The UEFA President's Award recognises outstanding achievements, professional excellence and exemplary personal qualities. The accolade, first introduced by UEFA in 1998, is usually awarded annually to a football personality who is deemed to have advanced the game's development and success. [1] [2] Recently, Eric Cantona has become infamous for his bizarre acceptance speech for the 2019 UEFA Presidents Award. Dressed in a flat cap, he began by quoting William Shakespeare's King Lear – "As flies to wanton boys we are for the gods" – before referencing science, war and crime. [3]
Year | Winner | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1998 | Jacques Delors | [4] |
1999 | Not Awarded | |
2000 | Guy Roux | |
2001 | Juan Santisteban | |
2002 | Bobby Robson | |
2003 | Paolo Maldini | |
2004 | Ernie Walker | |
2005 | Frank Rijkaard | |
2006 | Wilfried Straub | |
2007 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | |
2008 | Bobby Charlton | |
2009 | Eusébio | |
2010 | Raymond Kopa | |
2011 | Gianni Rivera | |
2012 | Franz Beckenbauer | |
2013 | Johan Cruyff | |
2014 | Josef Masopust | |
2015 | Not Awarded | |
2016 | Not Awarded | |
2017 | Francesco Totti | [5] |
2018 | David Beckham | [6] |
2019 | Eric Cantona | [7] |
2020 | Didier Drogba | [8] |
2021 | Mogens Kreutzfeldt Frederik Flensted Anders Boesen Peder Ersgaard Jens Kleinefeld Valentin Velikov Morten Skjoldager Morten Boesen Simon Kjær | [9] |
2022 | Arrigo Sacchi | [10] |
2023 | Miroslav Klose | [11] |
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