Welcome to the end-of-year awards! From best players and best teams in the men's and women's game to the best celebration of the year, I'll reveal my winners from 2024.
A reminder that these awards take only the calendar year into consideration. So even though last season plays a factor, these awards mainly pay tribute to performances and achievements over this calendar year.
Now let's begin.
Men's player of the year: Vinícius Júnior, (Real Madrid and Brazil)
This was a tough call because in the first half of the year, Rodri's impact for club and country was gargantuan, hence his Ballon d'Or win and why I voted for him as my 2023-24 Premier League player of the season. There's an argument to make that even in his absence because of an ACL tear, his impact remains. Just look at Man City's recent struggles.
But I can't give this annual award to someone who hasn't played since September. I have to include the entire year and throughout it, I consider individual consistency. It has to be Vinícius: the ultimate big-game player. Jude Bellingham, a Euros finalist, came close but the England midfielder's contributions to Real Madrid came early in the 2023-24 season. Lautaro Martínez also deserves a major mention. But it has to be Vini.
In last season's Champions League -- especially in the latter stages -- he led his club to glory. No player in the tournament produced more goals or assists in the knockout stages, including a goal in the final. In LaLiga, he missed the early parts of the 2023-24 season due to injury but once he came back, he was on fire. Twenty goal involvements in less than 1,900 league minutes (per Opta) which is wild when you consider he missed a massive chunk of the season.
This campaign? We have already seen a 30-minute hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund, ridiculous solo goals against Osasuna and Villarreal and 13 goal contributions in the league. In total, he has five trophies in the calendar year, including the recently won Intercontinental Cup over Pachuca, when he scored and assisted the opener for Kylian Mbappé.
Overall, he has 32 goals and 14 assists for Real Madrid in 2024. Yes, Brazil's failure at Copa America and issues in qualifiers are the only dents, but that's not a Vinícius problem. That's a national one, where the team is going through a transition. Yet, he still managed to score twice in the Copa América and remains a major protagonist in every game. This has been his most successful calendar year, and at only 24 years old, there's a lot more to come.
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior and Carlo Ancelotti react to winning 'Men's Player' and 'Men's Coach' at The Best FIFA Football awards.
Women's player of the year: Aitana Bonmatí, (Barcelona Femení and Spain)
There is only one player who stands above the rest: Bonmatí, the Barcelona star who helped her club win a historic quadruple thanks to 36 goal contributions in 41 appearances last season. During this run, she also scored in the inaugural UEFA Women's Nations League final as Spain won 2-0 against France in February.
After winning last year's Ballon d'Or, the 26-year-old Catalan star won the esteemed award once again in October's ceremony. This season, she has six goals and six assists in all competitions including a lovely goal against Man City in the Champions League, but her work can't be fully judged by stats. Bonmatí is the exemplification of a midfielder. She is selfless, smart, determined and whenever she collects the ball, time is at her mercy. She is the conductor and until the music ends, no one comes close to her symphony.
Best game of the year: Real Madrid 3-3 Manchester City (2023-24 Champions League QF first leg)
Sometimes the answer is so obvious, you shouldn't overthink it. This first leg of the tournament's final eight from last season was the epitome of European football excellence. The two last winners of the competition faced each other in Madrid and delivered a six-goal thriller. It was the second knockout match in tournament history with three goals in the opening 14 minutes. Two lead changes, some beautiful finishes including Phil Foden's majestic 66th minute equalizer, a tremendous goal from Joško Gvardiol, which was bettered only by Fede Valverde's audacious volley to make it 3-3 in the 79th minute.
This is what the Champions League is all about. Where football royalty goes kingdom against kingdom with their best warriors and we all sit back to enjoy.
Best goal of the year: Jaden Philogene vs. Hull City
OK, I know what everyone is going to say. "LME is a Villa fan, this is pure bias!"
First of all, Philogene wasn't back at Villa until this season so this isn't a Villa goal. Everyone can relax. Second. I beg you all to watch this majestic piece of art with careful detail because it is the undoubted winner. It also comes with controversy because it was initially deemed as an own goal, which to me, makes it even more worthy. But you have to examine it closely.
