This month in FourFourTwo magazine, we're honouring the great and the good of 2024 with our annual awards – but there were some categories that we just couldn't quite fit into the issue.
So welcome to the Alternative Awards of the Year, where you can vote. First up is Masterclass of the Year, given to the player, manager, team or otherwise who produced the most brilliant performance over the last 12 months.
Our trusty team were asked for their nominations, with absolutely no stipulations on who they could choose – even if they'd already been nominated. So who gets your vote?
England: nominated by James Andrew, editor (@JamesAndrew_)
For the second Euros in a row Gareth Southgate led the Three Lions to the brink of international glory. OK, they didn’t play very well in the tournament but they made it to the final and were beaten by an excellent Spain side. Now it is up to Thomas Tuchel to take England a step further.
Aitana Bonmati: nominated by Sarah Rendell, women's football editor (@rendellx)
Surely that is all that needs to be said. She consistently and seemingly effortlessly is the star in a packed Barcelona team who once again won the quadruple in the 2023/24 season. Bonmati is the linchpin of an unbelievable Barca giant, who only lost one game last campaign - the first leg of their Women's Champions League semi-final against Chelsea. She won player of the match in the Women's Champions League final - which Barca won 2-0 over eight-time winners Lyon - and claimed a back-to-back Ballon d'Or trophy.
Newcastle United women: nominated by Matthew Ketchell, deputy editor (@Ketchell)
Newcastle United Women. Secured back-to-back promotions in April having risen from the National League Division One North to the Championship in two years. The most recent promotion season encompassed a 399-day unbeaten run in all competitions which was only ended by Manchester United in the National League Cup Final. Becky Langley’s side has consolidated in the second tier with a third promotion in a row not out of the question. They even beat Sunderland away in the Wear-Tyne derby in October, where the attendance record for the league was broken. Expect that to be broken again when the teams meet at St. James’ Park next year.
Ademola Lookman: nominated by Mark White, online content editor (@markwhlte)
The only man who could stop Bayer Leverkusen all season long was a man who Panenka'd a penalty straight into a goalkeeper's grateful gloves. A man deemed surplus to the requirements of Everton, Leicester City and Scott Parker-era Fulham, before the Marco Silva glow-up. Ahh, football. Never change.
Ademola Lookman has lived many lives, from managers preferring a weathered Walcott, to a tepid Bundesliga spell (literally unheard of for an England youth talent). Which makes his mic-drop performance against Xabi Alonso's men all the sweeter. The fact he'd even moved to Bergamo went in one ear and out the other for me: to win Atalanta their first European trophy? Incredible.
Florian Wirtz: nominated by Ed McCambridge, staff writer (@edmccambridge)
With Bayer Leverkusen needing just one more victory to seal their maiden Bundesliga crown back in April, social media tittered at the thought of them throwing it away again, just as they had in 2002. On a day of high tension, talismanic Florian Wirtz banged in a hat-trick to silence the noise and finish the job. He went on to have a brilliant Euros on home soil, too. The boy is nothing short of phenomenal.
Lamine Yamal: nominated by Ryan Dabbs, senior writer online (@ryandabbs_)
There have been plenty of teenagers over the years who have broken through to great effect, but none quite as well as Lamine Yamal. Having dominated last season with Barcelona and then in the summer with Spain, he somehow he only turned 17 a day before the Euro 2024 final - and has managed another blistering start to 2024/25. His performance at the Bernabeu in October, in which he terrorised the Real Madrid defence during their 4-0 mauling, truly highlighted that he is already one of the best players in the world - just think how good he could become in the future.
FK Arkadag: nominated by Chris Flanagan, senior staff writer (@CFlanaganFFT)
A few contenders – Emma Hayes brilliantly clinched the WSL title with Chelsea and Olympic gold with the USA within the space of two months, then there was Artur Jorge, who took Botafogo to their first ever Copa Libertadores triumph and their first Brazilian league title since 1995. But no-one, absolutely no-one, could compete with the flawless masterclass that FK Arkadag delivered, in the league you've all been gripped by... yes, the Turkmenistan top flight.
This year, Arkadag broke a world record for consecutive victories – they've now won 54 league matches in a row. In fact, they've only ever played 54 league matches – formed in April 2023, they won 24 out of 24 that year, then 30 out of 30 this year, with a goal difference of +127. That they were founded by the Turkmen president's dad and immediately signed many of the country's best players is neither here nor there.
Erik ten Hag: nominated by Adam Monk, presenter/producer (@_adammonk)
Hear me out. Specifically Erik Ten Hag in the 2024 FA Cup Final - a 'Catch Me If You Can' level con. To be horrendous at your job for the first six months of the year and then prolong your employment with one anomalous win over Pep Guardiola courtesy of Dan Ashworth (who has now left) and co - that is a masterclass in the sense that it is a scam. It then cost United a further £200m in the market + his improved redundancy package come October. Genius.
San Marino: nominated by Ben Marsden, writer (@BenMarsden03)
Having not won a single competitive match in over 150 attempts since becoming a professional side, San Marino’s 1-0 win over Liechtenstein in September 2024 was momentous and caused utter mayhem among the rumoured 600 or so fans. 19-year-old Nicko Sensoli had the delight of scoring his country’s first-ever match-winning goal. But it doesn’t stop there. Just five games later San Marino beat Liechtenstein 3-1 to record their second ever competitive win and seal their greatest year in football history.
