Harry Kewell Medal

The PFA Harry Kewell Medal is an annual award given for outstanding performance by an under-23 player playing in the A-League or overseas-based Australian. The award has been presented since 2008–09, and the winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA). It is named after former Australian star Harry Kewell, who represented Australia between 1996 and 2012, and was noted for his achievements from a young age.[1] The first winner of the award was Perth Glory winger Nikita Rukavytsya. The current holder is Liberato Cacace, who won the award for his performances throughout the 2019–20 campaign for Wellington Phoenix.

Harry Kewell Medal
Mathew Ryan has won the award three times.
SportAssociation football
CountryAustralia
Presented byPFA
History
First award2009
Editions12
First winner Nikita Rukavytsya
Most wins Mathew Ryan (3 wins)
Most recent Liberato Cacace
WebsiteOfficial website

As of 2020, only Mathew Ryan has won the award on more than one occasion. Two players from outside of Australia, Marco Rojas and Liberato Cacace both from New Zealand, have won the award. Although they have their own dedicated award, players aged 23 or under at the start of the season remain eligible to win the PFA Men's Footballer of the Year award, and on one occasion the same player has won both awards for a season.

Winners

The award has been presented on 12 occasions as of 2020, with 10 different winners.

Year PlayerClubNotes
2008–09 Nikita Rukavytsya Perth Glory
2009–10 Mitch Langerak Melbourne VictoryFirst goalkeeper to win the award
2010–11 Robbie Kruse Melbourne Victory
2011–12 Mathew Ryan Central Coast Mariners
2012–13 Marco Rojas Melbourne VictoryFirst winner from outside Australia
2013–14 Mathew Ryan Club BruggeFirst player to win the award twice
First player to win the award playing for a non-A-League club
2014–15 Mathew Ryan Club BruggeFirst player to win the award three times
First player to win the award in consecutive seasons
2015–16 Jamie Maclaren Brisbane Roar
2016–17 Alex Gersbach Rosenborg BK
2017–18 Daniel Arzani Melbourne City
2018–19 Chris Ikonomidis Perth Glory
2019–20 Liberato Cacace Wellington PhoenixFirst player to win the award playing for a non-Australian A-League club

Breakdown of winners

By country
CountryNumber of winsWinning years
Australia
10
2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
New Zealand
2
2012–13, 2019–20

By club
ClubNumber of winsWinning years
Melbourne Victory
3
2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13
Club Brugge
2
2013–14, 2014–15
Perth Glory
2
2008–09, 2018–19
Brisbane Roar
1
2015–16
Central Coast Mariners
1
2011–12
Melbourne City
1
2017–18
Rosenborg
1
2016–17
Wellington Phoenix
1
2019–20

See also

References
  1. Lynch, Michael (12 October 2013). "Kewell sets Heart racing". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.