Rotheram's Oliver Rathbone (who now plays for Wrexham) gives away the ball in reckless fashion, which is when Philogene picks it up inside the box. Rathbone attempts to retrieve it, but that's when Philogene begins his avalanche of trickery. First he nutmegs Rathbone, who then looks to redeem himself by trying to deny a cross. Or so he thinks. Philogene fakes the cross and audaciously decides to pull out a rabona out of the bag, thus sending Rathbone to the floor and, with a slight deflection, scores.
Sit back and admire:
🪄 The goal that everyone is talking about!
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) February 14, 2024
Assist of the season? 😏#EFL | @HullCity pic.twitter.com/gCKRkmMk7u
Men's manager of the year: Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina) and Luis de la Fuente (Spain) came very close, but the winner for me is Ancelotti, football's favorite uncle. I think a calendar year is tougher for a club manager. The 65-year-old Italian is the only manager to win the league title in Europe's Big Five leagues and after Madrid's Intercontinental Cup victory over Pachuca last week, he became the club's most decorated coach.
In May and June, he led the club to the league title and the Champions League in a campaign marred with injuries. And this season? It's funny. Since Kylian Mbappé's arrival, we have been talking more about their issues and Barcelona's rise under Hansi Flick but once again, Ancelotti has Madrid in second place, one point behind Atletico Madrid.
Ancelotti is the best manager of the year because no matter what you throw at him, no matter the circumstances, he will persevere ... and he will do it with his quintessential charm. He lets his players shine with freedom and tenacity and above anything else, he does it in the most pressurized environment.
Women's manager of the year: Emma Hayes, (Chelsea women and now United States)
On May 18, in Hayes' last game in charge of Chelsea, the Blues won a record fifth straight WSL title after destroying Man United 6-0 at Old Trafford. It was the end of her 12-year tenure that dominated English women's football.
Days later, she began her role as head coach of the United States at a time when the Americans needed to revamp. In 2023, the USWNT bowed out from the Women's World Cup in the round of 16, which was the U.S.'s worst finish in a major tournament. Hayes had only two months to prepare the squad for this summer's Olympics. The end result? An undefeated gold medal run thanks to a 1-0 win over Brazil. The U.S. never trailed at any point in the competition and won all six matches on their way to the final.
The scary thing for future opponents? This is only the beginning.
Emma Hayes explains how the move to international management has improved her wellbeing away from the pitch.
Men's team of the year: Spain
You thought I was going with a club didn't you? Nope.
Real Madrid are worthy contenders -- especially since I gave Ancelotti the accolade for best manager -- but I decided to give the men's award to a national team. It has to be Spain.
The eventual champions produced a mesmerizing performance at the Euros, becoming the only team to win six or more games in a single competition. Their squad was balanced (Jesús Navas was the tournament's oldest player, Lamine Yamal the youngest) and they finally added a cherry of clinical finishing to their masterful passing. There was scintillating creativity in Nico Williams, Dani Olmo and the aforementioned Yamal. There was also strength and resiliency from Rodri to Dani Carvajal, and their reliable striker Álvaro Morata. Oh, and they did all of this without Pedri and Gavi.
Less than a month later, the nation won an Olympic gold against Thierry Henry's France on their home soil. OK, it was a different squad, but the sentiment remains: 2024 belonged to La Roja.
Women's team of the year: Barcelona Femení
You don't have to look further than Barcelona Femení, which achieved a historic quadruple after winning the Supercopa de España, Liga F, the Copa de la Reina and the Champions League thanks to a 2-0 win over Lyon in May.
Nothing in life is perfect, but this team comes close as Barça won 45 of 48 matches in all competitions and lost only once in the entire season. Led by their all-time scorer Alexia Putellas (Ballon d'Or winner 2021, 2022) and midfield maestra Aitana Bonmatí (Ballon d'Or winner 2023, 2024), Barcelona delivered an unforgettable campaign.
This season? They have won all 13 league matches and already scored 57 goals. This month, they earned revenge against Man City after losing in this season's Champions League group stage opener and won 3-0. Barcelona, quite simply, are the epitome of excellence. If you're a youth coach and want to show your players how the game should be played, I don't think there is a better example than Barcelona Femení.
