Barcelona Trio Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez
Shortlisted for FIFA Ballon d’Or Award
Barcelona is set to take home the Ballon d’Or, or Golden Ball, Award this year, as all three players shortlisted for the award – Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez - play for Barcelona. The winner will be chosen based
on performance and influence, and will be considered the world’s best footballer of 2010.
The Golden Ball will be awarded at the beginning of 2011 in Zurich, the headquarters of FIFA. The final list of players shortlisted for the award was prepared with due consideration of all domestic and international football leagues
and tournaments, including the World Cup in South Africa.
Originally, the Ballon d’Or was awarded to the best European player of the year. A separate award, the FIFA World Player of the Year Award was awarded to the world’s best footballer during the year. Last year, Lionel Messi won
both the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year Award after he scored a treble for Barcelona.
This is the first year that both awards have been merged into one, now called the FIFA Ballon d’Or. The recipient of the award will be chosen based on voting by coaches and captains of international teams, as well as by journalists
around the world.
Lionel Messi is not the favourite to win the award this year. Last season, he scored an incredible 34 goals to help his team win La Liga for the second year in a row, and he was also the top-scorer in the Champions League for the
second year in a row. This year, Messi did indeed start off in brilliant fashion, scoring 22 goals in 18 games, including La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa Del Ray – but the Argentinean maestro failed to score in the World Cup, and Argentina was knocked
out in the quarterfinals. This was the only blemish in an otherwise wonderful year for Messi, but it could be a decisive one. World Cup performance plays a critical role in evaluating a player’s eligibility for the award. Iniesta and Xavi were part of the
World Cup-winning Spanish team, and so have an advantage over their Barcelona team-mate. Neither of the two was as impressive in domestic leagues as Messi was, but this fact may be eclipsed by their World Cup performances.
Messi’s name being on the list actually came as a surprise to many. One player who very unexpectedly failed to make the final cut was Wesley Sneijder, the Dutch playmaker who was a joint top-scorer in the World Cup and took his
team to the World Cup final in South Africa. Sneijder was also a vital part of Inter Milan’s successful campaign last year, winning an unprecedented treble, including the Champions League. His absence from the final list has raised questions about the credibility
of FIFA’s shortlisting process.
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