World Player of the Year
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have both been nominated for FIFA's World Player of the Year award, in a final shortlist of five dominated by Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Messi is one of three Barcelona players to have been named alongside team-mates Xavi and Andres Iniesta, while Real Madrid's record signing Kaka completes the line-up.
In the run-up to the 2010 World Cup, favourites Spain have two players, and Portugal, Brazil and Argentina one each. No English player has made the cut, nor has any player currently playing in the Premier League.
The original 23-man shortlist boasted eight Premier League players, but none have made it to the final five, with the likes of Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, and Steven Gerrard all notable absences.
England striker Kelly Smith is up against Brazil's Cristiane and Marta and Germany's Inka Grings and Birgit Prinz for the women's award.
Two new awards have been introduced for 2009; the FIFA Puskas Award, and the FIFA/FIFPro World XI. The Puskas Award, created in honour of Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas, will be awarded to the "most beautiful goal" during the year, while the World XI will name the best 11 players in the world, as voted for by professional players around the globe.
The winners will be announced on December 21 in Zurich. {# }
posted @ 11:35 AM,
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