Eight Barça players in shortlist for 2011 FIFA Ballon d’Or
The official 23-man shortlist for the 2011 FIFA Ballon d’Or was confirmed today by FIFA and France Football magazine. In all, eight FC Barcelona players were nominated, the most of any team. Apart from the players, FC Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola will again be in contention for the title of FIFA World Coach of the Year award.
Two-time winner forward Lionel Messi (24), as well as second and third place finishers from last year midfielders Andrés Iniesta (26) and Xavi Hernández (31), again appear on the list. The rest of Barça’s eight is rounded out by defenders Gerard Piqué (24), Dani Alves (28), and Éric Abidal (32); forward David Villa (29); and midfielder Cesc Fàbregas (24). Only captain Carles Puyol (32) and forward Alexis Sánchez (22) did not make the cut from the original list of 50.
The final three as well as the three nominees for the FIFA Puskás Award, for the most beautiful goal of the year, will be announced on December 5, 2011 at an event in Paris. The actual ceremony and revelation of the winners will take place in Zurich on January 9, 2012. Votes from a collection of journalists selected by France Football and national team coaches and captains will be counted to determine the FIFA Ballon d’Or winner for 2011. Other awards up for grabs at the gala include the FIFA/FIFPro World XI, the FIFA Puskás Award, the FIFA Presidential Award and the FIFA Fair Play Award.
The following is the complete shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d’Or gala 2011:
Éric Abidal (France), Sergio Agüero (Argentina), Karim Benzema (France), Iker Casillas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Dani Alves (Brazil), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Cesc Fàbregas (Spain), Diego Forlán (Uruguay), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Müller (Germany), Nani (Portugal), Neymar (Brazil), Mesut Özil (Germany), Gerard Piqué (Spain), Wayne Rooney (England), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), Luis Suárez (Uruguay), David Villa (Spain), Xabi Alonso (Spain), Xavi (Spain).
Below is the shortlist for FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football 2011:
Vicente Del Bosque (Spain/Spain national team), Alex Ferguson (Scotland/Manchester United FC), Rudi Garcia (France/Lille OSC), Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Barcelona), Jürgen Klopp (Germany/Borussia Dortmund), Joachim Löw (Germany/Germany national team), José Mourinho (Portugal/Real Madrid C.F.), Óscar Tabárez (Uruguay/Uruguay national team), André Villas-Boas (Portugal/FC Porto, Chelsea FC), Arsène Wenger (France/Arsenal FC).
totalBarça will present a special series featuring FC Barcelona’s elite eight FIFA Ballon d’Or candidates. The attributes of each of the nominees will be highlighted by a contributor at tB before the announcement of the final three. Check back next week for the first two contenders!
Source: www.fifa.com; Photo Credit: Getty Images
And another hattrick for the great Lionel Messi. This time a golden one!
Really pleased with 8 but Mundo Deportivo were saying 10 last week. The 2 missing are Puyol and Alexis.
Still good, but I think 10 would haven been a fairer reflection of the state of play as Real Madrid have 5 players on the list.
didn't they mean 10 out of the 50 list? i think 8/23 is awesome…although Valdes should definitely have been there…
I can understand there's no Puyi, he's been out for 5 months. But no Busi? Scandal.
Muller and Benzema? Good joke.
masch's contribution has been so underrated… and of course busi and valdes…
Yes, Masch and Victor too, but Busi… the man who redefined DM? Well, he was the best young player in South Africa and nobody gave him credit, so why am I so surprised?
lol basically, Barca's starting 11 should be there and if it were that way…nobody can argue, cause they deserve it!
true true. i feel like if casillas is there, valdes should be as well. if xabi alonso is there, so should busi, and masch has been incredible. feels like fifa needed to add a bunch of madrid players regardless, so whatever
some missing names who deserved to be in the list:
1.david silva
2.vidic
3.valdes
4.falcao
5.thiago silva
6.modric
coach:m.allegri
some names who not deserved to be in the list:
1.neymar
2.casillas
3.muller
4.benzema
5.sneijder
congratulation to our boys but I'm really feel sorry for V.V and Sergio.B they deserved so much more !
OH I forgot Machete, seriously WTF he played a whole season brilliantly (out of position) !
Casillas is on the list and Valdes not…Hmmm… That's just wrong.
Messi and Guardiola all the way!
as for the strange list..
