Bruno Guimares received the North East Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year award for 2022 on Sunday evening at Ramside Hall Hotel and Golf Club, near Durham.
Following a fantastic first year as a Newcastle United player, the Brazil international became the 43rd recipient of the award, which has previously been won by Alan Shearer, Kevin Keegan, Les Ferdinand, Shay Given, and Peter Beardsley, as well as Guimares’ current team-mates Allan Saint-Maximin, Fabian Schär, Jamaal Lascelles, and Matt Ritchie.
He arrived from Lyon with the Magpies in the Premier League relegation zone in January 2022, but his outstanding performances inspired Eddie Howe‘s team to an unlikely midtable finish before pushing for European football this season, as well as reaching the Carabao Cup final.
Guimares also represented the club and his country at the World Cup in Qatar, appearing twice for Brazil. Sunderland striker Ross Stewart finished second in the region’s journalist poll, with Kieran Trippier third.
Alan Shearer, Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe, first team coach Simon Weatherstone, Academy director Steve Harper, and sporting director Dan Ashworth were also in attendance, while Guimares accepted the award with his parents, Dick and Márcia, and partner Ana.
Derek Wright, a long-serving former Magpies physio who retired last summer after an incredible 38 years of service to the club, was also honored on the night, which was sponsored by William Hill. In recognition of his significant contribution to football in the North East, he received the Bob Cass Award.
Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson was named Young Player of the Year, while Durham Women’s Sarah Robson was named Women’s Player of the Year for the second time.
The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation Personality of the Year award was presented to Jill Scott, who was part of the England Lionesses team that won the European Championships last summer as well as being crowned Queen of the Jungle in 2022’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Non-league Gateshead and Marske United, who both won promotion last season, were also recognized.
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