The Best FIFA Men's Coach nominees: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, Barcelona's Xavi and other candidates revealed
The nominees of 2023 The Best FIFA Men's Coach have been revealed, with Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez headlining the list.
The nominees are selected on the basis of their performances over the last 12 months. Tottenham Hotspur's Ange Postecoglou, former Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti and Inter Milan head coach Simone Inzaghi complete the five-man list in the men's category.
Guardiola will be the frontrunner to win the award for the first time in his career after leading Manchester City to a treble last season. The Cityzens beat Inzaghi's Inter in the final of the UEFA Champions League in June to lift the trophy.
I Nerazzurri also won the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italia while finishing third in Serie A. Spalletti's Napoli finished first, winning the league title after a 33-year wait. They did not win another trophy in the campaign and were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
Postecoglou, who became Tottenham Hotspur's manager in the summer, led Celtic to a domestic treble, where they won the Scottish League Cup, Scottish Cup and the Premiership. Xavi is also deemed as a worthy contender for the title after leading Barcelona to the La Liga trophy last term.
They also won the Supercopa de Espana but were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League group stage for the second season running. Voting is open to the general public on FIFA's official website.
No manager on the current list has won the award before. Jurgen Klopp holds the record for most wins (2) while Argentina's Lionel Scaloni won the award last year.
Joao Cancelo willing to adapt for Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez after reportedly falling out with Manchester City's Pep Guardiola
Joao Cancelo completed a season-long loan move from Manchester City to Barcelona this summer with a €25 million optional clause to make it permanent.
Cancelo had a reported falling out with Pep Guardiola and was loaned out to Bayern Munich for six months in January. Barca wanted to sign him then, but he was not allowed to join the Catalan giants.
Speaking in a recent interview, the Portuguese full-back stated that he would 'adapt' to everything his new coach asks of him. He told SPORT (h/t GOAL):
"The coach gives me a little freedom and I like that. I feel comfortable playing inside but also out wide. I will adapt to everything he asks of me. I always want to play with the Barca shirt and show the fans and the people who believed in me how difficult it was to get to Barca."
The 29-year-old made his debut for Barcelona off the bench as a right-back in their 2-1 league win against Osasuna this month.