Collapse of the year: USMNT at Copa America
Copa América was not supposed to be easy for the United States, but it was also not meant to be so calamitous, especially on home soil in a group that included Bolívia, Panama and Uruguay. Expectations were for the USMNT to finish second, if not first, in the group stage. But after losing in dramatic fashion to Panama and Uruguay, the Americans crashed out with only three points and three goals.
Former head coach Gregg Berhalter, who was fired shortly after, took full responsibility but the entire setup is at fault. Now it's a new dawn under manager Mauricio Pochettino, and the tournament seems like ancient history, but I hope the USMNT continues to reflect on it and use it as fuel toward future endeavors, especially for the 2026 World Cup.
Kasey Keller reacts to the USMNT's first competitive win under Mauricio Pochettino vs. Jamaica.
Special mention: We cannot ignore the current crisis at Man City. It's been an unbelievable, unprecedented slump that included a run where the club lost five consecutive matches and failed to win a game in seven matches. Pep Guardiola has never felt this type of pain as a manager.
Their record now stands at one win in the last 13 matches and find themselves sixth in the Premier League and 22nd in the Champions League, meaning that they might not even make the round of 16. There are many factors towards this demise, but I won't go on. All we need to know for the purpose of this piece is that for once, Manchester City -- the four-straight winners of the Premier League -- are falling apart in front of us.
Best breakthrough player: Lamine Yamal (Barcelona, Spain)
It's almost insulting to give a "breakthrough" award to the Barcelona phenom simply because this year, Yamal hasn't just "broken" through. He smashed the whole thing up. His numbers with Barcelona are one thing, but I am giving him this accolade mainly because of his performance in this summer's Euros.
I don't think anyone doubted he was going to do well in the tournament but come on, people. He started it as a 16-year-old. In fact, at 16 and 338 days, he became the youngest player in the history of the competition.
His curling piece of art against France won the goal of the tournament, which also broke a record for youngest scorer in Euro history, days before his 17th birthday. His four assists led the competition and after beating England in the final, he became the youngest winner.
In 2024, this kid -- who grew up in the working-class, immigrant Barcelona neighborhood of Rocafonda -- shook the footballing world.
Interview of the year: Michael Birmingham (Horndean FC)
From Ange Postecoglou to Jose Mourinho, there is no doubt that we can find some good material here from the Premier League or the top leagues around the world. South and Latin America can give you some good moments, too. But I'm going to go to non-league football for this award.
Here's to Michael Birmingham from Horndean FC, a club from a village in the south coast near Portsmouth. Birmingham actually just left to join Bognor Regis Town FC after spending nine years with Horndean. He took them from the Wessex League to step four in the Isthmian League for the first time in the club's history, and his postgame interviews were so memorable.
Here's the best one back in October when Horndean lost 4-0 to Raynes Park, which only ignited Birmingham to go off and complain about his team's performance. As you can see, the man took no prisoners.
"The only positive to come out of that was that I had a cracking pasty before the game, that was about it," the manager said, who also had my favorite line of the season when talking about his team's performance. "'I hope our players have got plenty of Sudocrem [antiseptic healing cream] at home because they've had their [a***s] slapped today."
Guy Ritchie couldn't write a better monologue.
🗣️ Deans' manager Michael Birmingham gives an honest assessment on a poor performance at Raynes Park Vale.#UpTheDeans pic.twitter.com/07u0AS2ens
— Horndean FC (@Horndean_FC) October 12, 2024
Best celebration of the year: Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit, USWNT)
I know what you're thinking. The initial reaction is to immediately go with Cole Palmer just because 2024 really did feel like it was the "coldest" year on record. But it's not my winner because I need a little more panache. Come forward, NWSL. When it comes to celebrations, this league is undefeated.
Kansas City Current's Lo'eau Labonta -- the queen of cellys -- has provided so many great ones including the "fake hamstring injury", another dedicated to Simone Biles and even a "Dirty Dancing" celebration.
But my winner is Trinity Rodman. This year, the Washington Spirit and USWNT star improved Steph Curry's "night night" by lying on the ground right after scoring a ridiculous solo effort. But her best one? Days after Magic Johnson -- the Los Angeles Lakers legend -- announced his investment in the Spirit, Rodman scored a ridiculous goal against Portland Thorns and what did she do to celebrate? She immediately ran up to Magic and decided to dunk right in front of him. Too good.
Trinity Rodman gets on the scoresheet for Washington Spirit