Argentine ace and Barcelona star Lionel Messi has had quite a year. After leading Barcelona to an unprecedented treble in the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Ray he is now up for both the Ballon d'Or (European footballer of the year) and the equally prestigious FIFA World Player of the Year.
Last year Messi was beaten to both awards by Portuguese ace Cristiano Ronaldo, then at Manchester United. Chosing between the two stars is an almost impossible task in all honesty but for me personally Messi just about edges it and he is the favourite for both awards this time round. After playing a massive part in Barcelona's success it would be scandalous if he didn't win one of the awards, if not both. Ronaldo may have made the mega-money move to Real Madrid and he too enjoyed a fantastic season, but perhaps not quite as fantastic as the campaign he enjoyed when he lifted both awards.
Anyway, here are the shortlists of nominations for both awards.
FIFA World Player of the Year (23 players):
Michael Ballack (Germany), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Diego (Brazil), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast),
Michael Essien (Ghana), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Steven Gerrard (England), Thierry Henry (France), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Kaka (Brazil), Frank Lampard (England), Luis Fabiano (Brazil),
Lionel Messi (Argentina), Carles Puyol (Spain), Franck Ribery (France), Wayne Rooney (England), John Terry (England), Fernando Torres (Spain), David Villa (Spain), Xavi (Spain).
The Ballon d'Or (European footballer of the year - 30 players):
Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United), Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona),
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Kaka (Real Madrid), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Maicon (Inter Milan), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), David Villa (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona),
Yaya Toure (Barcelona) Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Diego (Juventus), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg), Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal).
The winner of the Ballon d'Or will be announced on December 1, while the winner of the FIFA World Player of the Year will be announced on December 21.
The majority of these players will be on display at next summer's World Cup in South Africa. The French contingent still have to get through a play-off with the Irish, which is by no means a done deal. Portugal face the relatively unknown quantity of Bosnia-Herzegovina in their own play-off so Ronaldo may not make the tournament in South Africa if the Bosnians pull off an upset. I wouldn't dismiss Bosnia either in fairness, they have their own stars such as Edin Dzeko (a fellow Ballon d'Or nominee) amongst others and they will put up a decent fight. Messi will certainly be at the tournament, and that can only be a good thing for the spectator.
Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer who provides World Cup 2010 betting news for Betfair.
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