Onana is one of five goalkeepers shortlisted by a panel of experts based on player achievements from 19 December 2022 to 20 August 2023
By Sonita Ngunyi Nwohtazie
BUEA, September 15, 2023 – Indomitable Lions goalkeeper Andre Onana has been nominated for FIFA the Best Goalkeeper Award. The other nominees are Yassine Bounou, Thibaut Courtois, Ederson and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
Andre Onana had a steller season with former club Inter Milan last season. The nomination from FIFA follows the double Ballon D’or nomination which also included the Yachine Trophy, an award given to the best goalkeeper. Onana is tipped to win one of these awards, with Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson, another favourite for the award.
The 27-year-old has been nominated for his exploits last season with Inter Milan. Simone Inzaghi’s side won two major trophies last season, claiming the Supercoppa Italiana and the Coppa Italia. They also made it to the Champions League final, losing 1-0 to Manchester City in June.
FIFA announced the nominees on Thursday, September 14, 2023, with voting open from now till Friday, October 6, as reported by fifa.com. Andre Onana played 41 times for Inter across all competitions last season, keeping 19 clean sheets.
Pep Guardiola, Manchester City said about Onana before the Champions League final: “For the way they play, with the high press, Onana is an exceptional goalkeeper to take the position to build up. Really, really good.”
The now Manchester United goalkeeper recently helped his country Cameroon to qualify for the 2023 TotalEnergies AFCON in Ivory Coast. Cameron defested Burundi 3-0 in Garoua on September 12 with Onana producing some 6 saves to help his nation to victory. His performance drew a lot of praise from the Indomitable Lions fans and even Manchester United fans.
This season, Onana has kept just one clean sheet but a number of fine saves have helped Manchester United avoid more goals from going in. Onana has also continued to impress with his quality on the ball. And after the Cameroon game against Burundi, many Manchester United fans accused their defenders of selling out Onana.
Meanwhile, another African who made the list of nominees is Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen. The Napoli striker will face competition from Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Kevin De Bruyne for the best player award.
The qualifying period for the prize which is between December 19, 2022 and August 10, 2023, saw Victor Osimhen score 29 goals while helping Napoli to win the Serie A title for the first time in over three decades. The Nigerian is the third top scorer in the 2023 calendar, behind Haaland (35) and Mbappe (30).
