The Alan Hardaker Trophy is an annual association football award presented to the
Man of the Match
In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...
in the
EFL Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
(also currently known as the
Carabao
The carabao ( es, Carabao; tgl, Kalabaw; ceb, Kabaw; ilo, Nuang) is a domestic swamp-type water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis'') native to the Philippines. Carabaos were introduced to Guam from the Spanish Philippines in the 17th century. They ...
Cup). The trophy is named after
Alan Hardaker
Alan Hardaker OBE (29 July 1912[Biographical details](_blank)
such as date of birth, wife's ...
, the EFL's former secretary who conceived the League Cup.
The Alan Hardaker Trophy
EFL
The Alan Hardaker Trophy was first awarded in 1990, Des Walker
Desmond Sinclair Walker (born 26 November 1965) is an English football coach and former player, who played as a defender.
At club level he played in seven cup finals for Nottingham Forest at Wembley, winning five of them. He was Forest's play ...
was the inaugural recipient. Ben Foster Ben Foster may refer to:
*Ben Foster (actor) (born 1980), American actor
*Ben Foster (footballer) (born 1983), English goalkeeper
*Ben Foster (composer) (born 1977), British composer, orchestrator and conductor
* Ben Foster (director) (born 1984), ...
, John Terry
John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the assi ...
and Vincent Kompany
Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (; ; born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back and is the current manager of EFL Championship club Burnley. He most notably played for Manchester City f ...
have won the award on two occasions, the most wins by an individual. Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
have received the award six times, more than any other club. English players have won the trophy seventeen times, which is a record; the only other nations with multiple wins are Scotland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, with two recipients.
Winners
;Key to score column
: – Indicates the match was decided by a replay
: – Indicates the match went to penalty shootout
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...
Awards won by nationality
Awards won by club
References
{{EFL Cup
English football trophies and awards
EFL Cup