The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their overall performances in European club football and international competitions.
Selection process Until 2011, the writers at the website had constructed a short-list of sixty footballers and coaches who have performed well in European club competitions, domestic competitions and international tournaments for that particular year. Users then cast their vote of a line-up consisting of eleven players (including a goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards) and a coach based on who they believed excelled in European football. After the selection is made, the user also has to select one of the players to be the captain of their team.
The format of the vote was changed in 2012 – now users first choose their preferred formation (4–4–2, 3–5–2, 3–4–3, 4–3–3 or 5–3–2), and then choose the relevant number of players for each position. The voters have a choice between 4 goalkeepers, 12 defenders, 12 midfielders and 12 forwards. The voting for best coach was discontinued.
After the votes are cast, they are tallied and the final team is announced on the UEFA website.
Appearance records The player with the most appearances in the team is Cristiano Ronaldo, having appeared fifteen times. Second is Lionel Messi, having appeared twelve times. Sergio Ramos has the third-most appearances with nine, which is also the record for a defender. The most consecutive appearances in the team is fourteen for Cristiano Ronaldo (2007–2020), followed by Sergio Ramos (2012–2018) and Lionel Messi (2014–2020) with seven each, and Iker Casillas (2007–2012) with six.
The teams with the most player appearances (not including manager appearances) are Real Madrid and Barcelona with 49, followed by Bayern Munich (21) and Juventus (20). Barcelona is the team with the most players selected in a single season, with six players in both 2009 and 2010. The only other teams with more than three players in one season are Bayern Munich (four in 2013 and five in both 2014 and 2020), Liverpool (five in 2019), and Real Madrid (five in both 2017 and 2018 and four in 2003, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016).
The manager with the most appearances is José Mourinho, with four appearances (one with Internazionale, two with Porto and one with Chelsea). He is followed by Alex Ferguson, who has two appearances.
Team of the Year 2001
Player Team(s) Appearance Santiago Cañizares Valencia 1st Cosmin Contra Alavés Milan 1st Sami Hyypiä Liverpool 1st Patrik Andersson Bayern Munich Barcelona 1st Bixente Lizarazu Bayern Munich 1st David Beckham Manchester United 1st Patrick Vieira Arsenal 1st Zinedine Zidane Juventus Real Madrid 1st Kily González Valencia 1st Thierry Henry Arsenal 1st David Trezeguet Juventus 1st
Coach: Gérard Houllier: Liverpool
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Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2002
Player Team(s) Appearance Rüştü Reçber Fenerbahçe 1st Carles Puyol Barcelona 1st Alessandro Nesta Lazio Milan 1st Cristian Chivu Ajax 1st Roberto Carlos Real Madrid 1st Clarence Seedorf Internazionale Milan 1st Michael Ballack Bayer Leverkusen Bayern Munich 1st Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid 2nd Damien Duff Blackburn Rovers 1st Thierry Henry Arsenal 2nd Ronaldo Internazionale Real Madrid 1st
Coach: Şenol Güneş: Turkey
Source:
Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2003
Player Team(s) Appearance Gianluigi Buffon Juventus 1st Paulo Ferreira Porto 1st Alessandro Nesta Milan 2nd Paolo Maldini Milan 1st Roberto Carlos Real Madrid 2nd Luís Figo Real Madrid 1st David Beckham Manchester United Real Madrid 2nd Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid 3rd Pavel Nedvěd Juventus 1st Thierry Henry Arsenal 3rd Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United 1st Coach: José Mourinho: Porto
