The 23 man shortlist has been announced and the process for selecting the FIFA World Player for 2009 is underway. Last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo was unquestionably deserving of the award as he was class above the rest, scoring a total of 42 goals and played a pivotal role in assisting Manchester United in completing the European double.
The winner of this 2009 award however, will more than likely be a Barcelona player. The trio of Messi, Xavi and Eto’o were considered the key men that guided Barcelona to their first ever treble. [until then I was totally unaware that Barcelona had never completed the treble!]. The football they played at times was nothing short of magical and they deserved to win all the trophies they did. They virtually dominated La liga which they lead from round 9 until the end scoring over 100 goals and having a goal difference of 70!
However, out of the three players I mentioned, Messi is obviously the favourite to cop the award scoring a total of 38 goals in 51 appearances, even though some may argue that Xavi’s contribution to the team is often overlooked and it is largely due to his vision and creativity why most of these goals are scored anyway.
The possibility is that the Barcelona trio of last season may end up capturing the top three positions and the only player likely to prevent this clean sweep is Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite the fact that he was unable to repeat his exploits from 08/09, he was one of the best performers last season and was Manchester United’s stand out player yet again. Other than these four players I honestly don’t see anyone else seriously challenging for this year’s award. In the end I expect the award to go to Messi. The winner will be announced on December 21, 2009.
List of nominees - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8333388.stm
My World X1 for Season 08/09
Edwin van der Sar
Carles Puyol
Nemanja Vidic
Patrice Evra
Dani Alves
Cristiano Ronaldo
Lionel Messi
Steven Gerrard
Xavi
Samuel Eto’o
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Personally i would put Fernando Torres up there with Eto'o...and i think prediction for the next fifa player of the year will be torres...he is simply amazing, being able to produce something out of nothing in a split second
ReplyDeletehe's even been scoring when not 100% fit, and been instrumental for Spain's National team...
It will definitely be interesting to see which of the elite perform in the world cup next year
yup next year may just be his year at the world cup... well if he can stay injury free. absolutely no doubt he's the best striker in the world right now.
ReplyDeleteis anyone making news of tomorrows matches? ? ? just thought that would be key, it's a big week in football world before international week! dats big! big big!
ReplyDeleteyeh theres now a preview post up at the top
ReplyDeletewhyyyy is john terry shortlisted.. i just checked that link to the bbc article...i'm confused lol
ReplyDeleteThis List IS whack! edwin fits as number 1 keeper? before buffon, casillas, cech?? even given beats that old hag, i mean he's been good but isn't it a new day all ready!!!?? or am i just lost in time????
ReplyDeleteVDS was great last season, broke all the records and what went 13+ games without conceding a goal...i mean a lot of the credit goes towards the UTD backline, but VDS is that foundation...
ReplyDeleteCech was awful last season, and buffon was ok..and casillas was great, especially with that awful backline hes stuck with lol... afterall its the authors opinion
to me these are big surprises
ReplyDeleteHenry
Essien
Drogba
Terry
Puyol
Kaka
still want to know why Sebastien Frey is never picked... and he is one of the best keepers in the world
ReplyDeleteFirst off, Torres hasnt been instrumental for Spain, if any thing he has been a huge disappoinment. He's been regularly criticized for not bringing his liverpool form to the national team which is why there is a good chance one Iniesta is fully fit, either he or Fabregas will be taking the spot behind Villa while Torres rubs the bench.
ReplyDeletesecondly, VDS has to be there he was immense last year. and Cech has been rubbish for 2/3 years now..Frey not picked for what chino? For awards? becuz he hasnt done much. for france? becuz he is retired.
Puyol and Henry surprises? they were instrumental parts of a treble winning team. Henry had the exact stats as Ronaldo playing in a team that wasnt built around him like ronaldo. Impressive i say. He has to be in the top 23. Puyol, ntn needs to be said. he deserves his position.
As for the Chelsea players. Essien was great but he only played 25 ish games..not enough for me..Drogba didnt impress me last season..any why is Ballack there:S????
VDS should have easily made that list. he broke the overall english league record having gone 1000+ minutes without conceding a goal.
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