Sneijder, Forlan, Pique, Benzema, Cesc – OUT
Silva, Valdés, Falcao, Ribery, Gotze – IN
Even I would say abidal should not make it cuz he was not available in second half like puyol didn't make it for same reason I assume
Abidal was vital last season although he didnt play for two months. Remember his permormances? From Barca squad I would really love to see Busquets and especially Valdes in the shortlist instead of Cesc and Pique, whose season was not so impressive at all.
Then there should be van Persie too he had played half a season and scored most of their goals
why should Valdes be on the list? he has been pretty much a spectator all year. I do agree with you in regards to Silva and Ribery and especially Ribery who is extremely good player.
Ribery without his speed is nobody. A typical winger.
have you been watching Bayern munich games in 2011? surely Ribery is more than just speed.
Yes, I've been watching them, Bayern is so overrated. Look how pathetic Bundesliga teams are in defense. Against a bunch of morons from Nurnberg or Hannover he was invisible, because he was loosing the ball all the time. No speed, no driblings.
bunch of morons like Nurnberg and Hannove!
they are not much worse than Osasuna and Getafe! are they?
so you saying Ribery without speed is nobody…. what about Pedro? does he have anything more than speed?
Ribery played well and scored against Villarreal, so it's not only in Bundesliga he performs well.
V.Valdes without his skills with his feet would be like a typical goalkeeper? Come on.
These abilities are vital. What's the problem with the speed of Ribery?
I prefer RvP to players like Forlan or Benzema. He could be on the list…same for Di Natale, Cavani, Hulk, Falcao, Ibrahimovic.
i think Valdes is highly underrated…that level of concentration is close to impossible and considering our high defensive line..the number of times he has to make 1 v 1 saves is relatively high….most goalies in a team like barca would have fallen asleep(literally:P) cause the ball is hardly every with the goalie and conceded cause of that….also his distribution from the back is great…he almost acts like a sweeper…always ready to come off the line to intercept counter attacks..i definitely think VV should have been in that list
forlan WC campaign is a huge major why he is on the list but benzema.. that guy is overated… rvp over him anydays..
WC was a year ago. not to be considered for this ballon dor
forlan is there because of copa america. like pillowboy said, world cup was a year ago and it has no effect on this year's ballon, it's basically the same reason saurez is there as well.
Ibra is overrated.
I agree. Van Persie pretty much singlehandedly brought Arsenal back to qualify for the CL. He deserves a spot on there more than Cesc, imo – I love Cesc, I do, but even he said he didn't understand why he was on it when he was out for a lot of the season.
maybe wenger vote for cesc..
Busquets you gotta be kidding me. Mascherano probably, but BUSI cmooon
Have you seen how much the game suffers without Busquets? He's not as flashy, but he's vital to Barca's game.
Sergio.B >>>>>>>>>>>>…>>>>>>Xabi.A
I'm just sick of this list !
V. Valdes >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Casillas
I agree, as players Busquets > Xabi.
However, when it comes down to importance to the team, I have to give it to Xabi. He was and is absolutely vital for Real in the middle of the park and deserves to be in the list.
Basically, he's their Xavi, just not as brilliant. And we all know the importance of Xavi Hernandez.
busquet also a vital part of barca last season…. he is the beast…
somehow i disagree, Busquets has shown his class in the NT as well. He just had a bad game whenever Alonso is there. Alonso's tackling is doubtful and although he has the passing range he isn't as good at short one touch passes(which shows when he is playing in Spain) and his tackling sucks….Del Bosque doesnt want to drop him for some reason
As I said in my previous comment, I agree that Busquets is a better player than Xabi individually.
It's the fact that Xabi plays a greater roll in Real in comparison to Busq, which makes me believe that he deserves to be in the list.
lol sergio b is better the xabi a..you have got to be kidding me
that diving mother fucker dose even deserve to be mentioned
its your barca bias at work..anyone would pick xabi.a over busquets any dam day
Your grammar skills are impressive. Regardless of the fact that Busquets likes to go down quite easily, he is still a better overall player than Xabi Alonso. Not many players can say they won CL/World Cup title by 21 years old as a STARTING PLAYER. There have been bench players that won stuff, but the simple fact is he played in nearly all games.
