Neuer puts 'team achievements' ahead of 'individual awards'
Dec 18, 2020
Zurich [Switzerland], December 18 : Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer, who won the Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper award, said he prefers team achievements over individual awards.
"You can't compare individual awards with winning titles with the team. For me, team achievements are more important because you can celebrate them with the whole squad. I'll be sleeping at home tonight but when you celebrate with the team, it's something special because you get to revel in everything that you've worked for over the past year," FIFA's official website quoted Neuer as saying.
Also, during the virtual event at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Neuer's teammate Robert Lewandowski was named the Best FIFA Men's Player for the first time in his career. Lucy Bronze won the Best FIFA Women's Player Award after rounding off an impeccable spell with Olympique Lyonnais in style before returning to England to play for Manchester City WFC.
Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp claimed the Best FIFA Men's Coach Award for the second consecutive year, having steered Liverpool FC to the English Premier League title for the first time, 30 years after their last top-flight success. France and Olympique Lyonnais' Sarah Bouhaddi capped her amazing career with the Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper Award.
Neuer also said: "This was without a doubt the best year of my career -- what we achieved was incredible. Last summer in Lisbon was particularly spectacular. It's tough for all of us at the moment to have no fans in the stadiums. We've got a great mindset in our team, we play for our fans and give it our very best in every game."
