Lucy Bronze took home the FIFA award for women’s player of the year.
Thursday was a night of celebration for football’s top stars. The FIFA Football Awards saw England international and Manchester City powerhouse Lucy Bronze winning the women’s player of the year award over Pernille Harder and Wendie Renard, both formidable athletes and competitors.
Lucy Bronze’s accomplishments are many including winning the league title, Champions League title, and domestic cup title last season with Lyon in France to cap off three straight years of Champions League titles with the club. That only touches the list of awards and accolades Bronze has collected throughout her career. As a result, it’s no surprise she was up for the FIFA best player award for the second year in a row and finally won it for the first time.
What is somewhat surprising however is that she managed to take home the award as a defender, the first defender in the history of the award to do so. To see the impact of a forward you merely have to look at the stats sheet and count up the number of goals they’re powering home.
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Defenders often go unrecognized for the stability and grit they provide with every won header or goal-saving slide tackle.
I’m partial to forwards, having been one myself, however I certainly understand that a team cannot be successful without an invincible back line and Lucy Bronze has helped provide that for her teams time and time again. It’s an invaluable role and she deserved to be honored for it.
She also became the first England international to win the award, a source of pride for both herself and her country. At age 29 she’s already given so much to the game of football, but she’s certainly not finished yet. She returned to Manchester City for this current 2020-2021 season (having previously played with them from 2014-2017), and she’s already helped the club win the FA Cup trophy and stay in the fight for first place in the league table.
Lucy Bronze is someone who always credits her teammates and their role in her success, but there’s no denying that as an individual she’s a force to be reckoned with.