FIFA finalists for Men's Best coach awards: Guardiola, Inzaghi & Spalletti

FIFA announce finalists for Men's Best coach awards: Pep Guardiola, Simone Inzaghi, Luciano Spalletti are in the frame for illustrious honour. 

Pep Guardiola, Simone Inzaghi and Luciano Spalletti have been revealed as the three finalists for The Best FIFA Men's Coach Award 2023.

The accolade recognises the most outstanding performers from the dugout in the men's game from the period of 19 December 2022 to 20 August 2023. The winner of the illustrious prize will be revealed at a London ceremony on 15 January 2024.

A total of five coaches were initially nominated for The Best FIFA Men's Coach Award, having been chosen by a panel of experts. From this shortlist, the three finalists have been selected by an international jury comprising: men’s national team coaches, men’s national team captains, football journalists, and fans who voted on FIFA’s official website.

Pep Guardiola

The great Guardiola wrote a new chapter in his book of football immortality in 2023, as he became the first coach to win two trophy trebles - consisting of the domestic league, main domestic cup and the UEFA Champions League - adding to his 2009 exploits with Barcelona.

His Manchester City side's success was built on a perfectly-executed full-back inversion, which would see one of the wide defenders join the centre of the pitch to outnumber their opponents, as one of the game's great visionaries found a way to overhaul Arsenal and secure the Premier League title with three games to spare.

Guardiola's side then defeated bitter rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final, before crowning their season with a memorable victory over Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final to win the club's first major European honour.

Did you know?

Remarkably, Guardiola holds or shares the record for most consecutive wins as a coach in each of the professional divisions he has coached in. His Barcelona side won 16 consecutive games - a record shared with Real Madrid - in 2010/11. His Bayern Munich team then won an unmatched 19 straight games during 2013/14, while Manchester City's 18 consecutive wins from 2017/18 can only be matched by Liverpool.

Simone Inzaghi

Inter Milan returned to dine at the top table of European football during the 2022/23 campaign, thanks in no small part to the tactical input and game-management of knockout-stage guru Inzaghi.

Indeed, the Italian led Inter to a first Champions League final in some 13 years in June 2023, as his Nerazzurri side navigated three knockout rounds - including a red-hot Milan derby semi-final - to reach the showpiece.

While Guardiola's unstoppable City would prove too much on the day, Inzaghi would still take home both the Supercoppa Italia and Coppa Italia while finishing third in Serie A.

Did you know?

Both Inzaghi and his brother - Filippo - played as strikers and spent their entire careers in Italy. Between the pair, they played more than 550 Serie A matches and scored over 180 goals.

Luciano Spalletti

Prior to 2023, Napoli had only ever finished top of the Serie A standings when led by the mercurial genius of Diego Maradona. Both of the Neapolitan's Scudettos had come during El Diez' seven-year stint in the city of the sun, prior to Spalletti's arrival.

The 64-year-old meticulously stitched together an excellent side which was headlined by fellow The Best FIFA Football Award nominees Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Napoli would go on to win the league with a record-equalling five games to spare and scored a league-high 77 goals, while possessing the division's meanest defence.

Spalletti's achievement of taking Napoli to a first title in some 33 years saw him named as the Serie A coach of the year for the very first time. In August, he was appointed as the new Italy national team coach.

Did you know?

When Spalletti isn't on the rollercoaster of football management, he can be found on his very own farm in the Tuscany countryside. There, he makes his own olive oil and wine, and houses a plethora of farm animals, including hens, ducks and horses.

How The Best FIFA Men's Coach Award finalists were determined

From the five-coach shortlist, each voter made their first, second and third choices for the prize.

Points were given to nominees depending on where they were placed (five points for first, three for second and one for third).

Nominated national team coaches could not vote for themselves.

Selections from the four voting groups – coaches, captains, journalists, and fans – each counted for 25 per cent of the total vote, irrespective of the number of voters from each group.

The Best FIFA Men's Coach Award will be presented to the individual with the most points.

If finalists are tied on points, the award will be bestowed on the individual who has received the most first-choice selections.

The voting procedure for The Best FIFA Men's Coach Award is supervised by independent observers. Results will be published in full on FIFA.com following the awards ceremony on 15 January 2024.