South American Footballer of the Year
The Rey de América ("King of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar year. The award was conceived by Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo, which awarded it from 1971 to 1992. Uruguayan newspaper El País took over from 1986 onwards, and their award was considered official, but El Mundo continued their award until 1992.
Originally for the El Mundo award, journalists could vote for any South American and Central American players at any club around the world. From 1986 the El País award became official and only South American players playing in South America were eligible. From 1998, eligibility extended to South Americans playing in Mexico due to the participation of Mexican clubs in the Copa Libertadores.
From 1980 to 1983 the Argentinian newspaper El Gráfico also chose their El Futbolista De América ("Footballer of the Americas"). Any South American player playing the Americas at any point in the year was eligible.
The inaugural winner was Tostão of Cruzeiro. Three players have won the award three times each: Elías Figueroa of Internacional, Zico of Flamengo, and Carlos Tevez of Boca Juniors and Corinthians; Figueroa and Tevez did so in consecutive years. As of 2023, Brazilian players have won the most awards (17), with Argentinian players a close second with 16 wins. Argentine club River Plate have had the most winners with nine awards. The most recent recipient of the award is Germán Cano of Fluminense, who won for the 2023 season.
South American Coach of the Year
The South American Coach of the Year (Spanish: Entrenador del año en Sudamérica) is an annual association football award presented to the best coach of a club or national team in South America over the previous calendar year. The award has been presented by Uruguayan newspaper El País since 1986.
The award goes to any coach/manager of a South American club or national team, regardless of the coaches' nationality. Argentine coaches have won the award the most, with 21 wins by 12 different coaches. With five awards, Argentine Carlos Bianchi is the most decorated awardee. The Argentina and Colombia national teams are the sides that produced most wins, with 5 each. The current winner for 2023 is the Brazilian Fernando Diniz, manager of Brazilian club Fluminense and then caretaker manager of the Brazil national team.
♣ CONMEBOL Jubilee Awards
The CONMEBOL Jubilee Awards. The "South American Football Confederation" (CONMEBOL, or CSF; Spanish: Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; Portuguese: Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America, established in 1916.
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