According to reports from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604’s Hernandez Xavi and Atletico’s Falcao stood 4th and 5th respectively in the Ballon d’Or list.
Last night’s final 3 short listing for the Ballon d’Or accolade nominated Real Madrid’s http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 for the prestigious title.
The French award is a measure of the best player in Europe over the past season and is considered as probably the most prestigious individual honour that exists in world of football.
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo has bagged the award on one previous occasion after his tremendous 2007-2008 season with English giants Manchester United.
That season saw the Portuguese score 42 goals from a midfield position
and his exploits led Manchester United to a memorable double including the Barclays Premier league and the UEFA Champions League.
Lionel Messi has now won the award three years on the stroll through his mesmerizing stats with F.C Barcelona, and looks to defend his crown after another successful campaign with the Catalans, which has seen the Argentinean break a number of goal scoring
records.
Andres Iniesta, whom many consider to be the favourite, has not won the award before and looks to bag the individual honour for the first time.
Reports from Spanish media suggested that Barcelona’s midfield magician Xavi came fourth in the Ballon d’Or nominations and he was trailed by Atletico Madrid’s prolific striker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Radamel-Falcao-c30276.
Both the players themselves had more than decent campaigns to their names, as Xavi led Barcelona to win a number of trophies and Falcao spearheaded the Rojiblancos strike line and helped them claim the continental double of UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super
Cup.
Falcao’s hatrick against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 in the UEFA Super Cup final was a great feat for the Colombian and that helped his team beat the newly crowned European champions Chelsea.
If the reports are believed to be true then it reflects the pure domination of Spanish stars as all the top five players represent the Spanish La Liga.
The criteria for the award are based on a voting scheme and the votes are taken from the captains and coaches of each national team. Some leading journalists from each country also get a say to vote for the award.
Tags: