UEFA President's Award
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]
Winners
| 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
| |
| 2018 | David Beckham
| |
| 2019 | Eric Cantona
|
[5] |
References
- ^ "UEFA President's Award". UEFA.com. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
- ^ "David Beckham: Uefa to honour former England captain with President's Award". UEFA.com. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
- ^ "Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi & Eric Cantona light up Uefa awards". BBC Sport. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ "UEFA President's Award". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "Eric Cantona to receive UEFA President's Award". UEFA.com. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.