football you play, he will always score lots of goals. He's so incredibly strong and has the technique and pace."
Jesse Marsch, Salzburg coach
"He's a cool guy who knows what it's about. Erling is very professional. I'm always one of the first at the training ground, but he is there earlier. He also comes to the training ground on days off. He knows what is important and good for him."
Roman Bürki, Dortmund goalkeeper
How Haaland was chosen
The jury comprised the following:
- 24 coaches of the teams which participated in this summer’s UEFA EURO 2020
- 80 coaches of the clubs that participated in the group stages of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League (32) and UEFA Europa League (48)
- 55 journalists selected by the European Sports Media (ESM) group, one from each of UEFA's member associations
Jury members chose their top three players, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. Coaches were not allowed to vote for players from their own team.
The other award winners
UEFA Men's Player of the Year: Jorginho (Chelsea & Italy)
UEFA Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona & Spain)
UEFA Men's Coach of the Year: Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea)
UEFA Women's Coach of the Year: Lluís Cortés (Barcelona)
UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season: Rúben Dias (Man. City)
UEFA Champions League Men's Midfielder of the Season: N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea)
UEFA Women's Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season: Sandra Paños (Barcelona)
UEFA Women's Champions League Defender of the Season: Irene Paredes (Barcelona)
UEFA Women's Champions League Midfielder of the Season: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
UEFA Women's Champions League Forward of the Season: Jenni Hermoso (Barcelona)
UEFA President's Award: Danish medical team, Simon Kjær
Last year's winner
Bayern's Robert Lewandowski won the 2019/20 Forward of the Season award. Lewandowski enjoyed a sensational campaign with Bayern, recording some incredible statistics to help the club to the treble of UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup. During what was a career-best season, the 32-year-old top-scored in both the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League.