BERLIN – Champions League-winning Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp
and Jill Ellis, who led the United States to a second straight
women's World Cup title, were among the nominees on Wednesday for
FIFA's "Best" coach of the year awards.
Klopp faces competition from two other Premier League coaches.
Manchester City's Pep Guardiola won the title by a point from
Liverpool last term while Tottenham Hotspur's Mauricio Pochettino
lost to Klopp in the Champions League final.
Others contenders include Brazil's Copa America-winning coach Tite,
Ricardo Gareca of runners-up Peru, Djamel Belmadi of African Nations
Cup champions Algeria and Marcelo Gallardo, whose River Plate side
won the Copa Libertadores.
Ajax's Erik ten Hag, France's Didier Deschamps and Fernando Santos of
Nations League winners Portugal complete the list of nominees for the
men's prize.
The favourite for best coach of a women's team would appear to be
Ellis, who announced on Tuesday she would leave her job in October
having become the first coach to win two women's World Cups last
month.
Also on the 10-person shortlist is Reynald Pedros, who inspired
French women's club side Lyon to a league, cup and Champions League
treble.
FIFA will later on Wednesday unveil nominees for the Best women's
player and Best men's player. The winners will be announced at a gala
in Milan on September 23.
The public can vote for their preferences via FIFA's website. The fan
vote will be equally weighted alongside the votes of journalists,
national team coaches and captains.
The men's player award used to be called FIFA World Player of the
Year before merging with France Football's Ballon d'Or in 2010. They
split again in 2016 and FIFA's award was rebranded Best Player of the
Year. Croatia and Real Madrid's Luka Modric won in 2018.