Real Madrid: leader in 'Man of the Match' awards in Russia
In total LaLiga players have scooped a total of 13 awards, followed by the Premier League with nine, despite the English league having the most representatives at the tournament.
They have already competed in 36 games in Russia, and up to now, it could be said that LaLiga representatives have been the best performing players in the World Cup, and more specifically those from Real Madrid, who hold more ‘Man of the Match’ awards than any other club.
Real Madrid players can already boast five ‘Man of the Match’ awards between them. Luka Modric has two, one of which he earned after for his performance in Croatia’s 3-0 defeat of Argentina, where he scored one of the goals of the tournament to date. Cristiano Ronaldo has also picked up two with Portugal, the first coming after his hat trick in the opening game against Spain.
The latest ‘Blanco’ to receive the accolade is Isco, who took charge of the Spanish side in their 2-2 all draw against Morocco on Monday night. Unlike Modric and Ronaldo, Isco has yet to score at the tournament, but his passing and dribbling has made him one of Spain’s best performers so far. Toni Kroos could have been another ‘Man of the Match’ winner following his stunning free kick goal in injury time for Germany against Sweden, but lost out to team mate Marco Reus (possibly due to the fact that voting begins at the beginning of the second half).
Real Madrid lead the way, followed by Barcelona and Atlético
Interestingly, the clubs to have the second most ‘Man of the Match’ winners at the tournament are Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, both of which have two (Luis Suarez and Phillipe Coutinho for Barca; Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa for Atléti). In total, LaLiga representatives have so far scooped 13 MVP awards, with the Premier League in second place with nine, despite having the largest representation at the World Cup. Germany’s Bundesliga is in third place with five winners, followed by the Italian and Russian leagues with two.
Former Real Madrid men scoop four MoM awards so far
Besides the five players that currently play for Real Madrid, there are also three former ‘Blancos’ who have picked up the ‘Man of the Match’ award: Bayern Munich’s James Rodriguez for Colombia in their second game against Poland; Denis Cheryshev of Russia, who has two Budweiser trophies to date; and Chicharito Hernández, who was awarded for his goal and exceptional performance for Mexico against South Korea.
