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Jurgen Klopp scoops coach award at FIFA ceremony

Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to Liverpool's players in his speech
Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to Liverpool's players in his speech

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been named men's coach of the year at the Best FIFA awards in Milan.

Klopp guided his side to Champions League glory last season, while the Reds narrowly missed out on the Premier League title, being pipped by Manchester City.

The German claimed the award ahead of Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, whose team Liverpool defeated in the Champions League final, and City's Pep Guardiola.

Klopp said at the ceremony at Milan's Teatro all Scala: "Mauricio - we won that game, that's why I'm here, not you. That's how football is, but we all know what an incredible job you did, what an incredible job Pep did, what so many coaches out there did.

"I have to say thank you to my outstanding club, Liverpool FC, to the owners, I have to say they gave me an incredible team, and I have to thank my team, because as a coach you only can be as good as your team is.

"I'm really proud of being the manager of such an incredible bunch of players."

Klopp took the opportunity to reveal he had signed up to the Common Goal movement, in which members donate one per cent of their salary to a charity which funds organisations around the world that use football to tackle social issues.

He said: "I'm really proud and happy that I can announce that from today on I am a member of the Common Goal family."

Having then received a round of applause, Klopp said: "A few people obviously know it - if not, Google it. It's a great thing."

Liverpool's Alisson Becker won the men's goalkeeper award, beating Manchester City counterpart Ederson and Barcelona's Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

As well as helping his club win the Champions League last season and claiming the Premier League's Golden Glove with 21 clean sheets in 38 matches, Alisson was also part of the Brazil side that won the Copa America over the summer. 

The fair play award went to Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa and his squad.

Last season, in a home clash with Aston Villa, Bielsa instructed his players to allow the visitors to score an equaliser against them unopposed.

That was after Leeds had taken the lead in controversial fashion, scoring after they had refused to kick the ball out of play despite a Villa player laying injured.

The result ended Leeds' hopes of automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Outgoing United States boss Jill Ellis took the women's coach award ahead of England's Phil Neville.

Ellis became the first coach in history to win two Women's World Cups over the summer, having also overseen the US triumph in 2015.

Her side beat Neville's Lionesses in the semi-finals and the Netherlands, whose boss Sarina Wiegman was also on the shortlist, in the final.

The women's player award went to US forward Megan Rapinoe, who was joint-top scorer and won the Golden Ball for best player at the World Cup.

Rapinoe took the award ahead of international team-mate Alex Morgan, who matched her in scoring six times during the summer's tournament in France, and England's Lucy Bronze, who was the Silver Ball winner at the World Cup.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi claimed the men's player of the year award, beating off competition from Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool's Virgil Van Dijk to win the accolade for a record sixth time. 

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