Herrera named man of the match
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
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Ander Herrera could finally reflect on "a great season" after Manchester United's win in Stockholm, with the midfielder named as man of the match by UEFA's technical observers.
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Five years after the disappointment of finishing on the losing side in the UEFA Europa League final, Ander Herrera had his redemption as he was named man of the match as Manchester United lifted the 2017 trophy.
"We're very happy: a European trophy!" said the Spaniard as he received his individual honour in Stockholm having been selected by UEFA's technical observers. "This was the game of the season – now we're talking about having a great season, winning three trophies. We played like a big club, very smart against what was a strong team.
"I want to dedicate this to the victims [of the Manchester bombing]. The manager told us that the only thing we could do after Monday was win this. It's only a football game, it's only a trophy, but it's something."
Ioan Lupescu, UEFA managing director for technical development, added: "The technical observer group chose Ander Herrera as man of the match for his drive and sharpness, his quality in and out of possession and his spirit and willingness to sacrifice himself for the team."
Previous man of the matches
2016 Coke (Sevilla)
2015 Éver Banega (Sevilla)
2014 Ivan Rakitić (Sevilla)
2013 Branislav Ivanović (Chelsea)
2012 Radamel Falcao (Atlético Madrid)
2011 Radamel Falcao (Porto)
2010 Diego Forlán (Atlético Madrid)
2009 Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk)
2008 Andrey Arshavin (Zenit)
2007 Andrés Palop (Sevilla)
2006 Enzo Maresca (Sevilla)
2005 Daniel Carvalho (CSKA Moskva)
2004 Roberto Ayala (Valencia)
2003 Derlei (Porto)
2002 Jon Dahl Tomasson (Feyenoord)
2001 Gary McAllister (Liverpool)
2000 Cláudio Taffarel (Galatasaray)
1999 Hernán Crespo (Parma)
1998 Ronaldo (Internazionale Milano)