Lluís Cortés wins 2020/21 UEFA Women's Coach of the Year award
Thursday, August 26, 2021
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Lluís Cortés has won the UEFA Women's Coach of the Year award after his success with Barcelona.
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Lluís Cortés has been named UEFA Women's Coach of the Year for 2020/21.
Cortés, who led Barcelona to UEFA Women’s Champions League success and a Spanish domestic double, beat off competition from manager of final opponents Chelsea, Emma Hayes, and Peter Gerhardsson of Olympic silver-medallists Sweden to win the award. The decision was announced during the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony in Istanbul.
In a video-recorded message, 35-year-old Cortés said: "I’d like to thank UEFA and all the members of the jury who thought that I deserved this award. It is an honour and a pleasure. I’ve been working in women’s football for many years, and I am very happy to receive this recognition.
“Of course, my thanks also go to FC Barcelona, from the board to the club’s staff, players, and personnel, because none of this would’ve been possible without them. Finally, I’d like to wish the rest of the teams all the best for next season, which I am sure will be a very, very good one.”
The top ten
1 Lluís Cortés (Barcelona, now unattached) – 151 points
2 Emma Hayes (Chelsea) – 78 points
3 Peter Gerhardsson (Sweden) – 37 points
4 Olivier Echouafni (Paris Saint-Germain, now unattached) – 24 points
5 Jens Scheuer (Bayern München) – 17 points
6 Rita Guarino (Juventus, now Inter) – 10 points
= Anna Signeul (Finland) – 10 points
8 Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands, now England) – 7 points
9 Gareth Taylor (Manchester City) – 5 points
10 Jorge Vilda (Spain) – 3 point
Why did Cortés win the award?
Promoted to head coach in January 2019, he led Barcelona to that year's UEFA Women's Champions League final. Last season Cortés went one better as Barça cruised past Chelsea 4-0 in the Gothenburg final to add to their Spanish domestic double, from a season in which they scored 208 goals in 47 competitive games. Third in the voting for the inaugural edition of this award in 2019/20, he stood down from the Barcelona job in June 2021.
Roll of honour
2020/21 – Lluís Cortés (Barcelona)
2019/20 – Jean-Luc Vasseur (Lyon)
How the award works
For this accolade, coaches in Europe, irrespective of nationality, were judged according to their performances over the whole season in all competitions – both domestically and internationally – at either club or national-team level.
The jury comprised the coaches of the clubs that participated in the 2020/21 UEFA Women's Champions League round of 16 and 20 journalists specialising in women's football and selected by the ESM group. Jury members chose their top three coaches, with the first receiving five points, the second three and the third one. Coaches were not allowed to vote for themselves.
The other awards
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 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 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 Champions League Men's Forward of the Season: Erling Haaland (Dortmund)