UEFA Awards 2021 nominees: Chelsea’s Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Manchester City’s De Bruyne lead men’s field

The UEFA men’s and women’s player of the year awards will be handed out in Istanbul on Thursday when the Champions League draw is made and Chelsea pair Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are up against Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne for the men’s prize.

Thomas Tuchel’s Blues beat Pep Guardiola’s Citizens in Porto to lift the trophy for the second time in their history and the two tacticians are also in contention for the coach of the year award with Italy national team coach Roberto Mancini also in the running after the Azzurri’s success this summer.

Jorginho was a member of both Chelsea and Italy’s successful squads and was a prominent figure for both, so perhaps has an advantage over the likes of Kante and De Bruyne who both exited Euro 2020 early with France and Belgium respectively.

Chelsea and City players are also expected to feature heavily in the Champions League goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward of the season categories based on their 2020-21 campaign exploits.

On the women’s side, Spain internationals Jennifer Hermoso and Alexia Putellas are competing with Dutch Barcelona teammate Lieke Martens for the top women’s prize after Olympique Lyonnais’ dominance over the Champions League was ended last campaign.

Barca’s Lluis Cortes and Chelsea’s Emma Hayes are the managers in contention at club level while Sweden’s Peter Gerhardsson oversaw Blagult’s run to the 2020 Olympic Games final where they lost on penalties to Canada.

Like with the men’s awards, there will also be a women’s goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward of the season picked based on the 20-21 term.

There will also be the UEFA President’s award which will see Denmark captain Simon Kjaer and the medical team which saved the life of Christian Eriksen after his on-pitch collapse this summer recognized for their extraordinary actions.

The special guests on the day will be former Chelsea figures Branislav Ivanovic and Michael Essien who will assist in the draws and the awards.

Check out the complete list of awards and nominees below:

UEFA Men’s Player of the Year

Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)

Jorginho (Chelsea, Italy)

N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea, France)

Women’s Player of the Year

Jennifer Hermoso (Barcelona, Spain)

Lieke Martens (Barcelona, Netherlands)

Alexia Putellas (Barcelona, Spain)

Men’s Coach of the Year

Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)

Roberto Mancini (Italy)

Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea)

Women’s Coach of the Year

Lluis Cortés (Barcelona)

Peter Gerhardsson (Sweden) 

Emma Hayes (Chelsea)

Men’s Goalkeeper of the Season

Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium)

Ederson (Manchester City, Brazil)

Edouard Mendy (Chelsea, Senegal)

Men’s Defender of the Season

Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea, Spain)

Rúben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)

Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea, Germany)

Men’s Midfielder of the Season

Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)

Jorginho (Chelsea, Italy)

Kante (Chelsea, France)

Men’s Forward of the Season

Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund, Norway)

Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland)

Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)

Women’s Goalkeeper of the Season

Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea, Germany)

Christian Endler (OL, Chile)

Sandra Paños (Spain, Barcelona)

Women’s Defender of the Season

Magadalena Eriksson (Chelsea, Sweden)

Mapi Léon (Barcelona, Spain)

Irene Paredes(Barcelona, Spain)

Women’s Midfielder of the Season

Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona, Spain)

Ji So-yun (Chelsea, South Korea)

Alexia Putellas (Barcelona, Spain)

Women’s Forward of the Season

Caroline Graham Hansen (Barcelona, Norway)

Jennifer Hermoso (Barcelona, Spain)

Lieke Martens (Barcelona, Netherlands

Europa League Player of the Season

Edinson Cavani (Manchester United, Uruguay)

Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, Portugal)

Gerard Moreno (Villarreal, Spain)