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Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2004 Player Team(s) Appearance Gianluigi Buffon Juventus 2nd Cafu Milan 1st Ricardo Carvalho Porto Chelsea 1st Alessandro Nesta Milan 3rd Ashley Cole Arsenal 1st Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 1st Maniche Porto 1st Ronaldinho Barcelona 1st Pavel Nedvěd Juventus 2nd Thierry Henry Arsenal 4th Andriy Shevchenko Milan 1st Coach: José Mourinho: Porto / Chelsea
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Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2005
Player Team(s) Appearance Petr Čech Chelsea 1st Cafu Milan 2nd John Terry Chelsea 1st Carles Puyol Barcelona 2nd Paolo Maldini Milan 2nd Luis García Liverpool 1st Steven Gerrard Liverpool 1st Ronaldinho Barcelona 2nd Pavel Nedvěd Juventus 3rd Samuel Eto'o Barcelona 1st Andriy Shevchenko Milan 2nd Coach: José Mourinho: Chelsea
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Team of the Year 2006
Player Team(s) Appearance Gianluigi Buffon Juventus 3rd Gianluca Zambrotta Juventus Barcelona 1st Fabio Cannavaro Juventus Real Madrid 1st Carles Puyol Barcelona 3rd Philipp Lahm Bayern Munich 1st Steven Gerrard Liverpool 2nd Cesc Fàbregas Arsenal 1st Kaká Milan 1st Ronaldinho Barcelona 3rd Thierry Henry Arsenal 5th Samuel Eto'o Barcelona 2nd Coach: Frank Rijkaard: Barcelona
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Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2007
Player Team(s) Appearance Iker Casillas Real Madrid 1st Dani Alves Sevilla 1st Alessandro Nesta Milan 4th John Terry Chelsea 2nd Eric Abidal Lyon Barcelona 1st Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 2nd Steven Gerrard Liverpool 3rd Kaká Milan 2nd Clarence Seedorf Milan 2nd Zlatan Ibrahimović Internazionale 1st Didier Drogba Chelsea 1st Coach: Alex Ferguson: Manchester United
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Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2008
Player Team(s) Appearance Iker Casillas Real Madrid 2nd Sergio Ramos Real Madrid 1st John Terry Chelsea 3rd Carles Puyol Barcelona 4th Philipp Lahm Bayern Munich 2nd Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 3rd Xavi Barcelona 1st Cesc Fàbregas Arsenal 2nd Franck Ribéry Bayern Munich 1st Lionel Messi Barcelona 1st Fernando Torres Liverpool 1st Coach: Alex Ferguson: Manchester United
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Team of the Year 2009
Player Team(s) Appearance Iker Casillas Real Madrid 3rd Dani Alves Barcelona 2nd John Terry Chelsea 4th Carles Puyol Barcelona 5th Patrice Evra Manchester United 1st Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United Real Madrid 4th Xavi Barcelona 2nd Kaká Milan Real Madrid 3rd Andrés Iniesta Barcelona 1st Lionel Messi Barcelona 2nd Zlatan Ibrahimović Internazionale Barcelona 2nd Coach: Pep Guardiola: Barcelona
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Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2010
Player Team(s) Appearance Iker Casillas Real Madrid 4th Maicon Internazionale 1st Gerard Piqué Barcelona 1st Carles Puyol Barcelona 6th Ashley Cole Chelsea 2nd Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 5th Xavi Barcelona 3rd Wesley Sneijder Internazionale 1st Andrés Iniesta Barcelona 2nd Lionel Messi Barcelona 3rd David Villa Valencia Barcelona 1st Coach: José Mourinho: Internazionale / Real Madrid
Source:
Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2011
Player Team(s) Appearance Iker Casillas Real Madrid 5th Dani Alves Barcelona 3rd Gerard Piqué Barcelona 2nd Thiago Silva Milan 1st Marcelo Real Madrid 1st Arjen Robben Bayern Munich 1st Xavi Barcelona 4th Andrés Iniesta Barcelona 3rd Gareth Bale Tottenham Hotspur 1st Lionel Messi Barcelona 4th Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 6th Source:
Voting for a coach ended this year.
