July 11 – Five nominees from the Bundesliga are included in UEFA’s initial shortlist of ten players for the 2012-13 Best Player in Europe Award, reflecting the success of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in reaching last season’s Champions League final.
The award, in its third year, is voted for by a jury composed of journalists from UEFA’s member associations who each provide a list of their top five players. The winner will be announced in Monaco on August 29 during the UEFA Champions League group stage draw.
Lionel Messi and Andrés Iniesta won the first and second editions of the award, respectively, but Iniesta did not make the last 10 this time. In fact nor did any Spanish nationals.
The shortlist throws up few surprises but provides only two players from the Premier League, Robin van Persie and Gareth Bale. Four come from Bayern Munich alone. The 10 will now be reduced to three finalists who will be named on August 6.
This season, UEFA will also launch the Best Women’s Player in Europe Award. The shortlist of the top ten players will be provided by the coaches of the 12 teams currently taking part in the European Championship in Sweden.
The men’s shortlist is:
Gareth Bale (Wales) – Tottenham Hotspur
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) – Paris St-Germain
Robert Lewandowski (Poland) – Borussia Dortmund
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – Barcelona
Thomas Mueller (Germany) – Bayern Munich
Franck Ribery (France) – Bayern Munich
Arjen Robben (Netherlands) – Bayern Munich
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – Real Madrid
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) – Bayern Munich
Robin van Persie (Netherlands) – Manchester United
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