FIFA Ballon d’Or Award

Jan 10: Barcelona’s three major strikers Xavi Hernandez, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta are on the shortlist for the first FIFA Ballon d’Or award, which is for the best player in the world, which is to be presented on Monday at a ceremony, which gets bigger and stronger by the passing of each year. The award is a fusion of FIFA’s Player of the Year gong, which was started in 1991, with the France Football Magazine’s Baloon d’Or, which has been running since 1956. For the first time ever there will also award given to the coach. The contenders for coach of the year category are Vicente Del Bosque, who was the coach of World Cup winner Spain, Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho who played a vital role in Inter Milan victory in Champions League last season.

FIFA will also name the world eleven of the year in which there will be one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards with five players competing for each position. In the present year Lionel Messis’s fantastic and brilliant performances and his stunning goals for Barca maybe enough for him to win the award second successive times. However his disappointing performance for Argentina in the world cup may cost him badly, who won the FIFA and France Football awards last year and leaves the doors open for the other two mid fielders Xavi and Iniesta, who were the heroes of Spain’s world cup win.

Messi don’t have any regrets if one of either club teammates wins the award. “Xavi and Iniesta are excellent players undoubtedly and so they deserve it,” said Messi, also adding that he wants the Coach of the year award for Guardiola. The World Cup may not be prime importance though Diego Forlan of Uruguay who was voted player of the tournament was not shortlisted in the final list.

Tags: Andres Iniesta, Barcelona, FIFA Ballon d'Or, Football, Lionel Messi, Strikers, World Eleven, Xavi, Xavi Hernandez