Get the fuck out with your dumb shit.
wait hold the fone. the way you are speaking, seems like you are the one with the bias. let's just go ahead and leave the fact that the guy falls down easily. if anyone manages to look at the fact that the guy gets fouled on most after messi pretty much. but because he has a bad rep people automatically call him out saying he is pretending. the truth is, he is vital, and that is specifically why he gets fouled on a lot. and if any player on the rm squad got fouled on as much, there would be so much more of the barca-inter situations than in busi's case
Why there are 5 Real Madrid players on that list??? is it because they lost 5-0 to Barcelona???
surely Benzema dosen't desreve to make the list.
i agree benzema should not have been there..there are any number of strikers who did better…falcao,di natale,RvP..and lets not forget edinson cavani..
why would RVP be their?
was he not gone for most of the season lol
He was gone for half the season, but when he came back, he was vital to the team's qualifying for the CL this year. Even with his injuries, he was the third highest scorer in the EPL last season. That's why he would be there.
benzema was one of the best goalkeepers last season, did you see how many goals he kept out?
LOL! That’s so good!
no no valdez, no busquet, no macherano and no pedro, hulk and falcao. Why casillas, why nani, why eto, why forlan, why neymar. For God’s sake, this not a world cup year. Fifa should put more technology(castrol ranking) if they cant use their brain
why not casillias?
Because Casillas didn't do anything this year? The massive role he had in the World Cup could have been mentioned in the 2010 Ballon d'Or. For the 2011 Ballon d'Or he hasn't done anything to place him on that list. His only accomplishment, a Copa Del Ray, is nothing special considering if you look at similar trophies in other leagues and the teams that won them, it would be a joke.
Still have no idea how RM loaded the list considering their achievements last year were pretty meager.
lol castro ranking is an epic abomination
22 players don't deserve to be on this list. Only one man should be on the list and only one man should win it…
MESSI!!!
because his is in league of his own
They should make another ballon d'or trophy where Messi doesn't count :p
Agree – have two awards every year:
1. Fifa world's best player award a.k.a. the Lionel Messi award
2. The best of the rest award
Nice one
xavi will won the best of the rest award..
hmm club over any player…the more barca players in the list..its an indication of how great the team is doing as a unit..but yea..messi should win it in the end
it’s gotta be messi…still..i wanted valdes in that list too:P i kno..I’m greedy:P
For me only one man deserve to fit in,and is the only man that deserve.Is the football magician(MeSSi).Apart from him any other person is a thief.C7 stole it from MeSSi in 2009,this time we will not accept it from fifa if not MeSSi.What do you guys think?
2008….09,10 Messi won it…that's why he's on a hatrick and if he wins it this time he will be only the second person (after Michel Platini) to win the award in 3 consecutive years…
5 RM players? Really FIFA?….
maybe thats FIFA virus
lol Fifa are not the ones who does this you know…
its coaches and managers =/
Why is Casillas in there instead of VV? Last i remember VV had a better season last yr, geez!! talk about politics:x.
" The Barça d`Or "
abida lift champ legue up last season.iniesta d winner of world cup.messi d great..pep d world best coach.beat moudrid 5.beat sir a whole 3 in his home.visca barca we r too much……vv win zamora trophy
1.Messi
2.Xavi
3.Cronaldo
4.Iniesta
5. Sneijder
6.Alves
7.Rooney
8.Pique
9. Etoo
10.Casillas
11.Villa.
12.Abidal
13.Suarez
14.Cesc
15.Muller
16.Aguero
17.Forlan
18.Xabi
19.Schweinsteiger
20.Benzema
21.Nani
22.Neymar
23.Özil
I'm LMAO because there is a shitstorm in sweden because lousy ibrahimovic isn't on the list
Because he is overrated compared to the rest of the talent in the striker department. He has always been overrated.
you can hate him all you want, but the man is consistently good, it's not a surprise that he tends to bring the league title wherever he plays.
He didn't fit our system, he left and he started his own drama, that's no reason to try and take away his talent/credit
The fact that we have only three more players on the list than Real Mad doesn't make me angry.
Fifa is Fifa. If the list was fair it should be full of only Barca players. Even though some of the worlds most underrated players like W, Busi, Maschete, Pedroadrunner, and so on, doesn't make them worse. We know that they are beasts and deserve to be on that list.
I think it depends on the performance throughout the year. Falcao had a great season but not this season. RVP totally deserves to be included considering his great form for the last 10 months or so. Incredible. Fab and Pique dont deserve. I wouldnt include di natale coz he was basically playing in the league only. Neymar doesnt deserve either. Ribery probably. Bayern keeper? He had a fantastic season and is continuing his form. I think valdes and neuer >>> casillas last year.
how did benzema made it to top list instead of pedro ? or even ibrahimovic who are super with AC milan last season….. where the hell is victor valdes ? mascherano ? why would the team who won only copa del rey can be on that list except CR for his goal…
People always talk about who deserves to be on that list because of "last season". The Balon d'Or is awarded to the best player of the calendar year 2011, not season 2010/2011.
