💫 OneFootball's Champions League Awards 2023/24 | OneFootball

The final edition of the Champions League under its current guise is now complete and Real Madrid are victorious once more.

Before we bring the curtain down on the competition, it is time to hand out our awards from another enthralling edition.

Player of the Tournament 👏

This year’s edition belonged to Real Madrid sensation Vinícius Júnior.

He was the only player in the competition to reach double figures for goal involvements and came to the fore when it mattered most, none more so than in the final where his late strike delivered trophy number 15.

“I want a lifetime contract!” he declared in the wake of the Wembley win. Are you listening Florentino?

Young Player of the Tournament 👶

It’s a Real Madrid double here but we doubt anyone will argue too much with the selection of Jude Bellingham.

Only team-mate and Player of the Tournament Viní Jr contributed directly to more goals than the Englishman, who scored four and assisted five (more than any other player) en route to his first success in this competition.

It won’t be his last. Oh, and a reminder: he doesn’t even turn 21 until later this month.

Breakthrough Player of the Tournament 💨

Few outside of Portugal, where he has spent his entire career outwith his native Brazil, will have been too aware of Porto winger Galeno.

But what a nuisance he proved to be throughout the group stage and in their unlucky last 16 exit against Arsenal.

The 26-year-old terrorised defences, providing three assists and scoring five times for his side at the top level – which was enough to earn him a first Seleçao cap against Spain in March, where he also had a big impact, winning a late penalty in a 3-3 draw.

Surprise of the Tournament 🤯

If you had Borussia Dortmund to reach the final, then you’re lying.

Drawn in a group with PSG, Milan and Newcastle, they were expected to be playing Europa League football after Christmas – and even that was no guarantee

Topping that section set up a tie with PSV that they navigated before being roundly written off again at various points of their roller-coaster quarter-final against Atlético de Madrid and few gave them a chance in the final four against PSG once more.

This competition was long overdue a surprise run to the final. Thank you Edin Terzić and co.

Coach of the Tournament 👔

Let’s take a look at the quality of coach and team Carlo Ancelotti had to overcome to win this competition for a record fifth time shall we?

The always difficult RB Leipzig caused them problems in the last 16 after topping a tough group which contained last year’s finalists Inter before he took down Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City across 210 thrilling minutes of football plus penalties.

Their run appeared to be over against Bayern Munich and Thomas Tuchel in the semi-final only for Ancelotti to put his faith in reserve striker Joselu to rescue them at the death and fire them to Wembley, where they came out on top again despite not being at their best. It is what he does.

Feelgood Story of the Tournament ❤️

There are few better things in football than a goalscoring goalkeeper and this season saw the Champions League provide that feat for the first time in 15 years.

Ivan Provedel became just the second shot-stopper to score from open play in the competition (following on from Sinan Bolat for Standard Liège in 2009) when he popped up with a last gasp header for Lazio to rescue a point against Atlético de Madrid on matchday one.

“A boy who wants to be a goalkeeper at a certain point no longer dreams of scoring goals,” he admitted. “The match was over but the bench gestured me to go forward, there was a lot of confusion and then I remember running away in celebration!”

What a moment.

Goal of the Tournament 😍

The execution of this training ground corner-kick from Braga from the pass to the lay-off and finish from Bruma were all perfection.

Game of the Tournament 🏟️

We can’t narrow this down to one.

Real Madrid 3-3 Manchester City

Yet another classic between this duo. For the quality of goals scored and back-and-forth drama, it is hard to look past this quarter-final first leg at the Bernabéu.

Borussia Dortmund 4-2 Atlético de Madrid

The second leg of this quarter-final took so many twists and turns in a cauldron created by the Westfalenstadion that it kept viewers on the edge of their seat from the first minute until the last.

Copenhagen 4-3 Manchester United

They will be talking about this game in the Danish capital for years to come. Copenhagen found themselves 2-0 down early and then 3-2 behind with seven minutes left before stunning their esteemed opponents en route to knocking them out and a surprise qualification of their own.