Team of the Year 2012
Player Team(s) Appearance Iker Casillas Real Madrid 6th Sergio Ramos Real Madrid 2nd Gerard Piqué Barcelona 3rd Thiago Silva Milan Paris Saint-Germain 2nd Philipp Lahm Bayern Munich 3rd Andrés Iniesta Barcelona 4th Xavi Barcelona 5th Andrea Pirlo Juventus 1st Mesut Özil Real Madrid 1st Lionel Messi Barcelona 5th Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 7th Source:
Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2013
Player Team(s) Appearance Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich 1st Philipp Lahm Bayern Munich 4th Thiago Silva Paris Saint-Germain 3rd Sergio Ramos Real Madrid 3rd David Alaba Bayern Munich 1st Gareth Bale Tottenham Hotspur Real Madrid 2nd Marco Reus Borussia Dortmund 1st Mesut Özil Real Madrid Arsenal 2nd Franck Ribéry Bayern Munich 2nd Zlatan Ibrahimović Paris Saint-Germain 3rd Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 8th
Source:
Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2014
Player Team(s) Appearance Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich 2nd Philipp Lahm Bayern Munich 5th Sergio Ramos Real Madrid 4th Diego Godín Atlético Madrid 1st David Alaba Bayern Munich 2nd Arjen Robben Bayern Munich 2nd Toni Kroos Bayern Munich Real Madrid 1st Ángel Di María Real Madrid Manchester United 1st Lionel Messi Barcelona 6th Zlatan Ibrahimović Paris Saint-Germain 4th Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 9th Source:
Players who played for two teams during the voting year have the club they transferred to during a transfer window listed second.
Team of the Year 2015
Player Team(s) Appearance Manuel Neuer Bayern Munich 3rd Dani Alves Barcelona 4th Sergio Ramos Real Madrid 5th Gerard Piqué Barcelona 4th David Alaba Bayern Munich 3rd Paul Pogba Juventus 1st Andrés Iniesta Barcelona 5th James Rodríguez Real Madrid 1st Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 10th Lionel Messi Barcelona 7th Neymar Barcelona 1st
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Team of the Year 2016
Player Team(s) Appearance Gianluigi Buffon Juventus 4th Jérôme Boateng Bayern Munich 1st Sergio Ramos Real Madrid 6th Gerard Piqué Barcelona 5th Leonardo Bonucci Juventus 1st Luka Modrić Real Madrid 1st Toni Kroos Real Madrid 2nd Andrés Iniesta Barcelona 6th Lionel Messi Barcelona 8th Antoine Griezmann Atlético Madrid 1st Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 11th
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Team of the Year 2017
Player Team(s) Appearance Gianluigi Buffon Juventus 5th Dani Alves Juventus Paris Saint-Germain 5th Sergio Ramos Real Madrid 7th Giorgio Chiellini Juventus 1st Marcelo Real Madrid 2nd Luka Modrić Real Madrid 2nd Toni Kroos Real Madrid 3rd Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City 1st Eden Hazard Chelsea 1st Lionel Messi Barcelona 9th Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid 12th
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Team of the Year 2018
Player Team(s) Appearance Marc-André ter Stegen Barcelona 1st Sergio Ramos Real Madrid 8th Virgil van Dijk Liverpool 1st Raphaël Varane Real Madrid 1st Marcelo Real Madrid 3rd Luka Modrić Real Madrid 3rd N'Golo Kanté Chelsea 1st Eden Hazard Chelsea 2nd Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain 1st Lionel Messi Barcelona 10th Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Juventus 13th
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Team of the Year 2019
Player Team(s) Appearance Alisson Liverpool 1st Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool 1st Matthijs de Ligt Ajax Juventus 1st Virgil van Dijk Liverpool 2nd Andy Robertson Liverpool 1st Frenkie de Jong Ajax Barcelona 1st Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City 2nd Lionel Messi Barcelona 11th Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus 14th Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich 1st Sadio Mané Liverpool 1st
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Team of the Year 2020