Guardiola selects Fàbregas as his Euro midfielder of the year

Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola chose Arsenal’s Cesc Fàbregas as his European midfielder of the season for the UEFA Club Football Awards 2010.

The Barça boss, barred from selecting players from his own side, chose the Spaniard ahead of the likes of Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger and eventual midfield winner Wesley Sneijder. Guardiola also picked Gunners goalkeeper Manuel Almunia as his second-choice stopper behind Inter Milan’s Júlio César.

The coaches from the 16 clubs that participated in the knockout stage of last season’s Champions League, including Chelsea’s Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson, were asked to select their top players in each category.

Lionel Messi’s four-goal haul against Arsène Wenger’s Gunners side in the second leg of their quarter-final clash with Barcelona clearly made an impression on Arsenal boss – the Frenchman voted the Argentine as his forward of the year.

Elsewhere, United boss Ferguson selected Petr Cech as his top goalkeeper and Inter Milan’s Diego Milito as his number one forward. Ancelotti, meanwhile, rated Sneijder as his top midfielder and Walter Samuel as his No1 defender.

The final awards saw an Inter Milan clean sweep as Júlio César, Maicon, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Milito were named as players of the season in their respective positions.

European managers’ first-choice players for the UEFA Club Football Awards 2010 in order of playing position – Voting Results

Arsène Wenger (Arsenal): Júlio César, Lucio, Xavi, Messi
Josep Guardiola (Barcelona): Júlio César, Maicon, Fàbregas, Milito
Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea): Júlio César, Samuel, Sneijder, Milito
Louis van Gaal (Bayern Munich): Van der Sar, Pique, Sneijder, Milito
Laurent Blanc (Bordeaux): Júlio César, Maicon, Xavi, Milito
Leonid Slutsky (CSKA Moscow): Júlio César, Maicon, Robben, Milito
Cesare Prandelli (Fiorentina): Júlio César, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Milito
Claude Puel (Lyons): Júlio César, Lucio, Iniesta, Milito
Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United): Cech, Samuel, Xavi, Milito
Leonardo (AC Milan): Júlio César, Maicon, Cambiasso, Messi
Bozidar Bandovic (Olympiacos): Júlio César, Lucio, Robben, Messi
José Mourinho (Inter Milan): Lloris, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Robben
Manuel Pellegrini (Real Madrid): Júlio César, Pique, Sneijder, Milito
Manuel Jesualdo Ferreira (Porto): Júlio César, Maicon, Xavi, Milito
Manuel Jimenez (Sevilla): Júlio César, Pique, Xavi, Milito
Christian Gross (Stuttgart): Júlio César, Maicon, Cambiasso, Milito