Benzema becomes UEFA Player of the Year, Carlo Ancelotti wins the Coach of the Year trophy

The Champions League group stage draw also included a UEFA awards poll. The Player of the Year was, as expected, Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, with Italian Carlo Ancelotti as coach.

The Champions League group stage has been drawn, with Viktoria Plzen in the group of death, where they will face Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Inter Milan.

After the draw, however, came the UEFA polls, which unfortunately overlaps with the Czech teams’ matches in the Europa League Conference qualifiers.

Sixty-three-year-old Italian Carlo Ancelotti, the first man to win the Champions League four times, was named coach of the year.

The best player of the year could not have been anyone other than French striker Karim Benzema, who has absolutely shone this year in a Real Madrid jersey at the age of 34.

Moreover, he won both LaLiga and the Champions League with Real and became the top scorer in this millionaire competition with fifteen goals to his credit.

Benzema beat his Belgian colleagues, namely Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City and teammate Thibaut Courtois.

Source: UCL