Liverpool manager Klopp wins Fifa coach of year award

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp won the men’s coach of the year at the Best Fifa Football Awards in Milan.

Klopp, 52, was one of three Premier League bosses to be nominated for the award, alongside Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino.

Liverpool beat Spurs in the Champions League final in June and came second in the Premier League in 2018-19.

The Reds have also won all six league matches at the start of 2019-20.

“It is great, nobody expected this 20, 10, five, four years ago that I would be standing here,” said Klopp.

“We know what an incredible job you [Mauricio Pochettino] did and what Pep did. I have to say thank you to my outstanding club Liverpool FC.

“To the owners thank you, they gave me an incredible team. I have to thank my team – as a coach you can only be as good as your team is. I’m really proud of being manager of such an incredible bunch of players.

“This is an individual prize, I don’t 100% understand individual prizes, I’m here for a lot of people.”

In accepting the award, Klopp announced that he is joining the Common Goal initiative set up by Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata. It means the Reds boss will donate 1% of his salary to the charity, which pledges to “generate social change and improve lives”.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was also a winner as he took the best goalkeeper prize ahead of Manchester City’s Ederson and Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

It could be a triple triumph for Liverpool as defender Virgil van Dijk is one of three players up for the best men’s player award – along with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo.

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa won the fair play award after he ordered his team to allow Aston Villa to score an uncontested equaliser during their 1-1 draw in their Championship match in April.

Bielsa’s side had gone ahead controversially when the Villa players stopped as they expected the ball to be kicked out of play when Jonathan Kodjia was injured, before the Argentine intervened.

Eighteen-year-old Daniel Zsori won the Puskas award for the best goal with his spectacular 93rd-minute overhead kick for Debrecen against Ferencvaros, just after he came on as a substitute for his Hungarian league debut in February.

His strike beat Messi’s chip from the edge of the penalty area against Real Betis and Juan Quintero’s powerful 30-yard free-kick for River Plate against Racing Club.

More to follow.

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