The symbolism of being the first Asian player to become the English Premier League (EPL)’Golden Boot’ (top scorer) has been recognized around the world. However, Son Heung-min was not even a candidate.
On the 12th (local time), the International Football Federation (FIFA) announced the nominees for the ‘2022 The Best FIFA Football Awards’ by category. Son Heung-min was excluded from the 14 male candidates for the ‘Player of the Year’. There was not a single Asian player. On the other hand, Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), who scored 23 goals with Son Heung-min and jointly won the top scorer award, was included in the nominations.
Of the 14 candidates, 7 were from Europe, 4 from South America, and 3 from Africa. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain, PSG), the protagonist of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is the first to catch my eye. He scored 7 goals and 3 assists in Qatar, giving Argentina their first World Cup victory in 36 years. He was also honored with the Golden Ball, the MVP of the tournament. Messi aims to win the FIFA ‘Player of the Year’ for the first time in three years since 2019.
Messi’s PSG colleague Kylian Mbappe (France) cannot be left out. He was the runner-up in the Qatar World Cup final after losing to Argentina in a penalty shoot-out, but won the top scorer with eight goals.
Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid), who won the Ballon d’Or, was also nominated. He had nothing to do with the World Cup in Qatar, but he led Real Madrid to win the European Champions League and Spanish Primera Liga last year.
In addition, Neymar (Brazil), Achraf Hakimi (PSG, Morocco), Luka Modric (Croatia), Vinicius Junior (Brazil, Real Madrid), Erling Holland (Norway), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Julian Alvarez (Argentina, Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (England, Dortmund), Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Barcelona), and Sadio Mane (Senegal, Bayern Munich) were included. 바카라
On the other hand, Son Heung-min’s colleague Harry Kane (Tottenham) was also excluded, and Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nasr) could not even show his business card.
Hugo Lloris (Tottenham), who kept France’s goal at the Qatar World Cup, was not among the five candidates for the male goalkeeper of the year. Qatar World Cup best goalkeeper, Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Brazil’s Alisson Becker (Liverpool) and Ederson (Man City), Morocco’s Yassin Bunu (Sevilla), and Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) are the best. collide for a place
There are also five nominations for male director of the year. Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni, who won the Qatar World Cup, France national team coach Didier Deschamps, who led the team to the finals of two World Cups in a row, Morocco coach Walid Lacraki, who took the lead, Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach, and Pep Guardiola, Man City Director was nominated.