Congratulations to all the nominees that were voted #CONCACAFAwards 2016 Male Best XI! pic.twitter.com/cF5wed1BWQ
— CONCACAF (@CONCACAF) January 18, 2017
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced their 2016 year-end awards today, with Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Christian Bolaños earning a Best XI selection.
Bolaños, 32, was a standout for both club and country last season.
At the club level, the Costa Rican led Whitecaps FC with eight assists and added five goals, the second highest total on the team, in his first season in Major League Soccer.
Internationally, he appeared in each of Costa Rica’s eight World Cup qualifiers, scoring a team-high four goals and helping the Ticos post an undefeated 7W-0L-1D record. That includes a goal and an assist in each of Costa Rica’s most recent victories over Trinidad & Tobago and the United States in the Hexagonal round.
A number of Canadians were also honoured, including Atiba Hutchinson (Male Best XI), Stephanie Labbe (Female Goalkeeper of the Year), and Christine Sinclair, Kadeisha Buchanan, and Ashley Lawrence (Female Best XI).
See the full list of award winners below.
CONCACAF Male Player of the Year
1. Bryan Ruiz (MF/FW) | Costa Rica; Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)
2. Hirving Lozano (FW/MF) | Mexico; C.F. Pachuca (MEX)
3. Keylor Navas (GK) | Costa Rica; Real Madrid C. F. (ESP)
CONCACAF Female Player of the Year
1. Alex Morgan (FW) | USA; Orlando Pride (USA)
2. Tobin Heath (MF) | USA; Portland Thorns FC (USA)
3. Crystal Dunn (FW) | USA; Washington Spirit (USA)
CONCACAF Male Goalkeeper of the Year
1. Keylor Navas | Costa Rica; Real Madrid C. F. (ESP)
2. Alfredo Talavera | Mexico; Deportivo Toluca F.C. (MEX)
3. Nahuel Guzmán | Argentina; Tigres UANL (MEX)
CONCACAF Female Goalkeeper of the Year
1. Ashlyn Harris | USA; Orlando Pride (USA)
2. Stephanie Labbé | Canada; Washington Spirit (USA)
3. Yoselin Franco | Guatemala; UNIFUT (GUA)
CONCACAF Male Coach of the Year
1. Óscar Ramírez | Costa Rica National Team
2. Ricardo Ferretti | Tigres UANL (MEX)
3. Diego Alonso | C.F. Pachuca (MEX)
CONCACAF Female Coach of the Year
1. Amelia Valverde | Costa Rica National Team
2. Jill Ellis | USA National Team
3. Michelle French | USA National U-20 Team
CONCACAF Male Referee of the Year
1. César Arturo Ramos | Mexico
2. Joe Fletcher | Canada (Assistant Referee)
3. Joel Aguilar | El Salvador
CONCACAF Female Referee of the Year
1. Carol Anne Chénard | Canada
2. Quetzalli Alvarado | Mexico
3. Kimberly Moreira | Costa Rica (Assistant Referee)
CONCACAF Goal of the Year
1. Jesús Corona | MEXICO v Venezuela, 80'
2. Eduardo Herrera | PUMAS UNAM v CD Honduras Progreso, 66'
3. Alexander Larín | ALIANZA FC (SLV) v New York Red Bulls (USA), 54'
CONCACAF Male Best XI
GK: Keylor Navas | Costa Rica; Real Madrid C. F. (ESP)
DF: Miguel Layún | Mexico; FC Porto (POR), Rafael Márquez | Mexico; Club Atlas (MEX), Ronald Matarrita | Costa Rica; New York City FC (USA), Wes Morgan | Jamaica; Leicester City FC (ENG).
MF: Christian Bolaños | Costa Rica; Vancouver Whitecaps FC (CAN), Andrés Guardado | Mexico; PSV Eindhoven (NED), Atiba Hutchinson | Canada; Besiktas JK (TUR), Hirving Lozano | Mexico; CF Pachuca (MEX).
FW: André-Pierre Gignac | France; Tigres UANL (MEX), Bryan Ruiz | Costa Rica; Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)
CONCACAF Female Best XI
GK: Ashlyn Harris | USA; Orlando Pride (USA)
DF: Kadeisha Buchanan | Canada; West Virginia University (USA), Ali Kreiger | USA; Washington Spirit (USA), Ashley Lawrence | Canada; West Virginia University (USA), Becky Sauerbrunn | USA; FC Kansas City (USA).
MF: Shirley Cruz | Costa Rica; Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Tobin Heath | USA; Portland Thorns FC (USA), Carli Lloyd | USA; Houston Dash (USA), Gloriana Villalobos | Costa Rica; Deportivo Saprissa (CRC).
FW: Alex Morgan | USA; Orlando Pride (USA), Christine Sinclair | Canada; Portland Thorns (USA)
