Alexia Putellas, nominated by UEFA for best footballer of the season

As Alexia Putellas continues to recover from a serious knee injury, the Barcelona captain continues to be recognized in the form of nominations.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
17 August 2022 Wednesday 09:34
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Alexia Putellas, nominated by UEFA for best footballer of the season

As Alexia Putellas continues to recover from a serious knee injury, the Barcelona captain continues to be recognized in the form of nominations. If last week it was announced that she was on the list of the 20 nominees for the Ballon d'Or, this Wednesday UEFA announced that she is one of the three candidates who aspire to be named the best footballer of the 2021/22 season.

The performance of the Catalan midfielder the previous year has not gone unnoticed by the UEFA jury, made up of the selectors of the last European Championship in England, the coaches of the last edition of the Champions League and by journalists from the European Sports Media association. Alexia lifted three titles in Spain with the Blaugrana (League, Copa de la Reina and Supercopa) and was on the verge of repeating the victory in the Champions League by losing in the final against Olympique de Lyon.

In addition to the soccer player from Mollet, who already won the award last year (as well as the Ballon d'Or and FIFA's The Best) ahead of Jenni Hermoso and Lieke Martens, the preliminary list of 22 players has been nominated for the English Beth Mead and German Lena Oberdorf, in this case above all for their level shown at the European Championship in England this summer.

The Arsenal forward was proclaimed champion with the Lyonesses and was the tournament's top scorer with six goals. For her part, the young midfielder from Wolfsburg (20) was a key piece for Germany to reach the final. They were named best player and best youngster of the tournament, respectively.

Alexia missed the European Championship due to a torn cruciate ligament in her right knee that she suffered just a few days before the start of the Spanish team's debut, an injury that will take her off the pitch for between 10 and 12 months. Therefore, she will miss practically the entire season with Barça and it will be necessary to see if she arrives on time and in good condition for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that will be held in a year.

This Tuesday the Barça player published a video on social networks in which she appeared walking without crutches just over a month after undergoing surgery. It was the same day that the Catalan club played the second pre-season friendly, which ended with a defeat against Bayern (2-1) in Toulouse.

Regarding the selected coaches, the three finalists for the award are the French Sonia Bompastor (Lyon), the German Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (Germany) and the Dutch Sarina Wiegman (England), the great favorite. As will happen with the male nominees, the winners will be announced in the draw for the 2022/23 Champions League group stage, the ceremony for which will take place on August 25 at the Haliç Congress Center in Istanbul.