Pia Sundhage likes to wax lyrical when she talks about Iman Beney. But the 19-year-old has not only left a lasting impression on the national team coach, as her nomination for the Golden Girl Award proves.
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- The Golden Girl Award is presented annually to the best U21 player in Europe.
- Nati jewel Iman Beney is one of the 10 nominated players.
- The 19-year-old moved from YB to Manchester City in the summer and has already proven her class there too.
Iman Beney quickly made a lasting impression on the national team coach. Over a year ago, she lavished praise on the national team jewel at a joint media appointment: "She is - and this is really cool - so focused and can show that she has fun at the same time. This combination is unique and I really like it. Her future looks very bright. She can be successful anywhere."
And she has indeed celebrated some great successes since then. Beney won the league title with YB last year and has become a regular in the starting eleven for the national team. At the European Championships, the now 19-year-old was in the starting eleven in all matches. After the European Championship, she moved from YB to Manchester City. And she is getting better and better there too, most recently scoring against both Arsenal and Liverpool.
The fact that Beney is now one of the 10 finalists for the Golden Girl Award did not come out of the blue. Since 2022, the Italian newspaper "Tuttosport" has honored the best female players in Europe under the age of 21 with this award. It is the counterpart to the Golden Boy Award, which has been presented annually since 2003.
Last year, Sydney Schertenleib was the first Swiss player to be nominated. Beney could now be the first Swiss woman to win the award. The other nominees are Michelle Agyemang (Brighton), Giulia Galli (Roma), Eva Schatzer (Juventus), Signe Gaupset (Brann), Smilla Holmberg (Hammarby), Felicia Schroder (Hacken), Wieke Kaptein (Chelsea), Nina Matejic (Zenit) and Lily Yohannes (Lyon).
Iman Beney has long been regarded as an exceptional talent
The fact that Beney is an exceptional talent has long been known in this country. In May 2023, she stormed into the semi-finals of the U17 European Championships with Switzerland. In four games, she provided three assists and scored two goals. A short time later, she was called up for the World Cup by the national team coach at the time, Inka Grings. But even before she left, the then 16-year-old suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in training and missed the World Cup and the entire following season. A setback that did not throw Beney off course.
