Jurgen Klopp, Massimiliano Allegri and Erik ten Hag have all been named on a five-man shortlist for the Coach of the Year prize at the Globe Soccer Awards.
The trio are joined on the final list of nominees by Djamel Belmadi, who led Algeria to the Africa Cup of Nations title, and Portugal’s Fernando Santos following his Nations League triumph.
However, Pep Guardiola is a shock omission after another stellar season with Manchester City. The Premier League champions claimed a domestic treble but there is no sign of the Spaniard in the final five.
The 11th Globe Soccer Awards, organised by the European Association of Player’s Agents and the European Club Associationwill be staged on December 29 in Dubai.
The nominees were selected by a jury of international footballing coaches, directors and chairmen, including Luis Figo, Fabio Capello, Antonio Conte and Eric Abidal.
Klopp is favourite to win the prize after lifting the Champions League trophy with Liverpool in June. He also led them in a thrilling title race with Manchester City last season, losing just one match throughout the league campaign.
Ten Hag is among the candidates after his exciting Ajax side made it through to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Led by Dutch prodigies Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong, Ajax knocked out both Real Madrid and Juventus before losing to Tottenham in the final four.
Allegri remains a bizarre inclusion though given his departure from Juventus over the summer. Despite winning five consecutive Serie A titles, his reign was underpinned by a failure to win Europe’s biggest prize and he left Turin over the summer.
More to follow.