Considering that, Puyol, Abidal and Cesc don't seem to have a place on that list. While it's unbelievable that Busquets and Valdes didn't make it.
MESSI EL MEJOR GANA BALON D'OR!!!!!!!! MESSI IS GOING TO BRING THE FIFA BALON D'OR TO CAMP NOU UNTILL MESSI RETIRES!!!! VISC EL BARCA!!!!!!!! VISC EL CATALUNYA!!!!!!!!!!!!! VAMO MESSI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's shocking that Casillas still makes the list over Valdes. I dont want does Valdes have to do to prove his worth.
It'd be great to see a defender make the cut.
And Guardiola FTW!
Let's hope people fill their ballots correctly and not write Xabi when they meant XAVI! I remember many stories came out after the ballots were released where captains and coaches claimed that they had not voted Xabi Alonso but Xavi.
to be honest i would pick casillas over valdes anyday
a true leader
to be honest thats the reason why barca won la liga 3 years in a row… victor valdes all the way…
Xabi or Xavi – Messi still would have won it no matter what.
I also don't get the whole Casillas gloryfication. Sure he's a great keeper, but Valdes has been more consistent over the last years. The only reason Casillas is still Spain's keeper is because he plays for Real. The logic choice would be to make Valdes number 1, as he has a blind understanding with Pique and Puyol.
Andres n villa 4 me.^^
Andres for the world cup winning goal n chelsea semifinal’s goal.
Villa for the contribution of spain euro cup n world cup goals he scored.
if not them now spain would b empty trophy
if not because of puyol and pique xavi busquet pedro spain wont even made it to knock out stage
So Iniesta should win the Balon d'Or 2011 for goals he scored in 2009 and 2010, and Villa for tournaments in 2008 and 2010???
In case you didn't know: we have 2011 now! And that has (once again) been Messi's year all the way through.
why bother? Messi will win it anyway so there's no need to be upset….;)
When it comes down to one, winner is a winner and that is messi, no one else, the should not even be a list for as long as messi plays, no one will come even closer so don’t waist your time save paper and go green..messi is a beast….
Falcao????????????????!?!?
I can't believe David Silva is not on the list. The way he has been playing, he should be in the top 5 at this moment in time.
no but this is for last season…. next season, if he keeps it up, he will def be there! But Falcao!!?!?!?!!!? wtf!?!?!
It's about the calendar year 2011 not last season!! Is that so difficult to understand?
messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi,messi, there you go FIFA your 22 on the list, now there is no reason for anybody to break their head off picking who is the best because it's done guys and that is MESSIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.
Neymar in, Sergio B Valdez and RVP out? What a joke
ok the only thing i don't understand is why people keep on saying things like valdes shouldn't be there because he was basically a spectator most of the year. ok… that's like saying well forwards shouldn't be there, because where would they be without the midfield. look, most of us are either in school, or been to school at some point. so my question, if you study very hard for a test and you ace it, but when you get the result you are left with a B. You ask the teacher why and he tells you, well yes, you did great, HOWEVER, after consideration, i realised the test i created is pretty easy, so while you answered everything correctly you don't deserve a 100% because the questions were too easy. same thing with valdes. just because he doesn't have to make 10 saves a match, doesn't mean he can't if he had to. rate him on the work he had to make and how he performed. in my eyes, he was great, deserves it more than casillas.
http://youtu.be/RD6zvyBfa2o good video of barcelona players!!
GOLDEN BOY 2011 (BEST UNDER-21 AWARD)- VOTE FOR THIAGO (currently no 4)!!!
You can vote for Thiago (if you think he deserves it) at the Italian newspaper Tuttosport's website:
http://www.tuttosport.com/sondaggi/Calcio/vota-12…
PRESS "VOTA" WHEN YOU HAVE PICKED THIAGO
I hate Fifa choices: I think Silva, Busi, Valdes, should be there , Alexis too for what he done with Udinese last year. Cesc, Pique, Villa, Benzema, Enzy's Eto'o are wrong choices…. The final TOP 3 for me this year 1-Messi 2-Iniesta 3-C.Ronaldo….Iniesta is playing his at his best level by far
change it.. 1.messi 2.XAVI (did you watch him he is fucking living legend) .3rd. iniesta… CR ? he should be in top 5 but not top 3..
no David Silva on the 23?