The Brazilian shot-stopper was awarded the honour following a stellar year in which the 30-year-old kept goal for Manchester City during a historic treble-winning campaign.
Ederson was presented with the trophy at The Best FIFA Football Awards™ at a gala event in London on Monday after topping the poll with 23 scoring points, ahead of fellow finalists Thibaut Courtois (20 points) and Yassine Bounou (16 points).
The award was voted for by national team coaches and captains as well as expert journalists and supporters across the globe. Ederson has become the second Brazilian goalkeeper to be named The Best Men's Goalkeeper after Alisson in 2019.
The winner in focus
Ederson earned his maiden spot on The Best podium following a stellar year for English giants Manchester City. He was the Cityzen’s starting goalkeeper during their Premier League title tilt and added a raft of top saves to his ever-growing highlights reel, finishing the 2022/23 campaign with 11 clean sheets to become just the 17th goalkeeper to record 100 Premier League shutouts.
As well as the Premier League title - Ederson’s fifth in just six seasons in England - City would go on to win the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League to become just the second English side to complete the treble of league, main domestic cup and the Champions League after City rivals Manchester United achieved the feat during the 1998/99 season.
City and Ederson continued to lift trophies at the beginning of the 2023/24 campaign. In their first-ever Super Cup match against Sevilla, Pep Guardiola’s side claimed a dramatic 5-4 shootout win following a hard-fought 1-1 draw during normal time. They then travelled to Saudi Arabia, where victories over Urawa Red Diamonds and Fluminense sealed a maiden FIFA Club World Cup™ crown.
Exceptional Ederson’s standout moments
While he starred on the domestic scene, Ederson perhaps produced his finest work during City’s historic run to a first-ever UEFA Champions League title - a trophy the club may not have got their hands on if it wasn’t for the Brazilian.
After making a handful of stops during the quarter-final match-up with Bayern Munich, he pulled off wonderful saves to deny Karim Benzema and Aurelien Tchouameni - the latter in the final moments of a finely-balanced first leg draw - to secure City’s place in the showpiece match with Inter Milan.
Ederson continued to sparkle in the final itself. First, he denied Lautaro Martinez with a fine sprawling save after a mix-up in the City rearguard. He was soon called into action again to thwart Romelu Lukaku’s close-range header which seemed destined to find the net. Inter’s final chance came from a corner which found the head of Robin Gosens, but he too would find Ederson in inspired form, as the shot-stopper tipped the ball to safety to ensure his side would be Champions League and treble winners.
Source: Fifa
BDST: 0954 HRS, JAN 16, 2024
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