THE BEST 2016 : it’s not an easy task to choose the best FIFA 2016 PLAYER  !

This is a very interesting shortlist, all the players have good reason to qualify to be in it, but none of them tick all the boxes. Here are my top three choices, or four actually.

My choice is as follows: Christine Sinclair (1) because she was the best performer at the Olympics among the players nominated, (in term of overall performance, goals and assists). She won the bronze medal with Canada who owes her a great deal. In addition to this, she is all ranked second in the all-time goal scorers behind Abbie Wambach and the number one in activity.

Camille Abily (2) or Amandine Henry (2) as they have won the Champions League with OL. They managed to win their third Champions League overall, something that not many players around the world have actually achieved especially in this ten players shortlist. Camille Abily has loads of experience, Amandine Henry has also added the NWSL shield to her honours with Portland Thorns.

Lotta Schelin (3) who has won the silver medal at the Olympics with Sweden and the Champions League with OL.We can also add her exceptional international record, although she has not played too

I would also add Maroszan in the top of the list and a surprise would be to see Däbritz in the top 3, if we base the ranking with the Olympics as the number one competition in 2016.

Anyway, all the players have good reason to be in it, but none of them tick all the boxes. It is quite unusual and we have to wonder about Ada Hegerberg’s not making the list and Eugénie Le Sommer. The Norwegian forward won the UEFA 2016 best player but did not make it to the Olympics. So that top 10 list lead us to believe that the Olympics will be the main focal point on the selection and voting.

I don’t think Behringer will win as, she has scored mainly from the penalty spot (3 goals) and did not score from the semi-final onwards.

The Rio Olympics.

If we take as a base the summer tournament, the obvious choice is the veteran midfielder Melanie Behringer who had an unexpected excellent tournament. Top goal scorer with 5 goals, and Bundesliga winner with FC Bayern Munchen. On the negative side, she has scored 3 of those 5 goals from the penalty spot and Bayern was eliminated in the Champions League Round of 32 by FC Twente.

Christine Sinclair has to be mentioned as she has led her team to consecutive Bronze medal at the Olympics following the previous one in London 2012. She has lost in the NWSL play-off semi-finals with Portland.

The Champions League

If we look at the Women’s Champions League, which is a kind of club world cup without the teams from the NWSL and the Asian teams, all the Lyon players should be selected in the top 3.  Camille Abily (31 years old, 170 caps with France) the heart of the team. Amandine Henry (27 years old, 48 caps) runner-up in the 2016 UEFA player of the year award and now gone to play in the NWSL for Portland Thorns and also at a lesser degree Saki Kumagai who did not qualify for the Olympics but scored the winning penalty in the Champions League final as she did at the 2011 World Cup final in Germany.  On the negative side for the two French players, France eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Olympics and they did not perform as well as did at the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

If we talk about performance at the Olympics and also in the top club competition in Europe, Lotta Schelin (32 years old, 171 caps, Silver medal in Rio and Champions League winner) has to come into the discussion. She now plays with Rosengard in Sweden, she has not been at the best in the Champions League with Ada Hegerberg taking most of the plaudits and she only scored one goal in Rio. She is top Swedish goal scorer with 85 goals as well.

Dzsenifer Maroszan (24 years old, OL) Gold medal with Germany, scoring a goal in the final and current captain of the Mannschaft and also UEFA WCL semi-finalist with Frankfurt is another good contender.

The remaining players are less likely to win the award, one because she is bit young but with a lot of talent Sara Däbritz (21 years old FC Bayern) who has won the Bundesliga and the Gold medal. Marta the Brazilian forward, who has not won many title besides the FIFA women players of the year award (5 times) , she had an excellent Olympics with the home team but lost the Bronze medal game to Canada.

Carly Lloyd (34 years old USA) who was exceptional in 2015 at the World Cup with a hat-trick in the final should not be in the reckoning with a meagre quarter-final exit for the USA in Rio.

Potential surprise winners. 

  • Sara Däbritz (All/Bayern)
  • Eternal Marta. (Bra/Rosengard) 

The seasoned top international players.

  • Christine Sinclair (Canada/portand).
  • Lotta Schelin. (Sweden/OL and Rosengard). 
  • Saki Kumagai. (Japan/OL)
  • Camille Abily (France/OL)
  • Amandine Henry (France/OL and Portland)
  • Dzsenifer Marozsán (Allemagne/Frankfurt and OL)
  • Melanie Behringer (Allemagne/Bayern)

The FIFA 2015 World player of the year

  • Carly Lloyd (USA)  

The voting mode

The voting process for The Best Player and The Best Coach, in both men and women’s football, starts tomorrow, 4 November, and is set to close on 22 November. On 2 December, the final three nominees for these categories – as well as for the FIFA Puskás Award and the new FIFA Fan Award – will be announced.

The winners in each category, including the FIFA Fair Play Award 2016, will be presented at The Best FIFA Football Awards show on 9 January 2017.

Traduction par Sylvain Jamet

William Commegrain lesfeminines.fr