Carvajal during the AS Awards ceremony: “We are confident that we will have a great Euro Cup” | Sports

The 17th edition of the Ace Awards was held on Monday at the Teatro Real in Madrid. This is the annual ceremony organized by AS newspaper, in which the best athletes of the year are honored. There is no doubt that the greatest achievement of 2023 for Spanish sport was achieved by the players of the women’s national football team, by winning the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand last August. Likewise, the men’s team added another title to its history by winning the Nations League in June. For this reason, the two national teams were recognized. At club level, Spanish football has not been far behind this year, and Barcelona Women’s Champions League win is proof of that. The footballers led by Jonathan Giraldes beat Wolfsburg in the final and repeated the feat of 2021, when they also won their first continental title. In basketball, Real Madrid also played a prominent role and the Whites raised their record by winning their 11th EuroLeague title in May.

In the individual category, several athletes were honored after a fantastic year. This was the case for Rodrigo Hernandez, the Spanish midfielder who scored in the Champions League final with Manchester City, or Aitana Bonmatti, who also won the Champions League and won the World Cup, being the Most Valuable Player (MVP) on both occasions. In addition, walkers Maria Pérez and Alvaro Martin, golfer Carlota Ciganda, former weightlifter Lidia Valentin, swimmer Una Carbonell, former tennis player Feliciano Lopez, and former footballer David Silva were honored.

To demonstrate their competitiveness, the majority of winners customized their entries to indicate that they had already set their sights on the challenges ahead. Next year will be full of great sporting events, such as the European Cup or the Olympic Games. The captains of the Spanish national team, Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Morata, expressed their optimism about the performance that the La Roja team can provide in the continental championship: “We face the European Cup and we know that we have a great group and we are confident that we will have a wonderful tournament.” He said: Real Madrid’s right-back. For his part, Alvaro Morata expressed his appreciation for the first place achieved in the European Nations League, but stressed that the team is looking forward to more: “I hope that we can continue to win more titles,” said the Atletico Madrid striker.

Aitana Bonmatti was one of the great stars of the night, and as is customary, the Barcelona midfielder dedicated the award to her teammates: “I get individual awards, but I am always grateful to be part of two great families, which are Barcelona and the national team,” he said. The current winner of the Golden Ball electronically.

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